The San Jose Sharks front office has been busy the last 24 hrs. Talks with multiple teams involving multiple players went on for multiple hours. In the end this is what's changed:
In
Martin Gerber - G
In Gerber, the Sharks upgrade their Garon to a legitimate #1. He's never really been given a great shot in the NHL at being a #1 even though when called upon, at times has been stellar and when not stellar than very good and steady.
Justin Williams - RW/LW
Justin comes in and goes from being the 5th best player on a team to by far the best player on his new squad! At 25 years old, this young man has still got some room to grow and along with young upcomer - Drew Stafford, could be the wingers the Sharks look to build their offense around.
GM Ryan was quoted as saying, "We're are very excited about bringing in a guy of Williams' calibre and look forward to years of watching him score goals!"
Jaroslav Modry - D
Modry is a solid defensive defenseman in the CPHL and has a very good pass. He's exactly what the team needed on the blueline. His experience will also go a long way in bringing this young team together.
Karri Ramo - G
Ramo is exactly what this team needed as well. A young goalie prospect with #1 potential on the verge of making the NHL. At 20yrs old, he's already got 2 NHL games under his belt and looks like the Lightning's #1 prospect in that position. The Sharks are betting he gets even more of a look next year and are very pleased with this aquisition.
GM RT about Ramo; "When you go out and get a veteran goalie, you have to have a young one in the fold too. Ramo is going to be a great goalie in the NHL and we're looking forward to seeing him in a Sharks uniform!"
Jonathan Sigalet - D
Sigalet's name came up on a trade block and the Sharks became very interested. Although some might say they are already deep in great defensive prospects, Sigalet could not be passed on in GM RT's opinion. "This kid is going to be a top line defender if he keeps progressing the way he did this year. We have high hopes for Jonathan!"
Also in are:
Dave Scatchard - RW 31yr 74OV, great PKing, defensive forward
Jassen Cullimore - D 34yr 74OV, solid defensive defenseman
2nd round pick(TB)
4th round pick(Cgy)
3rd rounder 2008 (Bos)
So, after that fairly long list you'd expect a fairly long list going the other way too, well....you'd be right:
Out
CPHL
Mathieu Garon G
Byron Ritchie RW
AHL
Igor Grigorenko RW
Anthony Stewart RW
Barry Tallackson LW
ECHL
Tomas Zaborsky C
Keith Seabrook D
Picks
1st round pick(Pitt)
3rd round pick(SJ)
3rd round pick(Clb)
3rd round pick(Wsh)
So, with that it's 10 in and 11 out. Judging by the fact that the Sharks need to move more bodies off their roster for upcoming draftees, look for the GM RT to try to move one of his current plethora of talented up-and-coming defenseman to make another upgrade on the roster.
Shark fans are begginning to take notice of the new manager's large quantity of moves too. One fan was quoted as saying,
"I think he's off to a good start. Bringing in a guy like Williams should really help this team!"
While yet another had a different view,
"What's he doing? I'm gonna really miss Ritchie. He was my favorite player and a great dressing room guy. This is a sad day for Shark fans."
Obviously some fans in the San Jose area aren't quite up to speed as others yet, and why should they be? They've had nothing to cheer for since the first year of the CPHL. Hopefully though, with more moves like these the Sharks can build up a good, intelligent fan base and bring in some more sponsorship money as well.
Sharks Attack!
