Nicholas Flohr
It’s up to Sheng to convince Tomas Hertl to stay with the San Jose Sharks.
Really not really: But with the Trade Deadline and a decision on impending UFA Hertl looming, the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast has decided to engage in a little roleplay. (Not that kind of roleplay!)
In this simulation, Sheng is going to be representing the San Jose Sharks’ brass and I’ll be Hertl’s agent.
Part of the premise: Money isn’t the deciding factor. We’re assuming that Hertl will accept an eight-year, $64 million dollar contract from the Sharks, which we think is fair for both sides.
That’s the easy part: But how can Sheng convince Tomas Hertl’s camp that the San Jose Sharks can compete for a Stanley Cup soon?
Timo Meier has developed into a top-flight right winger in the NHL. This, coupled with his chemistry with Hertl, allows the Sharks to build around them as the new core (8:56).
Erik Karlsson’s resurgence as a top-10 scoring defenseman shows he can also be a fundamental piece for the San Jose Sharks in the coming years (11:40).
Another bright spot to help convince Tomas Hertl to stay is top prospect William Eklund. How does Eklund in the Sharks’ line-up round out the top-nine (16:20)?
To close, Sheng outlines a plan in the coming off-season to build a winner around Hertl, Meier, and Karlsson. This includes buying out a certain underperforming defenseman as well as signing a high-end center to bolster the middle-six and round out the forward group (22:58).
After we cap off our roleplay, we shed some light on the continued success of the San Jose Sharks’ penalty kill in this week’s SPORTLOGiQ Stat of the Week (42:16).
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