Renovating the Back Porch

Following the departure of free agent defenseman Brian Campbell to the Chicago Blackhawks, Sharks GM Doug Wilson made a series of moves that completely overhauled the San Jose blue line...rather like one of those home-improvement projects that's initiated by a need to replace the screen door and winds up involving a comprehensive renovation of the back porch.

So is the team better off after these moves? I believe the short answer is Yes--but the improvements have come at a very high price.

The particulars: free agent Rob Blake signed with San Jose for one year at $5 million. Dan Boyle and fellow Tampa D-man Brad Lukowich come to San Jose in exchange for Matt Carle, prospect Ty Wishart, next year's first-round draft pick, and 2010's fourth-round draft pick. Then Craig Rivet was shipped to Buffalo for a couple of second-round picks, one next year and one in 2010, in an effort to replenish, at least somewhat, the Sharks' depleted pool of draft selections. (Particulars from here.)

At the end of all of this, the Sharks are left with a very strong defensive corps going into the fall. Dan Boyle is every bit the puck-moving, offensive defenseman that Campbell is--his numbers were way down last year, but he missed a good chunk of the season after a freak accident involving a falling skate that sliced up his arm, and after he did come back he played for a bad Lightning team. Even so, he managed 4 goals and 21 assists in 37 games. He has the potential to chip in 20 goals from the blue line.

Lukowich won't contribute much in the goal column, but he's a hard-hitting shut-down guy of the type a team needs to be successful. He also has a reputation as a good shot-blocker--a critical element of defensive play in today's NHL. He and Boyle comprised a defensive unit for Tampa's championship team...I suppose chances are good they'll play together again this season, but we'll have to wait and see how things shake out in training camp.

I was skeptical about the Rob Blake acquisition at first, but viewed in this larger context I like it. Blake will turn 39 this season, and he is certainly in the twilight of his career, but he has some things to contribute, notably a slap shot that is still worthy of fear, if not the downright terror it warranted in the past. Even more importantly, though, Blake is mean. He may be the sweetest guy in the world off the ice, I have no idea, but on the ice he's just not nice, and on a team that probably has a surplus of pleasant, jovial, friendly guys, a player with a mean streak is welcome.

Another crucial characteristic shared by Boyle, Lukowich, and Blake is big-game ability. All three of these guys have their names on the Stanley Cup (Lukowich twice). Given the way the Sharks have fallen flat in the postseason for the last umpteen years in a row, I really like an injection of proven big-game experience. This is one thing Brian Campbell, who largely disappeared in the playoffs last year after a great finish to the regular season, does not have.

Now, on to the cost. For me, and I suspect many Sharks fans, the loss of Craig Rivet hits hardest. He had a great year last year and provided steady defensive play and solid leadership for the San Jose blue line. He always worked hard and was justifiably popular. But something had to be done to offset Dan Boyle's price tag, not to mention the sudden logjam of San Jose defenseman...one of them had to go.

Last year Matt Carle failed to follow up the promise shown during his first full season in the NHL, in the course of which he scored 11 goals and had 31 assists. He had only two goals and 13 assists last season, and was generally beset by long periods of inconsistent play. I'm quite certain he was the guy the San Jose brass were expecting to step from inside the organization into the role of offensive, puck-moving defenseman, but it just didn't seem like it was happening, at least not in any kind of timely way. He could still be a great player...maybe he'll do better in Tampa.

Losing Ty Wishart hurts. He was the top scoring defenseman in the Western Hockey League last year, and has potential to be a Brian Campbell/Dan Boyle type in the big league one day, possibly pretty soon. Of all of the personnel given up to bring Boyle to the Sharks, this loss probably stings the organization most of all.

And then there are the draft picks. Like this year, the Sharks will not have a first-round draft pick next year. The second-round picks acquired for Rivet help offset the pain of this somewhat, but the organization is still looking at an extended period of time in which no top young players will be flowing in. Sooner or later, the ultimate bill for this will come due. I view this as an acknowledgment by Wilson that if the sun is not quite setting on the Thornton/Nabokov/Marleau era over which he has presided, it has at least moved well past noon.

With a little bit of luck, the personnel overhaul at the blue line will put the teeth back in a San Jose offense that went from formidable in 2006-2007 to somewhat meek last year. The power play should be improved, and hopefully Boyle will be able to initiate many offensive chances from the Sharks' defensive zone. Only time will tell.