Niemi, who is coming off a Stanley Cup victory with the Chicago Blackhawks, was recently awarded $2.75M in salary arbitration due to his fantastic rookie campaign.

Despite his impressive performance as a rookie, the Blackhawks decided the $2.75 million mark to be out of their price range due to their current salary cap limitations.

This left Niemi to become a unrestricted free agent but long after the original free agency date of July 1st and so the goalie market had already proved to be extremely thin with all types of goaltenders having to settle for smaller deals.

After all, most NHL GMs have noticed that the recent Cup winning goaltenders haven't been the big-name, high-priced names that dominated in the past.

Naturally, most teams are now allocating less money to the goaltending position than they have in years past.

As for the Sharks, and their GM Doug Wilson, this philosophy of paying more for defense and less for netminding was thought to be included in their offseason plans.

Instead of re-signing long time starting goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, the Sharks decided to sign the now former Tampa Bay Lightning starter Antero Niittymaki to a two-year $4M dollar deal on the opening day of free agency.

Nabokov was looking for upwards of $5-6 million per year and the Sharks felt that money would be better spent at other positions.

But if the reports are true that the Sharks are going to sign Niemi to a $2M/year contract, then the philosophy San Jose is applying begins to get fuzzy.

Why sign two different goalies with similar question marks to decently sized contracts, when the idea earlier in the offseason was to spread the money to other positions?

Niemi and Niittymaki will now combine for $4 million this season, which is only a fraction less than what it would have taken to bring back Nabokov.

So unless the Sharks trade Niittymaki or get an abnormally increased level of play from their returning defensemen, San Jose will be clearly worse than they were last year.

With or without Niemi, the Sharks have less talent at defense and forward than they had last season and will now have bigger question marks between the pipes.

Of course, Wilson could have a trade for a premier defenseman in the works.

However, if that is true, how does he acquire a top notch defenseman without giving up a top notch forward?

By signing Niemi, the Sharks wiggle room with the cap takes a solid hit, and it now becomes difficult to add on the contract of a top defenseman without giving up a top-six forward.

Sure, San Jose could trade Niittymaki, Kent Huskins, and Niclas Wallin for a top notch defenseman and that would work out salary cap wise.

However, this is real life and not NHL 2011. Teams can't just trade older and inconsistent players for top notch stars.

In the end, these Niemi rumors to the Sharks don't make sense.

The Sharks said they were going to spend money on defense instead of goaltending.

Signing Niemi would be doing the opposite.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

In the world of sports, the phrase "dog days of summer" is usually used in reference to professional baseball. After all, baseball is the only major U.S. sport in mid-season during the summer months.

But more specifically, the use of "dog days" refers to (give or take) the final four-six weeks of summer, centering around the month of August.

And with August 2010 now under way, fans of playoff contending baseball teams around are hoping their teams can stay in contention through arguably the toughest month of the season.

Now while baseball is in midseason form, hockey fans have essentially the same right to complain about the month of August.

Or in their minds, they have a larger reason to complain about August since it is the least exciting month of the year for them.

Of all the offseason months, August is clearly the down time for hockey fans. Furthermore, the Bay Area hockey fans who follow the San Jose Sharks know just how long it sometimes takes for big hockey news to arrive during the offseason.

San Jose GM Doug Wilson has a penchant for taking his time when finalizing his biggest offseason moves and who knows if the much anticipated trade for a defenseman will come to fruition before the end of the month.

Last season, the Dany Heatley trade wasn't finalized till mid-September and Wilson always talks about his team not being 100 percent put together until the mid-season trade deadline.

Right now, for Sharks fans, the game isn't just wait and see, it's more like: wait, wait, wait, and then see.

While it is fair for Sharks fans to be a bit impatient with the lack of big moves thus far over the offseason, the smart ones know that eventually a move will be made.

And considering Wilson has brought them the likes of Joe Thornton, Dan Boyle, and the aforementioned Heatley via trade, Sharks fans should feel comfortable that the trade to bolster the blueline will come...eventually.

But as fans play the wait, wait, wait and see game, why not just take a gander at what the Sharks starting lineup might be if the season started tomorrow.

At forward, the Sharks seem pretty much set even after losing Manny Malhotra to free agency.

If they were to play a game tomorrow, the forwards would probably look as follows:

Marleau-Thornton-Heatley

Clowe-Pavelski-Setoguchi

McGinn-Couture-Mitchell

McLaren-Nichol-Mayers

Pretty similar to last season right? Not much of a drop of when you consider the fourth line is improved from last season, and Couture is bound to make strides in his second year of professional hockey.

And for those Sharks fans (like yours truly) who are thinking that a mix up of lines to start the year would be ideal, an interesting option remains.

Couture, San Jose's ninth overall selection in the 2007 draft, is an offensive player and his potential is in top-six, not bottom six. So perhaps moving him up to the second line and subsequently creating a faster third line would be a smart move.

Those revamped lines could look as follows:

Couture-Pavelski-Clowe

McGinn-Mitchell-Setoguchi

Either way, the Sharks have plenty of talent up front, and will be just as prolific offensively as they were last season.

Defensively however, the loss of Rob Blake to retirement is still a huge void that hasn't been filled.

At this point the starting six defenders would probably be as follows:

Boyle-Murray

Vlasic-Demers

Huskins-Wallin

It isn't rocket science to figure out why Sharks fans and the GM himself have been interested in adding more talent to the blueline.

The group is missing that true shut-down defender with decent offensive production. That said, if the Sharks don't trade for a defenseman prior to the season, seeing how Demers handles playing with Vlasic on the second pairing could be a decent fall back plan.

Demers played in 51 games as a rookie and posted an impressive 21 points. In the postseason he played all 15 games and posted five points. Offensively, Demers was a significant force all year long.

Of course, with the positives come the negative and Demers was at times awful in his own end as a rookie and the rest of the time he was merely below average.

But if we outsiders know that, you can be certain Demers knows that and he might just be the most motivated player on the team to improve upon his individual play from last season.

Obviously the Sharks are looking to upgrade their top-4 defense group and common sense would suggest Demers is still two-three seasons away from taking on that role, but perhaps the second year defenseman proves ready for that role earlier than expected.

If the season started tomorrow, first-year Shark goaltender Antero Niittymaki would start between the pipes.

With Thomas Greiss backing him up, it is obvious team teal is going with the lesser known goaltenders in hopes that they can catch lightning in a bottle as other teams have in recent seasons at the goaltending position.

Between the two netminders, San Jose has plenty of options to find the right man for the playoffs.

While pessimists will say the Sharks are clearly worse off with Niittymaki than they were with Nabokov, the fact remains that keeping around Marleau and Pavelski was more important.

The goalies currently on the roster can suffice for the regular season and the Sharks will still be a top-5 seed in the Western Conference next season.

And who knows, maybe Greiss will be the starter come the postseason and a rookie goalie will end up winning the Stanley Cup for a second straight season.

Since the calendar reads August, all we hockey fans can do is speculate.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

The San Jose Sharks have already signed a free agent goalie to replace long time starter Evgeni Nabokov. His name is Antero Niittymaki.

And if you talk to Sharks GM Doug Wilson, he will tell you that the organization has already found "their guy".

But with the news that the Chicago Blackhawks have let their Stanley Cup winning netminder, Antti Niemi, walk as an unrestricted free agent, the thought of seeing him in teal next season is extremely intriguing.

Now, while some fans claim that Niemi looked better than he actually is because of the extremely talented defensive group Chicago had last year, another group of fans is quick to point out that Cristobal Huet struggled in the Blackhawks' net with the same defensive corps.

No matter how good the defense was in front of him, props have to be given to a rookie goaltender who was able to put the following numbers:

Regular season: 26-7-4 record, 2.25 GAA, .912 SV %, seven SHO

That is correct—Niemi posted just as many shutouts as regulation losses.

Conversely, Chicago's prior No. 1 goalie before Niemi took over posted the following regular season numbers:

26-14-4, 2.50 GAA, .895 SV %, four SHO

And remember, Cristobal Huet was suppose to be a top-caliber goaltender who had some good years with Montreal and half a season with Washington before coming over to Chicago.

But Niemi took over and was the backbone for the Blackhawks in their run to the Stanley Cup.

And yet, his team thinks he is too pricey at $2.75M? Ouch, talk about money issues for Chicago if they can't afford to pay their Cup-winning goaltender half of what Nabokov made last season for San Jose.

Speaking of San Jose, where else would be a better landing spot for Niemi?

The Sharks were swept out of the playoffs by Niemi's Blackhawks in the Western Conference Finals last season, and team teal is eager to come back next season and return the favor.

Niemi obviously can't feel very appreciated by his now former club, and joining the Sharks, a team that is arguably the biggest threat to dethrone the defending champs, makes all too much sense.

Remember, if you're a Bay Area sports follower, this type of scenario isn't unprecedented. 

Back in 1994, the San Francisco 49ers were coming off a second straight NFC championship loss to the Dallas Cowboys. And with a chance to bring one of Dallas' key contributors over to their team for the following season, the 49ers decided it was a can't miss opportunity.

Eddie Debartolo Jr. and company brought Cowboys stud linebacker Ken Norton Jr. over to play for the 49ers. During the 1994 season, the 49ers ended up beating the Cowboys twice, including in the NFC championship game, en route to winning the franchise's fifth Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl XXIX.

Ken Norton Jr. was one of the key leaders of that 49er defense and without him, the 49ers might not have been the first NFL team to win five Super Bowls.

Now the Sharks haven't lost two straight Conference finals to the Blackhawks the way the 49ers had lost two straight to the Cowboys, but the analogy holds true nonetheless. A key contributor from the team that ended their title run a year ago is available, and bringing him in could be the answer.

After all, Norton Jr. had the following to say when he came over to the 49ers: "When I finally got here, I realized just how hungry this team was."

In other words, Norton Jr. was impressed by the drive his 49ers' teammates had to get past their demons and get to the top of the mountain. Already having been there, Norton was motivated to stay there and bring his new teammates alongside him.

That said, if Niemi wants to stay on top of the hockey mountain next season, San Jose is the place to be.

Sure, this San Jose team has yet to win the Cup, but like how the 1994 49ers were sick of losing, this Sharks team is sick of losing.

They are sick of having top level talent but not getting the job done.

If Niemi can't be with Chicago, what other team gives him a better chance to win a second straight Stanley Cup, and beat his former employers in the process?

Now, time will tell if the Sharks are going to make a serious run at bringing Niemi aboard. Depending on the cap room available and whether or not they want to bring in another goalie with Niittymaki already signed, they may or may not look into bringing him on. But as a Bay Area fan, it is at least fun to ponder the possibility of Niemi coming over.

And even if the move doesn't come to fruition, looking back at the last Bay Area team to win a championship is never a bad thing.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

In fact, from Mid-July to the start of team training camps in September is probably the least exciting time period of the year for hockey fans.

Even this season, with a few significant free agents yet to sign, and blockbuster offseason trades still being made, the overall lack of movement and lack of team practices during this portion of the year makes die hard hockey followers claim to be going through withdrawals.

So when the time of year comes around with the least amount of buzz and news across the league, what are fans to do?

Well, there is always the in depth analysis at the obvious positions of need for each club.

However, when it comes to the San Jose Sharks, the blogs and columns writing about upgrading the defense have already been written...by EVERYONE.

From the most casual fan, to the top writers here on BR, to the professional beat writers, everyone has given their input on how San Jose should upgrade the blue-line.

Making a change at defense has been the talk of the town since the end of the Sharks' season. With the moves San Jose has made since, the defense discussions have only ratcheted up.

Unfortunately, the only thing fans can do is attempt to be patient on the potential defensive upgrade. Something that is easier said than done for fans who enjoy watching the fastest sport in the world.

So with fans playing the wait and see game as the offseason slowly creeps along, and the views of yours truly on San Jose's third line center vacancy already available (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419895-mike-modano-why-the-sharks-should-kick-the-tires-on-the-former-star ) what is left to discuss?

Nothing but conjecture.

And any conjecture coming from Sharks writers during the dog days of summer could have been easily offered up much earlier in the offseason.

But since serious talks about up and coming Shark forward Jamie McGinn playing a much larger role next season haven't hit the forums as of yet, it feels like an adequate time to bring them to the table.

McGinn will be a 25+ goal scorer next season if given top-six ice time and because of that potential, current Sharks top-six forward Ryane Clowe is expendable.

That's right, I said it.

Clowe is expendable because of the presence of McGinn, a player who still hasn't out-grown his nobody jersey number of 64 despite playing in 94 games in parts of two seasons with the Sharks.

Now in those 94 regular season games, McGinn has scored just 14 goals and to go along with five assists for a total of 19 points.

Not exactly eye popping production, nor average production at that.

However, those who look purely at the point totals in such a short sample of NHL experience and label McGinn a certain type of mere role player are selling the kid extremely short.

His .132 career shooting percentage is higher that that of Clowe's (.125), Devin Setoguchi's (.120), and Joe Pavelski's (.102).

Granted McGinn doesn't have the service time in the league nor ice time per game to match the trio of Sharks that made up San Jose's second line last year, but the numbers don't lie.

He buries a higher percentage of the shots he takes.

Does that alone show he has more potential than each of the current members of San Jose's second line?

No, not necessarily. Having a higher shooting percentage means he could be getting lucky early in his career and facing less talented defenders than his more established teammates.

But when you watch McGinn on film, you can see the kid has a rocket of a shot, a wrister that has more accuracy and power than both Clowe and Setoguchi, and arguably even more than Pavelski.

Plus despite averaging just 7:45 in ice time per game during the postseason on a fourth line with just him, Scott Nichol, and a rotating right wing (San Jose often went with seven defenseman), McGinn finished a plus for the playoffs.

Sure, it was only plus-one, but being able to perform defensively with only one consistent linemate is quite impressive.

Conversely, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany Heatley all finished in the minus for the postseason.

What does that say about McGinn, that he was able to finish in the plus even though he didn't record a single point in the playoffs?

It says that the 21-year-old kid did his job.

He wasn't asked to score, he was asked to give his team quality minutes and keep the other team off the scoreboard.

The kid worked his tail off each and every shift of every game, and it was noticeable from everyone who watched the Sharks this past season.

Add that work ethic to a skating speed faster than Clowe, Pavelski, Thornton, and Heatley, and it is incredibly easy to become a fan of "Ginner."

McGinn can flat out fly. He isn't as naturally gifted with speed as is Marleau or Setoguchi, but the acceleration in his first few strides allows him to be in the conversation of one of the faster Sharks forwards.

Essentially, McGinn has better speed, a better shot, and is just as tenacious a forward as the man who wears No. 29 for the Sharks.

He may not drop the gloves as frequently or dominate along the boards as well as Clowe does, but his much more elite skating and shooting ability allows him much more potential offensive production.

Even if McGinn's scoring rate doesn't improve from this past season, if his TOI is increased from 10 minutes per to 15 minutes per and games played increased from 59 to 82, he will more than double his goal total to 21 next season.

Yet with a year of growth and experience, plus the benefit of playing alongside better skilled linemates on San Jose's second scoring line, McGinn's goal scoring clip should naturally increase.

Therefore, if the Sharks put McGinn on that second line, he will bag 25 goals alongside Pavelski and Setoguchi.

And that potential goal scoring prowess should allow Sharks GM Doug Wilson to be comfortable enough in packaging Clowe in a deal for the defenseman that the Sharks so desperately need.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

In other words, Modano had been playing at the NHL level as a member the Dallas Stars for longer than both myself and the Sharks have been alive.

Both born in 1991, the Sharks and I obviously share the same appreciation for the amazing career Modano has already accomplished, because reports amongst the professional hockey writers suggest the Sharks are interested in Modano's services.

And despite his increased age, the truth is that the Sharks would be failing their fan base if they didn't at least consider bringing in the career long Star center.

After all, not only do the Sharks have a third line center vacancy with the loss of Manny Malhotra to Vancouver, but next to Dallas, what other organization better understands the value Modano can bring to a team?

Not only did San Jose's GM Doug Wilson play against Modano at the NHL level and has obvious first hand experience as to the player Modano is on the ice, but playing in the same division all these years has also added to Wilson's knowledge of what Modano can bring to the table—even at 40 years old.

Similarly to how Wilson brought in Rob Blake for the past two seasons (a future hall of famer who played mostly with a Sharks' division rival), it wouldn't be surprising at all if Wilson brought in Modano.

Furthermore, Modano has torched the Sharks over the years and has subsequently been referred to as one of the infamous "Shark killers."

Especially when playing at the HP Pavilion, San Jose's home arena, Modano has averaged almost a point per game. In 38 career games, Modano has been good for 36 points, and two of which he will never forget.

In November of the 2007-08 season, Modano scored two quick first period goals on the road against San Jose that tied and then surpassed the retired Phil Housley for the most career points of any American born player.

And while any road arena would have acknowledged this accomplishment, Sharks fans gave a more than adequate standing ovation in appreciation for a tremendous accomplishment.

Clearly, while Modano has been a "Shark killer," he has done so in the most respectful and sportsmanlike manner possible (unlike say Corey Perry *cough* or Chris Pronger *cough*).

It shouldn't go unnoticed that while Sharks fans have been tortured by Modano one-timers over the years, they would be only so eager to open up their arms and switch from being disappointed when Modano scores to absolutely ecstatic.

"Sharks goal, scored by No. 9, Mike Modanoooo;" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Now not only does adding Modano make sense for leadership, scoring depth, and championship experience (or in other words for just being Mike "friggen" Modano), but with Malhotra out of the picture, the Sharks don't have an ideal third line center.

Granted Malhotra and Modano bring two different styles to the third line center role, but both can provide value in different ways at that spot in the lineup.

Modano's scoring touch, play making ability and vast amount of playoff experience is a different combination of assets than Malhotra's defensive prowess, face off domination, and physicality.

And it could be argued that Modano's assets could be more of what the Sharks need to get them over the hump to their first Stanley Cup victory.

Of course, with Malhotra being only 30, San Jose could have had a defensive style third line center for many years to come and at Modano's age, he will probably only be a one-year stop gap fill in.

But even if Modano only has a year left of solid play, a couple of notions should be pointed out to how valuable that one year would be to the Sharks.

First of all, over the last three seasons, Modano has managed to still be an over a half point per game player.

Since the 2007-08 season started, Modano has played 221 regular season games and amassed 133 points in that time frame.

Doing the math, Modano has averaged .6 points per game over that time frame which is still quality production. And even in an injury shortened season last year, Modano still averaged over a half point per game by racking up 30 points in 59 games.

If he can stay healthy for the entire season, it wouldn't be wrong to pencil him in for 40-45 points.

That type of production (even if he were to finish a little shy of a half point per game) would be a big part of the solution to the secondary scoring hole the Sharks had last season.

And secondly, the experience and knowledge gained by youngsters Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, and Torrey Mitchell by playing alongside Modano would be immeasurable.

Not only would all three benefit from playing alongside Modano but the one who has the potential to reap the most benefits would have to be Couture. The former first round pick (No. 9 overall in 2007) is coming off an impressive first year in pro hockey where he was an AHL All-Star and scored eight goals in his final 25 games combined between the end of the regular season and playoffs for the big club.

While big things are expected from Couture in the long run, either way it would be asking a lot of the 21-year-old to take over as the main third line center in just his first full year at the NHL level.

But given time to learn from Modano for a season, and Couture's time table to reaching his potential could be drastically reduced.

Therefore, bringing Modano to San Jose would do much more than just fill a need for the upcoming season as it would also help improve the Sharks roster for future seasons.

Not only can Modano still play an effective role, but that tutelage of the younger forwards would make his signing an even better move than bringing in a run of the mill free agent.

And when all is said done, many superstar athletes didn't finish their careers with the same team that they spent their primes with.

Joe Montana didn't finish his career with the 49ers, and Willie Mays didn't finish his career with the Giants.

Modano doesn't have to finish his career with Dallas, and San Jose would be more than a welcome fit.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

Now as a restricted free agent, this offer kicked into gear a period of seven days in which the Blackhawks had to decide whether or not to match San Jose's offer.

And despite most fans and experts believing Chicago would take the full seven days to mull over their decision, Yahoo Sports is reporting today that the Blackhawks have indeed matched San Jose's offer.

Had they declined to match, the Blackhawks would have been compensated with San Jose's first and third round draft choices from next year's draft, but with today's news, it is obvious that Chicago believes Hjalmarsson to be critical to their future success.

While it shouldn't come as a surprise that Chicago matched San Jose's offer, many NHL followers figured the Blackhawks might just let Hjalmarsson walk because of their salary cap issues.

Not only is Chicago still in a position where they need to shed more big contracts, but with defenseman like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Brian Campbell on the roster, one can see why some out there believed the chances were high that Hjalmarsson would become a Shark.

But unfortunately for Sharks fans, the hopes of seeing Hjalmarsson wearing teal next season have been completely squashed today and fans will have to settle for a less exciting bonus.

They didn't get the huge bonus of adding a top-four quality defenseman, but they have forced Chicago into a heavy raise for Hjalmarsson and subsequently into bigger cap problems.

Therefore, even though the Sharks were swept by Chicago in the Western Conference final this past season, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that at this point in time, San Jose looks more primed to return to the Conference finals than their foes.

After all, with Chicago trading away the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, and others, the Blackhawks are worse off than they were last season.

For Sharks fans, a trade fury dump of similar players would have been Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi, Torrey Mitchell, and Logan Couture.

Clearly, Chicago is going to have a much different looking lineup next season while the Sharks, as it currently stands, have almost the entire team coming back from last season.

Minus a change in goal (which, with Nabokov's playoff inconsistencies isn't a big loss) and the loss of third line center Manny Malhotra, the Sharks bring back all the marquee contributors.

Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Dan Boyle are all returning for another year in San Jose.

But that said, even with the Sharks returning all the big dogs, and Chicago losing many key contributors, NHL writers and fans alike still agree that San Jose is need of a major defensive upgrade if they want to beat the best of the best in the postseason.

And with Sharks GM Doug Wilson having attempted to snatch Hjalmarsson away from Chicago, it is clear that San Jose agrees with the writers and fans that they need help on the blue line.

After all, besides Dan Boyle, the Sharks don't have another clear-cut top-three caliber defenseman. Douglas Murray (Boyle's main partner for last season) is more of a number four than he is a number two type defender, and the smooth skating Marc-Edouard Vlasic doesn't bring the necessary offensive consistency of a top-three.

Rounding out the defenders on the roster (who saw time in the NHL last season) are Jason Demers, Kent Huskins, Niclas Wallin, Jay Leach, and Derek Joslin.

Demers had an impressive rookie year offensively, but was a disappointment in his own end during the entirety of the regular season and because of it saw limited ice time in the postseason. Chances are he isn't ready for a top-four role just yet.

Huskins doesn't bring much to the table offensively but as a fifth/sixth defenseman, he is as reliable as they come in the defensive end.

Wallin, and his brand spanking new $2.5 million contract for next season has no business being anything higher than a No. 5 defenseman as he is older and brings less to the table than Huskins.

Leach is a perfect seventh defenseman who can play 20-30 games, filling in for injury, but his lack of any offensive talent and suspect decision making limits his ability to establish himself as anything better than a No. 7.

Joslin is a promising young defenseman with offensive and defensive upside—and at 23 years old, he may be just coming into his own with the chance to become San Jose's main No. 6 defenseman.

Now putting all these defenders together and the picture comes clear on what San Jose is missing.

Boyle- No. 1

Vlasic- No. 3/4

Murray- No. 4

Demers- No. 4/5

Huskins- No. 5/6

Wallin- No. 5/6

Leach- No. 6/7

Joslin- No. 6/7/8

Where is the No. 2 defenseman? Murray played that role alongside Boyle last year but he isn't the clear cut, prototypical No. 2 guy and neither is Vlasic.

Demers has No. 2 potential but he may not even be ready for No. 4 duties just yet.

The Sharks still need that second go to defender after Boyle and thus far during free agency they haven't made it happen.

Defensemen like Sergei Gonchar, Dan Hamuis, Paul Martin, Anton Volchenkov, Pavel Kubina, Zybnek Michalek, and Braydon Coburn were all free agents the Sharks could have signed but for whatever reason they couldn't find away to sign a single one of them.

Each and every one of them would have brought the Sharks top-two caliber ice time to the defensive corps but San Jose wasn't able to sign any of them.

So what options remain for San Jose?

Are there any unrestricted free agent defensemen left to fill a No. 2 void?

Andy Sutton maybe, but at his age he's more of a No. 4 shut down defender than a No. 2 and he would only be a stop gap.

And as for restricted free agents, there are Columbus' Anton Stralman, Calgary's Ian White, and Dallas' Nicklas Grossman.

White is arguably the best of that group but he has recently filed for arbitration so while he could potentially become an unrestricted free agent, it would be surprising if the Flames just let him walk free.

Stralman and Grossman have No. 2 potential but they have yet to fully establish themselves as consistent top-four quality defenders.

Essentially, all the options the Sharks have left available in free agency bring major question marks.

With that in mind, expect the Sharks to make yet another block buster trade for a third offeason in a row.

Based on the talents of the last two offseason acquisitions by the Sharks (Dan Boyle and Dany Heatley) possible trade targets for San Jose could be names even the casual fan is familiar with.

Tomas Kaberle, Shea Weber, Erik Johnson, Tobias Enstrom, Ryan Suter, Andrei Markov, and Marc Staal are just some of the defenseman that could soon be living in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com

Now sure, when I was younger (during the early part of Nabokov's career) I would chant Nabby's name when attending Sharks games at the HP Pavilion.

But since beginning to play the game competitively in high school, and now into college, I have become much more analytical about the game and consequently much less of a supporter of Nabokov's game.

While being a fan means hoping for every player wearing the jersey to play well, it was only too easy to be negative-minded when it came to the Sharks' No. 1 netminder.

Despite being consistently dominant from year to year in the regular season over his career, his performances in the playoffs and in international play have been anything but consistent.

To be fair, Nabokov's career post-season marks of a .913 save percentage and 2.29 GAA are smidges better than his career regular season marks of .912 and 2.39; the playoff version of Nabokov was essentially Jeckyll and Hyde.

During the 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, and 2010 playoffs, Nabokov turned in save percentages of .903, .904, .907, .890, and .907, respectively.

Five different playoff years with his save percentage significantly lower than his career playoff average of .913.

How does that make any sense?

Well, because his two other playoff seasons saw the Russian netminder post incredible marks of .920 and .935 in five combined playoff series over those two seasons.

Therefore, in reality, Nabokov's career playoff marks are skewed. He really had five amazing playoff series over two years, and nine sub-par playoff series' over five years. They are incredibly inconsistent playoff numbers compared to his consistent dominance in the regular season.

And those inconsistencies are magnified, when adding in his mediocre play for Team Russia. He dominated at times during World Championships, but was hideously awful in the 2010 Olympics.

But it wasn't just his poor play in big games that left fans scratching their heads, but also the tendency to allow the soft goal.

Often times, the softies were direct results of lapses in concentration. Too many times, it would seem like Nabokov would get caught sleeping and not maxing out 100 percent effort to make saves.

And when fans see players, like Jeremy Roenick and Dan Boyle, fighting for every inch of ice and looking vehemently pissed off after a loss, it makes fans question those, like Nabokov, who don't look like they care nearly as much as their teammates.

Now I have never been in the Sharks locker room and I play more roller hockey than I do ice hockey.

I don't claim to be the expert source on how much players care about winning compared to making money.

However, from what has developed amongst the Sharks franchise over the years, it is difficult not to believe that players like Boyle and Roenick have had a larger desire to win the Stanley Cup than a player like Nabokov.

Furthermore, since Nabokov has now inked a four-year deal to play closer to his Russian roots in the KHL, it only heightens the questions about his desire to win the Stanley Cup.

The four-year contract essentially means that Nabokov has ended his NHL career.

And it begs the question, just how motivated was Nabokov to win the Stanley Cup? Was it his life long dream?

If he were in Jeremy Roenick's shoes when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup this year, would he cry because he "never got to do that?"

To me, the players GM's should want on their team are players that wouldn't give up on the dream of winning a Stanley Cup just because they could make more money overseas.

GM's should want players that would rather win one Stanley Cup in a 10-year, injury-shortened career than a player who would rather play for a healthy 20 years without a Stanley Cup.

From an outside perspective, it wouldn't surprise me if Nabokov would prefer the 20-year career without a Stanley Cup.

Since he has now all but given up on the chance at winning the Cup, it makes all too much sense.

Nabokov loves money more than winning. Sure, he enjoys winning, but he doesn't love it. Losing a game versus winning it to him isn't a big difference.

Being paid what he thinks he deserves is much more important.

Despite being quoted after the Sharks' season ended that he wanted to return and be a a part of the first Sharks team to win the Stanley Cup, Nabokov also went on to say that his coming back to the Sharks wasn't up to him.

And those marks couldn't be any further from the truth. You can bet that the Sharks organization would have loved to have Nabokov back had Nabokov offered to shed about half his salary due to his age and the team needing to better the club in other areas.

Had Nabokov truly wanted to come back to the Sharks (regardless of money) for another chance at the Cup with the only NHL franchise he's ever known, San Jose would have signed him in an instant at the price and years they felt appropriate for a 35-year-old starting netminder.

But Nabokov has decided to play for the highest bidder, SKA St. Petersburg, a franchise in the KHL which has zero chance at winning the Stanley Cup.

Now tell me a professional athlete in their right mind that would give up on their dream when that dream is still a definite possibility? (aka, the athlete still has plenty of game left in the tank).

There isn't one.

In other words, winning the Stanley Cup wasn't Nabokov's dream.

Sure, he would have enjoyed winning it, but it isn't his lifelong dream as it is for Boyle and Roenick.

And since I am convinced that Nabokov didn't want the Cup as bad as most other NHL players, I say good riddance from San Jose.

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During the 2006-07 season, Wilson traded for power forward Bill Guerin at the deadline to bolster what in his mind was a top forward group in need of extra punch.

The following season Wilson traded for puck moving defenseman Brian Campbell because he felt his team needed more offense from the blue-line.

Now along with two first round picks, the players given up in these deals were Ville Nieminen, who despite being just 33 years old is already out of the NHL, and Steve Bernier, who has not lived up to his first round draft slot. Bernier's career high of 32 points was quite low for being drafted 16th overall in 2003 and he spent just one year in Buffalo before moving onto Vancouver and now Florida.

While the first round draft choices San Jose gave up could end up being quality players, the Sharks got plenty of value in return for their offerings. Sure, neither Guerin or Campbell signed extensions with the Sharks but both of them played excellent hockey in their short time by the Bay.

Therefore, given the information at hand, neither trade is as bad as certain fans like to claim. Since the Sharks' draft choices given up were late first round selections, it's safe to say that both trades were executed perfectly.

And when Campbell decided not to re-sign with the Sharks, Wilson went out and traded for an even better replacement in Dan Boyle over the offseason.

Bringing in Boyle was another big splash that has worked out quite nicely for San Jose. (Again, Guerin and Campbell didn't stay long but they were extremely valuable during their time in Northern California). Boyle, has also been extremely valuable for San Jose and fortunately this time around the Sharks have Boyle locked under contract.

Boyle has now spent two seasons as a Shark, (2008-09, 2009-10) and has been a vital cog to the organization.

Wilson hasn't stopped with the Boyle deal however, as prior to this past season he made another big offseason trade.

Despite great development in the likes of young forwards in Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi, and Joe Pavelski, Wilson realized his team still didn't have that extra offensive punch that Guerin brought in '07.

Feeling this way, Wilson went out and traded for superstar winger Dany Heatley. While the Heater had an inconsistent postseason, he was remarkable during the 82 game season and is a key talent the Sharks need to win Stanley Cups.

These are our four big time headline trades. You know the ones that make the news on SportsCenter even though ESPN never talks about hockey? Yeah, those types of moves.

Oh, and I didn't even mention the trade to acquire Joe Thornton in 2005. Make that five headline trades.

Wilson has no fear.

That said, he has traded away some talented players in Matt Carle, and Milan Michalek who look to have long careers ahead of them in the NHL. And not only that, Carle looks to be a top-2 defenseman for the rest of his career and Michalek is a top-6 forward.

Those are the risks that teams take when trading for talent.  T they have to give up talent in return. Fortunately, Wilson has made a handful of steals (gaining more talent in a trade than giving up) throughout his tenure as GM.

Since Wilson is known to deal, it isn't a surprise that he has yet to make a big splash during this year's offseason.

Not filling the team's biggest hole in the first couple days of free agency is normal for Wilson.

Hence, this lull in offseason news isn't anything new for Sharks fans.

Yes, they signed a new goalie on the first day of free agency in Antero Niittymaki, but at $2 million dollars annually, Niittymaki isn't going to be the biggest move the Sharks make this offseason.

The biggest hole on this team is a top-4 defenseman. With Rob Blake retiring, the Sharks are in need of either another offensive top-4 defender or (what most fans prefer) a 25-30 point defenseman whose calling card is his defensive play.

However, the bad news is that the best available free agent defenseman have been signed and the only ones left available with top-4 potential have yet to live up to that billing.

Of course, the Sharks could go the trade route. As mentioned earlier, the Sharks are quite used to adding new players via trade.

But this season, who are the Sharks willing to give up? Normally the Sharks have some under-performing talent that they can afford to give up on but this offseason they don't have any of that.

Any trade for a top-4 defenseman would have to involve either Ryane Clowe or Devin Setoguchi and would that really be a benefit?

To lose either player without replacing them with another forward would be a set back for the Sharks.

Furthermore, any available free agent with the talent to replace either Clowe or Setoguchi wouldn't give the Sharks as much bang for their buck on that second scoring line.

Needless to say, if the Sharks trade for a top-4 defender, then they will be left with a gaping hole at forward.

If instead they choose to take a flier on one of the currently available defenseman, (who have top-4 potential) they will be taking a major risk. Who knows if the defender they sign actually lives up to that potential?

Either decision the Sharks make now is a bigger risk than it would have been to sign one of the better available free agent defenseman on day one of free agency.

So while not adding that marquee free agent right away is a familiar Shark tactic, it is puzzling why they didn't change things up this year.

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With the trend of unheralded goaltenders succeeding in the NHL, the Sharks' front office (headed by general manager Doug Wilson) made their first critical decision of the offseason by parting ways with starting netminder Evgeni Nabokov.

Nabokov, who had been dominant in the regular season over the past decade, made over $5 million last season and wasn't going to take a discount to stay in San Jose.

Essentially, the Sharks knew they could only afford to bring back either Nabokov or star forward Patrick Marleau. Both are premier players in the NHL and it was obvious before this past season ended that each one will get the money they want somewhere, somehow.

It came down to one or the other and the Sharks stuck with their former captain who was the only Shark who played phenomenal hockey in the Conference Finals.

By re-signing Marleau and second line center Joe Pavelski in the same day, the Sharks were on track for an excellent offseason.

Former defenseman Rob Blake retired (Sharks get younger and better by subtraction), Nabokov is allowed to walk (even the biggest Nabokov fans have agreed with this move), and star forwards in Marleau and Pavelski were brought back for the long term.

Everything was going well in Shark land.

Until a couple of days ago.

When the San Jose Sharks re-signed defenseman Niclas Wallin, it was quite surprising to see the money given to a defenseman of his stature. You can see my full thoughts on the subject here : 

The main problem with the Wallin deal ($2.5M, one year) is that he made $1.7M between Carolina and San Jose last season. Whether he was hurt or not, he clearly didn't outplay his contract and at his older age, he wasn't a candidate to be overpaid for in free agency.

San Jose didn't need to pay him this much money and combined with events that took place earlier today (the first day of free agency), this signing has prevented the Sharks from making more critical moves.

Thus far during the six hours of free agency, the only new free agent they have acquired is former Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyer backup netminder Antero Niittymaki.

While the Sharks were in the market for a cheap veteran goalie, Niittymaki has been signed to a two-year, $4M contract which is by far more than the Finnish netminder deserves.

Last year with Tampa Bay, Niittymaki made $600K and posted the following numbers:

Games: 49 Starts: 46 SV%: .909 GAA: 2.87

Conversely, fellow free-agent goaltender Chris Mason signed for $3.7 million over two years with the Atlanta Thrashers. His numbers with the St. Louis Blues last season are as follows:

Games: 61 Starts: 61 SV%: .913 GAA: 2.53

Clearly, Mason had the better season last year by the numbers. Now it can be argued that St. Louis wasn't as porous defensively as Tampa Bay; the career numbers from Mason to Niittymaki are even bigger of a discrepancy.

Mason's career save percentage stands at .914; Niittymaki, on the other hand, comes in at just .903.

Not only did the Sharks clearly overpay for Niittymaki because of the mediocre numbers he has posted compared to Mason, but because the market isn't in the favor of the goaltenders this season.

Cheap goaltenders are the ones having the most success in recent years, and there are bound to be goalies available deeper into free agency for much cheaper than what the Sharks signed Niittymaki.

But by making a move right out of the gate in the goaltender position, the Sharks not only show a lack of faith in the goaltenders already on their depth chart, but limit the money available to spend elsewhere.

It's not simply that Niittymaki and Wallin aren't capable of giving San Jose quality minutes next season (it is possible they live up to their contracts), but rather their contracts prevent the Sharks from re-signing and signing other, more dynamic/critical players.

And you can almost guarantee that neither Wallin nor Niittymaki would have made more money elsewhere in free agency and most likely they would have made less had San Jose not signed them to these deals.

Unfortunately, since the Sharks locked both these players into contracts earlier than necessary, they left themselves with less money to go after bigger holes on their roster.

Those holes are third line center/winger and a top-four defenseman. Not only have the Sharks missed out on almost all of the key free-agent defensemen (the majority of top rated free-agent defensemen have been signed today), but a key figure from last year's Sharks team is gone.

Manny Malhotra (who was reportedly throwing contract offers back and forth with San Jose about re-signing prior to today's free agency opening) is now a Vancouver Canuck.

Malhotra is reportedly going to make $2.5M per year for three years. While he only made $700k in his lone year as a Shark last season, he clearly outplayed that deal. And although it is understandable for the Sharks to have hoped Malhotra would want to re-sign for around $1.25-$1.75M per year, they should have done everything in their power to get him signed.

If his minimum asking price of San Jose was somewhere between $2-2.5 per year, the Sharks should have agreed to a deal because the 30-year-old center is worth every penny. His faceoff percentage was the best in the entire league last year and he scored a career high 14 goals while playing multiple different roles for the Sharks.

When they needed him to play on a scoring line, he performed admirably. When they needed him to win big faceoffs and play stellar defensively on the bottom two lines, he dominated.

He is one of, if not the most, versatile forwards in hockey.

And the Sharks came out and stated they would prefer to have a career backup netminder in Niittymaki and an aging slow defenseman in Wallin for a combined $4.5 million next season instead of Malhotra for $2.5 million?

Not only is that absurd, it's borderline crazy.

Wallin and Niittymaki combined to make $2.35 million last season compared to Malhotra, who, as mentioned previously, made just $700k.

Now Malhotra goes out and has a career year and earns a raise of 357 percent.

That makes sense; maybe he made a tad more than the average player of a similar skill set, but that is what happens when a professional athlete is sought after in free agency.

But neither Niittymaki nor Wallin were going to be sought after free agents. The Sharks bid solely against themselves to come up with these contracts.

And bidding against themselves cost them the ability to bring back a fan favorite in Malhotra.

A move of this fashion could prove costly for the Sharks as their roster has now gotten significantly worse on paper since the offseason began.

Not only have they failed to plug any holes they had from last season, but the loss of Malhotra has opened up a new one.

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The move enabled San Jose to have more flexibility in re-signing the rest of their key free agents.

While the decision to not bring Nabokov back wasn't easy, even the biggest Nabokov supporters realize the move was a necessary one under the salary cap.

The Sharks clearly had to choose between bringing back the soon to be 35-year-old Nabokov or soon to be 31-year-old star forward Patrick Marleau.

Marleau is now the bigger staple in San Jose (by virtue of being the longest tenured Shark), and he is coming off back to back career seasons in goals. He was far and away San Jose's best player during this past year's Western Conference finals.

Point being, Marleau lived up to expectations when it mattered most. Nabokov, on the other hand, continued to offer inconsistent play during the postseason, and he did not perform up to his capabilities in the Conference finals.

Therefore, the choice to bring Marleau back was the only one to make. Based on each player's performance, and the current trend of cheap goaltenders performing well in the postseason, the Sharks made the smart choice.

With Marleau re-signed, along with another star performer in Joe Pavelski, San Jose fans can let go a major sigh of relief.

Just a day after the Sharks demonstrated the beginnings of what looked like a perfectly executed offseason plan, however, GM Doug Wilson made and extremely puzzling decision.

He re-signed his midseason pickup from last season, defenseman Niclas Wallin, to a one-year, $2.5 million dollar contract.

For those of you who follow team teal, you can join me in a collective "huh?"

And for those of you who haven't followed the Sharks, or even the NHL, closely over the years, I'll explain just how bizarre the signing is at this time.

Wallin is 35 years old. He is a 6'3", 220 pound defenseman with below average speed for his position, and is absolutely worthless offensively.

In parts of nine seasons at the NHL level, he has totaled just 18 career goals and 71 career points. He has never posted more than 10 points in a season.

Furthermore, his set a career high in games played, with 77, all the way back in 2002-03.

Since then, his highest total is 70, with a low of 50 and multiple seasons in the mid-60's.

He never plays a full season, can't score, and has minimal speed.

Plus, his only memorable moment in a Sharks uniform was his embarrassing flop in Game Two of the Western Conference finals. Wallin had possession of the puck, with no pressure whatsoever, as he stood behind his own net.

Instead of clearing the puck out of the zone, or skating it out when pressure arrived, Wallin barely moved, braced for contact, got knocked on his rear end by a smaller player, and lost the puck, which led to a Chicago goal two seconds later.

Believe me, the entire HP Pavilion crowd was in the same state of shock. Everyone had the same question on their minds, "what the heck was that?"

Wallin didn't score a single goal last season between regular season and playoffs.

Considering his age, limited speed, lack of offense, and his history of injuries, Wallin would not be a sought after free agent had he been allowed to test the market.

Especially when you look at the depth of free agent defenseman available, signing Wallin prior to the July 1 date was absolutely absurd.

Wallin made $1.7 million last year between Carolina and San Jose. By virtue of his performance and role on the team, he didn't even deserve that. And yet, the Sharks gave him a raise?

For what possible reason was he owed a raise? Yes, a Stanley Cup ring and a veteran presence can bring value as a sixth/seventh defenseman on the depth chart.

But a sixth/seventh defenseman on the roster doesn't deserve a $1 million contract, much less a $2.5 million dollar contract.

If fourth line energy man Scott Nichol (who chipped in a career season in his first year as a Shark) only earned a $10K raise, how does Wallin, who had one of his worst seasons of his career, earn a raise of $775K?

Most fans and people involved in the game agree the Sharks must get faster and younger defensively, and this move is exactly the opposite of that.

Not only does the money involved require the Sharks to play Wallin every game that he his healthy, but it limits their ability to sign younger and more talented free agent defensemen come July.

And for as highly respected as Doug Wilson is as San Jose's GM, letting Wallin sign for this much money so early in the offseason is a move fans will rightfully criticize come next season if the Sharks don't live up to expectations.

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