All Shook Up

Okay. So. Let's review the last few days, because they've been quite eventful.

The NHL free-agency period kicked in on July 1st, and immediately the Sharks lost defenseman Brian Campbell--widely regarded as the top blueliner available in a slim market--to the Chicago Blackhawks. This means that the price Sharks GM Doug Wilson paid for Campbell at the trade deadline--a first-round draft pick and Steve Bernier--turned out to be the cost of a short-term rental. My reaction: not surprised, or even that disappointed, really. I was ga-ga over Campbell during the regular season, but he didn't contribute in the manner I had anticipated during the playoffs, and frankly I think the Hawks might have overpaid for him...with few top defensemen available as free agents this year, it's just the nature of the market that the price tags would be inflated.

However, I presumed that Wilson would move immediately to make his suddenly short-handed team better...but this didn't happen. For a couple of frustrating days, I watched while seemingly every other team in the league made moves to improve for next season, while the only story about the Sharks was a press release from the team describing prospect Nick Petrecki's visit to the White House. Yippee skip.

(All this time, I should add, rumors were floating around that the Sharks were one of a number of teams pursuing Tampa Bay defenseman Dan Boyle, who is a similar player to Campbell. But Boyle had just signed a new contract with the Lightning in February, just got married to a Florida native, just started to build a house in the Tampa area, and had publicly stated that he didn't want to waive the no-trade clause that was part of his contract. Lame hockey trade rumors are a dime a dozen, and those involving players with no-trade clauses tend to deserve particular skepticism, because a no-trade clause means what it says--the player can nix any trade that the front office agrees to. So the scuttlebutt surrounding Boyle reminded me of the hurricane of hot air blowing around (for instance) Toronto Maple Leafs Mats Sundin and Pavel Kubina as the trade deadline approached back in February--both were the subject of intense speculation, both possessed no-trade clauses, and nothing came of any of it.)

Finally, on July 3rd, Wilson stirred himself to action, signing veteran (read: old) L.A. Kings defenseman Rob Blake to a one-year, $5 million contract. My reaction: underwhelmed. Rob Blake has had a fabulous career that has included a Norris Trophy and a Stanley Cup, and I respect the hell out of him, but his most productive season was over a decade ago, and he's been in the league for longer than the Sharks have. Adding Blake while deleting Campbell would not have made the Sharks better, in my opinion, but with options dwindling (even less-desirable D-men such as the fading Wade Redden or the post-operative Michal Rozsival were off the market by this point) this seemed exactly the situation that fans of Team Teal were facing.

What I didn't anticipate--what I'm not sure anyone could have anticipated--is what happened next.

Actually, in fairness I have to say it's not entirely clear what happened next, at least not to me. There isn't a body of evidence out there in the public record that would make a court case. All that is certain is that only a very short time after signing a new contract, marrying a Florida woman, commencing work on a new house in the Tampa Area, and stating that he had no intention of waiving his no trade clause, Dan Boyle agreed to be traded to the San Jose Sharks.

The most extensive comments from Boyle that I have found are here. Boyle suggests that the Lightning's new ownership group criticized his work ethic and threatened to put him on waivers (this would've meant that he could be claimed by any team in the league and would have no control over where he would wind up). Some quotes by Boyle from the above, which is by Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune...

"When my work ethic is questioned, my offseason work ethic and the way I get ready for games and what I do is questioned, and it gets personal and I'm threatened, that is absolutely the way not to do business..."

"...I, for a long time now, have been under the impression that I was part of this team going forward, wanting input from me on other players, and never in a million years did I think that I was one of the guys that needed to go."

Given the circumstances, I believe Boyle. If true, this is a really classless, unprofessional, and disrespectful move by the Lightning organization, and totally against the spirit of Boyle's contract. I'm pretty sure I need to retract all of the generally favorable things I said about the new Tampa ownership group just a short time ago.

I'm certain this has disrupted Boyle's family life tremendously, and I feel kind of bad for him. At the same time, though, it's a gain for the Sharks. Maybe if Boyle can once more put his name on the Cup (he was part of Tampa's championship team), this time while wearing teal, it'll make the ordeal seem worthwhile.

Okay, this is getting to be a long post, so I'm going to stop for now. In my next post I'll have some thoughts about how I think this particular trade, and a further deal Wilson made as a direct consequence (Craig Rivet to Buffalo) will work out for the Sharks. Till then, stay cool...