Sharks’ GM Doug Wilson: Trading Young Assets ‘Unlikely’
By Eric He
If you are looking for the San Jose Sharks to pull off a major deal before the NHL trade deadline on Mar. 5, then you’re probably out of luck. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
If you are looking for the San Jose Sharks to pull off a major deal before the NHL trade deadline on Mar. 5, then you’re probably out of luck.
In an interview with Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area, General Manager Doug Wilson appears to want to keep the status quo, satisfied with his team thus far.
“Are we going to use our young assets when we’re two-thirds of the way through a reset/refresh?,” said Wilson. “Unlikely. I never say never, but, unlikely.”
Indeed, the Sharks are still in a “reset” mode, a term that has been used frequently by management to describe its actions over the past year. With an aging core of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dan Boyle, and following a first round playoff exit to the Blues in 2012, Wilson could have torn everything up, traded away the veterans, and started over.
But he didn’t. He kept much of the core pieces intact with a few new fresh faces (Raffi Torres, Brad Stuart, etc.), and the result was a much better playoff effort last season.
This year, Wilson’s plan seems to be working thus far, with the Sharks sitting comfortably in playoff position, although they must catch the Ducks if they want to win their division.
When healthy, the Sharks have as good a roster as any in the NHL, and do not have any major holes to address. While they do have young assets that other teams would covet (Tomas Hertl, Tommy Wingels, Matt Nieto, etc.), there is no need to use them as trade bait when they have fit into the system in San Jose so well.