Locked On Sharks
Sheng Talks Meier’s Struggles, Wilson Sitting on the Fence

Kyle, Erik, and JD have on Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now to check in on the San Jose Sharks after the Trade Deadline. We look back on Doug Wilson’s middle-of-the-road strategy this past off-season and if he actually believes that the core is still strong. Then we delve into how close Kevin Labanc was to actually being traded (18:00), Timo Meier’s struggles (21:00), and why the criticism of a mediocre San Jose Sharks team isn’t more spread out (30:00). We finish off by discussing Mario Ferraro’s role and usage (36:00), Logan Couture probably playing hurt (41:00), and come to a conclusion on what Wilson did — or didn’t do — this off-season (42:30).
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Thanks Sheng!
Just a thought… If Meier’s value is at 75%, and Laine’s value is similarly down right now, would you say a one-for-one trade would be fair and useful?
It seems pretty obvious that we have a forward core filled with passers but with no dedicated shooters. Adding Laine would solve for that in a big way I think.
What do you think?
i know you didn’t ask me but, Laine doesn’t bring anything other than an above average shot. dumping a player like Timo for such a niche player seems to me like a huge trade fail.
comparative goal scoring pace between Timo and Laine = 0.27 vs 0.44 for their careers. so you’re trading 0.17 net gain (if his career pace holds) for your team being constantly out shot/out chanced while Laine’s on the ice.
That’s about 14 goals more season, by the way, over an 82-game pace. I’d take Laine with all his drawbacks. Meier contributes to chance/shot volume, but there are some empty calories there + his defensive drawbacks take away from his advantages there. I know Laine is flawed on the other side of the puck, but there’s some finish to make it easier to swallow
Hey Jackson, sorry for the late response! I can see such a deal fitting into both teams’ long-term needs, but Sharks would have to add on top of Timo, Laine still has more value one for one
some of the reason for Timo’s on-ice impact being down is because he’s being deployed as a 4,5,6 most of the time according to McCurdy’s data. his most common line mates are: Hertl, Balcers, Marleau, Gambrell, Labanc, and Couturel. 3 of these players are guys you don’t commonly consider top 6 players. Hertl and Balcers xGF/60 dramatically increases while playing with Timo. Gambrell, Marleau, and Labanc don’t seem to benefit from playing w/Timo. i would think this kind of solidifies that Timo should be playing with higher tier players. i’d play a 5-man group of: Balcers-Hertl-Meier+Ferraro-Karlsson according to how well… Read more »