Fear The Fin Examines Wallin, Nichol Signings

Fear The Fin takes a look at the recent signings of Scott Nichol and Niclas Wallin and what it means for the Sharks going forward. The team still has notable free agents Devin Setoguchi and Manny Malhotra unsigned, and after the Wallin signing in particular, not a whole lot of cash to be throwing around to make such a signing with relative ease.

Niclas Wallin on the other hand, is quite possibly one of the most confusing situations to occur in San Jose in the last few years. His trade for a second round selection at the 2010 NHL Trade Deadline was questioned by us from the moment the deal became official, and a $2.5MM contract seems like quite the overpayment for a 35 year old who played largely on the third pairing during his twenty nine games in teal.

Wallin's contract will be the highest in his career, a 45% increase from the $1.725MM he made the last four seasons.

It seems like a rather staggering amount for a player who, as noted, was with the third line last year and wasn't much of a contributor. He's not a bad player by any means, but did the 35-year old really play well enough to earn a 45% increase?