Tim Chiasson

Halifax • Canada • 33 Years Old • Male

Jerseys In, Omark, Boyes and the Cap

You may have come here for the Omark, Boyes and the Cap part of the blog, but I'm going to make you stare at the complete new jersey's first.

Away



Home



The new uniforms have taken a simpler, more sleek approach than the previous set of jersey's. I like them, but my favorite is still the black armor alternate uniform.

I have to say, I did like the three teaser clips for the jersey's. It wasn't drawn out over too many days and you had to work to catch the still frame. Well done, Sharks.

On to the meat of this blog.

Linus Omark

It's no secret that Omark wants out of Edmonton, and Edmonton wants out of Omark. Many people think Omark has attitude problems and other personal issues that have caused a rift between the Oilers and the young player. I'm willing to put the past behind him.

Omark has an offensive upside, and has continued to play competitive hockey while in dispute over his NHL career with Edmonton.

After being drafted in the 4th round in 2007, Omark has some good numbers on a professional level:

- 55 points in 53 games in the SEL
- A 20-goal season in the KHL
- 31 points in 28 games for Oklahoma in the AHL

His rookie season in the NHL saw him notch 27 points in 51 games, but it was his second NHL season where the wheels started to fall off the bus. Omark recorded three goals in only 14 games during the 2010-2011 season and hasn't graced the ice at Rexall since. He added 16 more points in 18 games that season for Oklahoma in the AHL again. Last year, Omark played in the Swiss League, National League A, and had 69 points in 48 games.

I'm ready to take a chance on Omark, but the Oilers have to do something for me.

The Sharks are over the cap by a shade over $400K, so acquiring an unsigned Linus Omark would do nothing to help that. Omark is dead weight for the Oilers organization right now and you can't even imagine him in that lineup in your wildest dreams.

I talked, in previous blogs, about Martin Havlat and the LTIR, how the Sharks need to get under the cap before placing Havlat on said list. So, here's my offer, Oiler fans.

To San Jose

Linus Omark

To Edmonton

Andrew Desjardins($750K cap hit), 5th Rd 2014

In addition to the player and pick, the Sharks will eat $250K of Desjardins salary for 2013/14, leaving Edmonton with a $500K hit for Desjardins.

The market isn't going to be flooded with spectacular offers for Omark, otherwise he would have been dealt already.

So, what does San Jose get out of this deal?

Well, at first glance, giving up a player, pick and retaining salary may look outrageous to acquire a troubled player who has no problem bolting to Europe. That's at first glance. If you can get past the initial framework of the trade you can see just how much this trade benefits San Jose.

The Sharks are $406,667 over the salary cap as it stands right now. Trading Desjardins, a 4th line center, and retaining $250K of his salary this year would leave the Sharks with $93,333 in cap space. If you've read my previous blog about the cap situation you'll remember that I said the Sharks need to be as close to the cap ceiling as possible before they place Havlat on LTIR. Well, it doesn't get much closer than $93K.

That $93K cap space is the driving force behind this deal. That's what the Sharks really need. Acquiring Omark, and his offensive upside, as a project is just a bonus. In San Jose, Omark would have a chance to be a productive top-six forward, which is what he is looking for in an NHL opportunity.

After this deal, with the beautiful $93K space they now have, the Sharks place Martin Havlat on the LTIR list, opening up $4,906,667 in cap space to fill out their roster. Of course, a portion of that would go to re-signing Linus Omark to a contract. I don't think there is much doubt about Omarks abilities, it's more about his maturity and attitude, which would be an easier fix in the quiet California market.

Many projected lines for the Sharks have Joe Pavelski, and his $6M contract, centering the third line. Going with that theory, the Sharks have Marleau and Burns as top-six wingers. That means there are two spots open for the taking. Many people see Wingels, Hertl, Torres or Kennedy fill those two spots. Well, if the above deal went through, one of those spots would be Linus Omark's trial run. What about the other spot?

Brad Boyes

Boyes enjoyed renewed success in his stint on Long Island last year. Many people credit John Tavares with that, and I can see where they're coming from. How quickly, though, people forget about Boyes' play before he was a Buffalo Sabre. It wasn't until he went to Buffalo that his play to a sharp decline. I think Boyes could have success playing with Thornton or Couture, just as he did with John Tavares.

Boyes is one of those mystery discount wingers, a perfect fit for a cash-strapped team looking to upgrade their forward unit without disrupting the natural movement of things. There's nothing flashy about Brad Boyes, there will be no game plans to contain him and he can gel into a system with relative ease while accepting the role he is given.

Personally, I think that Boyes is a better option for a top-six winger role than Raffi Torres or Tyler Kennedy. Those are solid third line players, not solid second line players.

Torres and Kennedy could enjoy the third line with Joe Pavelski, a line with energy, physicality and some offensive threat. The fourth line would be any combination of Sheppard, Wingels, Hertl and Burish, which I wouldn't be upset over.

Most people would look at the Sharks defense and goaltending as the needed spots for upgrades, but I think their doing just fine.

I'm a Niemi fan and I don't think he gets enough credit for what he's done in his career so far. If you look at the top two goalies in free agency right now, Tim Thomas and Ilya Bryzgalov, they're 50 Shades of Crazy. Why would you want that on your team?

To upgrade at D is a costly expense, one that San Jose is in no position to make right now. After another year of solid defending, the Sharks have no need to pull the trigger on an immediate upgrade on the back end. If such an upgrade is going to occur it will most likely be part of a deal on, or around, the trade deadline that involved one of Thornton, Marleau or Boyle. Defensive upgrades come at a big ticket cost, and those three are going to be big tickets on the market this year if they're available.

In conclusion, Omark+Boyes 1-2 year deals, Sharks have new jersey's and it's still August.

That's all for now, thanks for reading!

Let me know what you think in the comments. Is $4.9M enough to sign Omark and Boyes? Is the Omark trade one that Oilers and Sharks can agree on? Let me have it.

Stay icy, Sharks fans.

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