It's been an eventful offseason for the San Jose Sharks; the kind of offseason that signifies a team unwilling to be complacent. General manager Doug Wilson has been working to re-sign key pieces to the team like Jamie McGinn, Andrew Desjardins and Frazer McLaren, while being active in signing free agents from outside of the organization as well. Guys like Jim Vandermeer and Michal Handzus were brought in on one- and two-year deals, respectively.
Wilson also brought in a healthy crop of draftees sans a first-round pick that we'll get to in a moment, but guys like Matthew Nieto and Justin Sefton have promising future, though they are quite a ways away. Everything after that is a crapshoot, but Sean Kuraly looks like he has some upside as well. The verdict will be out on the 2010-2011 draft haul for years to come.
That is to say, except for the Sharks first-round pick which, along with Devin Setoguchi and Charlie Coyle, made their way to Minnesota in a trade with the Wild in which the Sharks acquired defenseman Brent Burns and a second-round pick. That was, by far, the biggest move they made this offseason. Setoguchi had just signed an extension and it's safe to assume the Sharks didn't have immediate plans to trade him away, but the very next day, they had the Burns trade on the table and made the move to acquire the defenseman they've needed for so long.
Then, the Sharks had some cap room to work with, so it looked as though they'd be making some big signings, but it was a trade that came through the pipes yet again. Wilson kept Minnesota on speed dial and sent another key piece of the Sharks over: Dany Heatley. In return, they received Martin Havlat. It was an odd trade, considering that Heatley is definitely better, but the Sharks did save a good amount of money on the deal with Havlat's contract. Is there anything else in store on this end, since it does seem one-sided? Who knows what's going to happen with Havlat.
Going forward, nobody is quite sure what's in store for the San Jose Sharks. The team that will see the ice for the 2011-2012 season will be very different from last season, and may look different still with more time left in this offseason and Doug Wilson prepped with cap room. Stay tuned to this stream for more in-depth looks at the moves thus far and coverage of anything yet to happen as the offseason moves on.