The Sharks are currently enjoying a four-day break between games - a good time to dip into the mailbag...
Any chance the Sharks go after Taylor Hall? Reports say he's on the trading block. #SJSharks (Kyle Fontaine @kyle_fontaine)
Any time a player like Taylor Hall becomes available, it’s certainly worth a phone call from Doug Wilson to get a lay of the land.
There are a few reasons I don’t see this happening, though.
First of all, the Oilers are in desperate need of defense, and they will be looking for a top prospect blueliner in return (the Bruins’ Dougie Hamilton is one name that was recently mentioned). Even if they wanted to, the Sharks just don’t have a young defenseman of that caliber that they could dangle in trade talks other than maybe Mirco Mueller. The Sharks’ wouldn’t likely trade a future top-pairing defenseman as the centerpiece of a deal for a left wing, though, as Wilson values high end blueliners much more than he does scoring wingers.
Secondly, blockbuster trades aren’t typically done within the division. Were the Oilers to deal Hall -– who will almost certainly be the best player in the trade, regardless of the deal –- the last thing they’d want to see is him coming back to torment them for years to come.
Thirdly, this is a Sharks team that seems to be coming together on and off the ice. That off ice part was a huge question mark coming into the season, but every indication from Todd McLellan is that he’s pleased with the dynamic in the room after the leadership switch and new approach. If the Sharks keep winning, a major deal becomes less likely.
Could the Sharks make a big trade at some point this season? Absolutely, and Wilson has hinted as much when he labels this as a year in transition. The Sharks have plenty of cap space, too, perhaps by design. But, I don’t see Taylor Hall wearing teal in the future.
Has Tye McGinn done enough to stay in the lineup upon a Raffi [Torres] return and the trade deadline? (Louis @LouisPoletti)
For one thing, Raffi Torres’ return is no guarantee. He essentially admitted that when he spoke with the local media a couple of weeks ago as he tries to play without an ACL in his right knee.
As for Tye McGinn, he’s been a disappointment so far after he was acquired from Philadelphia for a third round pick. As you mentioned, he was brought in to San Jose after it was learned that Torres would be out long term again, and has just one goal and two assists in 19 games despite getting some looks recently in a top six role. When the Flyers were in town recently, a few of their team staff were surprised that McGinn didn’t have a single goal yet to that point (he later got his first in Edmonton on Dec. 7).
The Sharks are probably reluctant to try and reassign him to Worcester since he would require waivers, and if McGinn was nabbed by another club it would make that trade this summer look even worse. When this team gets healthy, though, McGinn hasn’t done nearly enough to warrant a spot in the active lineup.
At this point, even John Scott has brought more to the team in terms of hockey ability than McGinn.
Any chance we see Nikolay Goldobin in San Jose this year? #SJSharks (The Last Dodo @Broly2442)
I wouldn’t expect the Sharks’ 2014 first round pick to play any NHL games this year, for the main reason he was reassigned in the first place –- he’s just not physically ready for the NHL.
Keep in mind that the Sharks reassigned Goldobin to Finland in order to get him more acclimated to playing with men. Checking the stats, the 18-year-old has 11 points in 18 games (6g, 5a). Respectable numbers, but that places him 10th on his own team in scoring, and doesn’t suggest at all that he’d be ready to play in the best league in the world.
I would imagine the hope for Goldobin is that he’ll develop physically throughout the summer, when he really has time to train. That’s what Micro Mueller did, and by Mueller's account he put on 30 pounds in a year, helping him make the team out of training camp. Perhaps Goldobin, who dazzled in training camp with four points in four preseason games, can do the same.
