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Sheng’s Daily: Why Andrei Sekera Signing Matters to Sharks

It’s the calm before the storm at San Jose Hockey Now.
This week promises to be one of the wildest in NHL history, with the 2020 NHL Draft and the beginning of free agency smashed together with the continued uncertainty of when the next regular season will actually start.
SJHN will have complete coverage of all San Jose Sharks events during this momentous week. Subscribe here for more exclusive Sharks content!
But before we get to all that, check out Cathy’s Power Skating. Since 1992, Cathy Andrade has taught power skating in San Jose to all age levels, and for the first time since March, Cathy’s Power Skating hit the ice with students at Solar4America Ice in San Jose:
Support Cathy!
In other San Jose Sharks news…
Erik Karlsson, on what American football position he’d play: “I definitely wouldn’t be one of those enforcer guys. I think I would be a pretty good wide receiver. I got good hands, good hand-eye coordination, and I could run pretty fast. I’m not a pretty big guy, so that would be the only position I would be able to go for.”
.@ErikKarlsson65 thinks he would be a wide receiver if he played football 👐 pic.twitter.com/zRxJcuaKbk
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) October 4, 2020
Around the NHL…
Taylor Hall to the Avs on a short-term deal? (Colorado Hockey Now)
Islanders close to a deal with impending UFA Derick Brassard. (NYI Hockey Now)
Should Penguins chase Michael Grabner? (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)
What do the Panthers have to offer in a trade? (Florida Hockey Now)
This might not be relevant to the San Jose Sharks if the Devan Dubnyk deal closes, but who are the top-10 UFA goalies? (Sportsnet)
Speaking of, sure-fire Hall of Famer Henrik Lundqvist wants to play next season. (Henrik Lundqvist)
Chicago sent Olli Maatta to Los Angeles for ECHL forward Brad Morrison, retains money too. (LA Kings Insider)
This might be of interest to the San Jose Sharks, who are also looking for a No. 6 defenseman — Dallas re-signed Andrei Sekera to a two-year, $3 million dollar contract. This might set the market for a better bottom-pairing blueliner. (TSN)
Nikolai Khabibulin believes Yaroslav Askarov will be a franchise goalie: “He’s got all the tools.” (TSN)
Good morning Sheng! Do you feel Leafs signing Spezza today to 700k contract 1) create a price point for Marleau and Thornton possible contracts, 2) take the leafs off of possible landing spots for Thornton?
Don’t know if it creates a price point, I think it’s clear to Marleau/Thornton that with SJS cap crunch, they have to take reduced deals to come back. I suspect Wilson has too much respect for those guys to say, “Hey look Spezza took a song.” DW will offer what he can, they’ll know it’s the best DW can do, take it or leave it.
As for the 2nd question, yes. Spezza does a lot of the things that Thornton still can, but better, at least based on this season