SB Nation User Blog: SwisherThresher

20 Players Elect Arbitration

SwisherThresher — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:54:14 -0000

20 Players Elect Arbitration

The deadline for teams to decide to take players to salary arbitration is Monday at 5pm et. Hearings will be held in Toronto from July 20 to August 4.

Blake signs with Sharks for 1 year

SwisherThresher — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:09:15 -0000

Blake signs with Sharks for 1 year

Defenseman Rob Blake has re-signed with the Sharks, agreeing to a one-year contract worth approximately $3.5 million.

Goodbye & Good luck, Good German

SwisherThresher — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:38:15 -0000

[Editor's Note]: SwisherThresher has an excellent send-off for Marcel Goc, who will not be playing on the San Jose Sharks next season. The front page formatting is a bit dicey, so be sure to make the jump and check out the piece in it's full glory.

WORKING THE CORNERS

Even though the Sharks are free to offer Marcel Goc a contract after July 1 if they want him back at maybe a lower price, that just isn’t going to happen. So it's not just a matter of economics. ~ David Pollak

"I think it's probably time for him to move on for another opportunity. He’s very professional and he’s a good man, but I think his game has leveled off with us. We want to go in a different direction and have a different mix on this team." ~ General Manager Doug Wilson on Marcel Goc

Marcel Goc #57 of the San Jose Sharks celebrates his goal against the Colorado Avalanche with teammate Mark Smith #16 in the second period of Game six of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2004 NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. May 4, 2004 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.(Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

YOUTUBE

"Nooo, it's Goc. It's Goc! Marcel Goc!"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

MARCEL GOC

WIKIPEDIA

Goc was drafted in the first round, 20th overall by the Sharks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, though he remained in Germany until 2003. He spent all of the 2003–04 season with the Cleveland Barons, the Sharks' then minor league affiliate, but joined the Sharks during the 2004 playoffs. He holds the franchise record in Cleveland for longest assist streak (7 games). He has played for Team Germany in numerous tournaments, including the 2000 (at 16yrs old) and 2001 World Junior Championships, the 2001 U18 Championships, the 2002 World Junior tournament, the 2003 Swiss Cup, the 2005 World Championships and the 2006 Winter Olympics.

streakypro

Day in the Life - Goc and Ehrhoff (2/3)
Day in the Life - Goc and Ehrhoff (3/3)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fellow German Marco Sturm gave Marcel Goc all the advice he needed before the rookie center made his NHL debut in the pressure of a Stanley Cup playoff game. - - - "He told me to go out there, not make any mistakes and just have fun."

SHARKS NOTEBOOK

Geared-up Goc gets call, calms nerves, makes play

Ross McKeon Friday, April 16, 2004

Will the Iceman get lonely without his Westdeutschland comrade? I suppose Ehrhoff and Nabokov can still pal around and play ping pong. All the best to Goc. My how time goes by. Seems like only yesterday the Sharks finally got the best of the Colorado Avalanche to reach the WCF for the first time in franchise history - thanks in part to the Good German.

Prost!

LAS VEGAS - JUNE 17: (L-R) Former NHL player Mark Napier, Washington Capitals winger Alexander...

SwisherThresher — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:49:44 -0000

LAS VEGAS - JUNE 17: (L-R) Former NHL player Mark Napier, Washington Capitals winger Alexander Ovechkin, and San Jose Sharks center Jeremy Roenick participate in the NHL Charity Shootout at the World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on June 17, 2009. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

To view more photos:
JAMD GALLERY
DAYLIFE PHOTOS

Wild name Todd Richards head coach

SwisherThresher — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:14:16 -0000

Wild name Todd Richards head coach

New Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher has wasted no time putting his stamp on the team by hiring Todd Richards as the Wild's new head coach.

The 43-year old Richards spent last season as an assistant for the San Jose Sharks under Todd McLellan.

Hunting the Monster

SwisherThresher — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 18:58:49 -0000

via Reuters Pictures 1 month ago --- Sweden goaltender Jonas Gustavsson makes a save on Switzerland during their IIHF World Hockey Championship game in Bern, May 3, 2009

Jonas 'Monster' Gustavsson

(Wikipedia)

"I have no individual rankings, but I will go with an open mind. Right now all four are relevant. We will try to form an idea of what it would be like to live in each city. For me, it is also about trying to get to know each organization and see how the training conditions are."

"I want to continue to develop and play as many matches as possible. What I want to know is that I am on the team in earnest in the club I choose, then it does not matter if I am number one or number two directly. I know I have to take chances that arise." ~ Jonas Gustavsson

According to aftonbladet, 21 clubs were actively pursuing the Färjestad goalkeeper, but now it's down to the Final Four: San Jose, Dallas, Colorado and Toronto

Gustavsson, along with his girlfriend Emelie and Canadian agent Joe Resnick began their North American tour on Sunday, June 14th, in San Jose (or so I've read). I should also note Sharkspage prospect blogger Max Giese stated the Sharks were the first of the four remaining teams to approach Gustavsson and they have been pushing very hard ever since. Evgeni Nabokov will be entering the final year of his contract and 2004 draftee Thomas Greiss may no longer be viewed as his successor.

It should be worth discussing the goaltending situation of the aforementioned teams, as well as the potential cap hit. Hopefully someone more CBA savvy than I can discuss the details on what signing The Monster entails.

For the numbers I refer to kdb209, the contract guru at Hockey's Future, where (s)he states:

Gustavsson would be considered a 24yr old for Entry-Level System purposes (age as of 9/15 in the calendar year he signs) - and would have to sign a 1yr Entry Level Contract. His max salary (including signing & games played bonuses) would be $900K. He would be eligible for $850K in Exhibit 5 "A" bonuses - a max of $212.5K per bonus for:

CBA Exhibit 5.1(c) Goaltenders

(i) Minutes Played: 1,800 minutes minimum

(ii) GAA: GAA <= median GAA of all goaltenders who played 25 or
more Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of these
goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle values.)
(25 game minimum, 30 minute minimum*)

(iii) Save %: Save % >= median save % of all goaltenders who played 25 or
more Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of these
goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle values.)
(25 game minimum, 30 minute minimum*)

(iv) Wins: 20 (Player must be goaltender of record, 30 minute minimum*)

(v) Shutouts: Shutouts >= median number of shutouts of all goaltenders who
played 25 or more Regular Season Games. (If there is an even number of
these goaltenders, the median will be the average of the two middle
values.) (30 minute minimum*)

(vi) End-of-Season NHL All-Rookie Team

(vii) NHL All-Star Game (selected to play or plays)

(viii) NHL All-Star Game MVP

He would be eligible for up to a total of $2M in Exhibit 5 "B" Bonuses for:

Winning Hart, Vezina, Jennings, or Conn Smyth trophies.
Named 1st or 2nd team NHL All Star (postseason award)
Finish Top-5 in the league in: GAA (25 game min), Save % (25 gm min), or Wins

Performance bonuses count against the cap earned or not. The team is then able to exceed the cap by up to 7% due to Performance bonuses. If the actual bonuses paid cause them to exceed the cap, it is then charged against next year's cap. If and when a bonus becomes impossible to achieve the team gets back a credit for the cash value of the unearned bonus fro the remainder of that year only.

---

For some light summer reading, you can also visit NHL's Cap FAQ on the CBA, to better prepare for the impending Armchair GM ballyhoo and brouhaha.

And finally, an FTF poll! To find out what the fine folks at Aftonbladet believe, here's the results of a poll they conducted with more than 6400 votes to date: I vilken klubb tror du att Jonas Gustavsson skulle passa bäst?

Poll

Which NHL club will the Monster choose?

San Jose Sharks

215 votes

Colorado Avalanche

23 votes

Dallas Stars

13 votes

Toronto Maple Leafs

42 votes

293 votes | Poll has closed

TSN Video: JR shooting from the Lip

SwisherThresher — Fri, 22 May 2009 03:18:31 -0000

TSN Video: JR shooting from the Lip

Jeremy Roenick had some strong words for Mike Babcock regarding the playing time of Chris Chelios
---
Yahoo! Article/Comments
This has created quite a buzz around the hockey community. It's been a while since JR has stirred the pot (because DW said not to)

Thoughts?

Oakland Athletics' Ryan Sweeney (15) and Matt Holliday react after Sweeney robbed Tampa Bay Rays'...

SwisherThresher — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:08:51 -0000

Oakland Athletics' Ryan Sweeney (15) and Matt Holliday react after Sweeney robbed Tampa Bay Rays' B.J. Upton of an extra-base hit to end the baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla., Wednesday, May 20, 2009. The Athletics won the game 7-6. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

ESPN Gallery

Ryan Sweeney's incredible catch. Oakland 4-2 victory vs Texas Rangers, 4/30/09.

SwisherThresher — Sat, 02 May 2009 00:12:03 -0000

Ryan Sweeney's incredible catch. Oakland 4-2 victory vs Texas Rangers, 4/30/09.

www.RoenickLife.com Fan Zone. Roenick answers the fans questions. Latest entry 3/15/09. Be sure to...

SwisherThresher — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 06:18:16 -0000

www.RoenickLife.com Fan Zone. Roenick answers the fans questions. Latest entry 3/15/09. Be sure to check out Roenick Life Videos at Youtube for more updates.