San Jose Sharks: Free Agent Update

With the NHL salary cap destined to take a significant decrease after the 2009-2010 season, Sharks GM Doug Wilson has been wise not to over-pay for big-name free agents during the first few days of free-agency. Players like Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat, and Marian Hossa have all inked expensive long-term deals with new clubs. To be fair, the Sharks already have a core of top tier players, so one may not think it would be difficult to avoid over-paying for a free-agent. However, it would have been completely justifiable if Doug Wilson were to have made a big splash during the first couple days of the free-agency period. His team finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL and yet failed to get past the first round of the playoffs. Nobody would be surprised if a major shake-up were imminent. But with players like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau still under contract, holding back from making any rash decisions during free-agency may in fact help the Sharks ... (link)