Since publication of my last article, we are another week into the 2010 offseason and virtually nothing has changed for the San Jose Sharks. Anton Stralman will join them in Stockholm to open the season this October, but it will be as a returning member of the opposing Columbus Blue Jackets. Andreas Lilja and Kim Johnsson among others remain on the market, but the likelihood of the Sharks calling their names seems no more likely today than it did July 1.

In fact, to the contrary, it seems a much more remote possibility.

From all outward appearances, the Sharks have not only failed to make an actual move since courting Antero Niittymaki on the first day of free agency, but if you did not know better you might think they had given up trying. Since forcing the rival Chicago Blackhawks to reach to keep Niklas Hjalmarsson, the buzz around the team in teal has been about as feverish as a game of bridge.

Even in the most speculative of circles, there are few if any juicy rumors about where the Sharks might turn next. With major questions yet to be answered, particularly on the front end of the blue line pairings, this could quickly get disheartening for one of the most loyal and hungry fan bases in hockey.

Fear not, however.

It may not be quick in coming, but rest assured that Doug Wilson has a master plan in place. He may just still be ironing it out.

There is (virtually) no chance the Sharks will enter play at Stockholm's Globe Arena on October 8 without adding talent and depth to what can at best be described as a capable overall blue line.

With Evgeni Nabokov now making saves in Russia, the Sharks will need to rely more heavily in 2010-2011 on a blue line which even with the departed Rob Blake had a habit of leaving Nabby hanging in years past. I can guarantee that Doug Wilson realizes this. He is likely just weighing his options and playing the odds.

It does little more good to sign or trade for a player tomorrow, versus waiting until just before the start of camp. Professional athletes are going to remain in peak condition no matter what contract they currently have, and as long as a player can reap the cohesion benefits of going through training camp and preseason with the rest of his teammates, a GM may do better by his team to wait.

As time drags on, free agents and GMs with marketable, tradeable players may become more receptive to deals which in the weeks and months preceding they may have declined.

The best bargains can be found at the very end of a big sale, where the seller is willing to haggle to offload his or her remaining inventory. Of course, to get to that point, you must accept that the options will be somewhat picked over. That is a trade off you must weigh.

Doug Wilson already did that by allowing Henrik Tallinder, Anton Volchenkov, Dan Hamuis and other more notable names to come off the board. At this point, it makes more sense to wait out the best bargain.

If they can stand the wait, a key deal from Doug Wilson could mean that the patience of Sharks fans may also be rewarded in another sense, with something the Bay Area has been waiting 20 years for: Lord Stanley's Cup.

Keep the faith!

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Lost amidst lauding over Jeremy Roenick and Todd McLellan’s pending honors, analysis of the Ilya Kovalchuk contract debacle, and previews of players who may one day contribute to a Cup run in San Jose (but in the near-term will do well to hold down consistent playing time in Worcester) is the fact that as the Sharks quickly approach their 20th year in the league, some key questions remain to be answered.

A path forward in goal seems to be in place, and the Sharks are set to return a largely familiar crew of talented forwards, but questions remain on the blue line.

Having lost Rob Blake to retirement, the Sharks continue to search for ways to supplement and improve a defensive group that was suspect at times last year, particularly in the playoffs.

Given the departure of former goaltending mainstay Evgeni Nabokov, many would rightly argue that the defense needs to be that much stronger to protect the tandem of Antero Niittymaki and Thomas Griess to give Team Teal a fighting chance night in and night out.

However, the Sharks have done little along these lines thus far, at least as far as results go.

Doug Wilson did make a strong play for Stanley Cup Champion Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Chicago Blackhawks weeks ago, offering the restricted free agent $14 million over four years and risking a first and third-round 2011 draft pick in the hopes of landing the Swede in San Jose.

While he succeeded in forcing the Blackhawks to pay more than they would have liked to retain Hjalmarsson, compounding the salary cap issues for a key Western Conference opponent, Chicago’s retention of Hjalmarsson left the Sharks with no direct improvement of their roster.

Since that news broke, the Sharks have done virtually nothing tangible to attempt to improve their current situation.

Why is this?

There could be a variety of reasons. The Sharks could be shopping for a big-name trade, but the market could be cold. Big trades can take a while to orchestrate, as illustrated by last offseason’s saga of forward Dany Heatley.

Rumors broke of public dissention between the talented sharp shooter and the Ottawa Senators early in the summer—and the Sharks were an immediate favorite to land the disgruntled star—but negotiations dragged on into training camp before Heatley was finally shipped to Silicon Valley.

Could Doug Wilson be mired in another haggling session for an established blue-liner?

The Sharks could also have interest in a remaining free agent, but might be waiting for the price to go down.

The team’s early focus on Antero Niittymaki and apparent overpayment of Niclas Wallin led to them missing the chance to land the likes of Henrik Tallinder, Anton Volchenkov, or Dan Hamhuis.

However, options like Kim Johnsson, Anton Stralman, Ian White, and Andreas Lilja remain.

Could Doug Wilson be waiting to see how desperate these players get for a deal as training camp approaches, hoping to sign one of them for less?

I truly believed that, after the Blackhawks did the Sharks the favor of letting them know early of their intentions to match the Hjalmarsson offer sheet, the Sharks would move quickly to secure an alternative. However, that has failed to materialize.

Could one of the above circumstances be to blame? Could possible negotiations with Mike Modano be siphoning their focus? Could a combination of these factors be at play?

Personally, I think the prospects of landing Modano affordably are slim. He would be a worthy gamble were he willing to sign in San Jose for around $1 million, but anything more would hamper their chances of addressing their blue-line deficiencies.

Ultimately, I believe Modano will go the way of Marty Turco, experiencing his 15 minutes as a hot prospect on the Sharks’ radar before ultimately finding himself elsewhere. He would be a nice addition, but cost is the issue.

This could be a huge year for the Sharks if they can properly address their blue-line susceptibilities.

Being just one year removed from the franchise’s second-ever trip to the conference finals, and certainly looking to be in stronger competitive position than the Blackhawks to this point, the Sharks could accomplish big things as the team hits the big 2-0. But there is still work to be done before hitting the ice.

Maybe they can sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a 20-year deal...

Keep the Faith!

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This year’s NHL free agent list contains multiple names that will likely be seen in the Hall of Fame at some point in the near future—Kariya, Selanne, and Modano just to name a few.

Is your team looking at one of these experienced superstars? Are you concerned that they may not produce enough to warrant handing out precious salary in today’s salary cap era?  Well, players like the ones listed aren’t one-dimensional players only relied upon for their point production; they bring something that cannot be taught and must be acquired through experience.

Kariya, Selanne, and Modano have played in 989, 1186, and 1459 games respectively, which means they aren’t the new kids on the block.  They add not only on-ice leadership, but the veteran presence in the locker room that every team needs to make a deep run at the Stanley Cup

For example, this year the Boston Bruin’s Mark Recchi stepped up and called out his teammates for their inconsistent and uninspired play in the middle of a 10-game losing streak.  The following game the streak was broken, and then shortly after the Bruins moved up to sixth in the East ensuring themselves a playoff berth.

That momentum carried them into the playoffs as they tore through USA’s Olympic superstar Ryan Miller, and went up 3-0 on the Philadelphia Flyers before enduring two costly injuries and eventually imploding to lose the series in gut-wrenching style in seven games.

The point is, they were on the fast track to nowhere, likely missing the playoffs if it wasn’t for the likes of Mark Recchi and his veteran leadership and experience.  And while Recchi still put up 43 points this season, numbers no one could complain about, his real value was is in the element he adds which won’t ever show up on the score sheet.

Playoff experience, and leadership of such a caliber is hard to come by, so when I hear fans of a team like the San Jose Sharks complaining about burning cap space on a player like Modano I can’t help but to shake my head in disappointment.  They don’t see the real value behind point production.

Now I’m in no way criticizing the Sharks however, they must look in the mirror and ask themselves how acquiring large point producing players has worked out for them—players such as Thornton and Heatley

After a string of several 100-point seasons in a row, they are always followed by an early playoff exit from teams they should have beaten.  They are missing that veteran presence in the locker room and that experienced leadership on the ice.

Players like Modano, Selanne, and Kariya are just what a team like the Sharks have been missing, and may be just what the doctor ordered to avoid another playoff choke and finally hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Like what you just read? Check out my Bruins Blog—Beware The Bear at www.mtrmedia.com/bostonbruins or follow me on Twitter! @ccmaillet

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In fact, from Mid-July to the start of team training camps in September is probably the least exciting time period of the year for hockey fans.

Even this season, with a few significant free agents yet to sign, and blockbuster offseason trades still being made, the overall lack of movement and lack of team practices during this portion of the year makes die hard hockey followers claim to be going through withdrawals.

So when the time of year comes around with the least amount of buzz and news across the league, what are fans to do?

Well, there is always the in depth analysis at the obvious positions of need for each club.

However, when it comes to the San Jose Sharks, the blogs and columns writing about upgrading the defense have already been written...by EVERYONE.

From the most casual fan, to the top writers here on BR, to the professional beat writers, everyone has given their input on how San Jose should upgrade the blue-line.

Making a change at defense has been the talk of the town since the end of the Sharks' season. With the moves San Jose has made since, the defense discussions have only ratcheted up.

Unfortunately, the only thing fans can do is attempt to be patient on the potential defensive upgrade. Something that is easier said than done for fans who enjoy watching the fastest sport in the world.

So with fans playing the wait and see game as the offseason slowly creeps along, and the views of yours truly on San Jose's third line center vacancy already available (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419895-mike-modano-why-the-sharks-should-kick-the-tires-on-the-former-star ) what is left to discuss?

Nothing but conjecture.

And any conjecture coming from Sharks writers during the dog days of summer could have been easily offered up much earlier in the offseason.

But since serious talks about up and coming Shark forward Jamie McGinn playing a much larger role next season haven't hit the forums as of yet, it feels like an adequate time to bring them to the table.

McGinn will be a 25+ goal scorer next season if given top-six ice time and because of that potential, current Sharks top-six forward Ryane Clowe is expendable.

That's right, I said it.

Clowe is expendable because of the presence of McGinn, a player who still hasn't out-grown his nobody jersey number of 64 despite playing in 94 games in parts of two seasons with the Sharks.

Now in those 94 regular season games, McGinn has scored just 14 goals and to go along with five assists for a total of 19 points.

Not exactly eye popping production, nor average production at that.

However, those who look purely at the point totals in such a short sample of NHL experience and label McGinn a certain type of mere role player are selling the kid extremely short.

His .132 career shooting percentage is higher that that of Clowe's (.125), Devin Setoguchi's (.120), and Joe Pavelski's (.102).

Granted McGinn doesn't have the service time in the league nor ice time per game to match the trio of Sharks that made up San Jose's second line last year, but the numbers don't lie.

He buries a higher percentage of the shots he takes.

Does that alone show he has more potential than each of the current members of San Jose's second line?

No, not necessarily. Having a higher shooting percentage means he could be getting lucky early in his career and facing less talented defenders than his more established teammates.

But when you watch McGinn on film, you can see the kid has a rocket of a shot, a wrister that has more accuracy and power than both Clowe and Setoguchi, and arguably even more than Pavelski.

Plus despite averaging just 7:45 in ice time per game during the postseason on a fourth line with just him, Scott Nichol, and a rotating right wing (San Jose often went with seven defenseman), McGinn finished a plus for the playoffs.

Sure, it was only plus-one, but being able to perform defensively with only one consistent linemate is quite impressive.

Conversely, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Dany Heatley all finished in the minus for the postseason.

What does that say about McGinn, that he was able to finish in the plus even though he didn't record a single point in the playoffs?

It says that the 21-year-old kid did his job.

He wasn't asked to score, he was asked to give his team quality minutes and keep the other team off the scoreboard.

The kid worked his tail off each and every shift of every game, and it was noticeable from everyone who watched the Sharks this past season.

Add that work ethic to a skating speed faster than Clowe, Pavelski, Thornton, and Heatley, and it is incredibly easy to become a fan of "Ginner."

McGinn can flat out fly. He isn't as naturally gifted with speed as is Marleau or Setoguchi, but the acceleration in his first few strides allows him to be in the conversation of one of the faster Sharks forwards.

Essentially, McGinn has better speed, a better shot, and is just as tenacious a forward as the man who wears No. 29 for the Sharks.

He may not drop the gloves as frequently or dominate along the boards as well as Clowe does, but his much more elite skating and shooting ability allows him much more potential offensive production.

Even if McGinn's scoring rate doesn't improve from this past season, if his TOI is increased from 10 minutes per to 15 minutes per and games played increased from 59 to 82, he will more than double his goal total to 21 next season.

Yet with a year of growth and experience, plus the benefit of playing alongside better skilled linemates on San Jose's second scoring line, McGinn's goal scoring clip should naturally increase.

Therefore, if the Sharks put McGinn on that second line, he will bag 25 goals alongside Pavelski and Setoguchi.

And that potential goal scoring prowess should allow Sharks GM Doug Wilson to be comfortable enough in packaging Clowe in a deal for the defenseman that the Sharks so desperately need.

Read more San Jose Sharks news on BleacherReport.com

Read more San Jose Sharks news on BleacherReport.com

It was the eighth time in nine contests in which the newly elite franchise bested them in the last nine months: Before losing in the free agent battle, San Jose lost three of four regular season games to Chicago and were swept in four playoff games in May.

However, in one respect, they succeeded: Hjalmarsson's contract will further handcuff a team that has already lost eight players who had their names etched on Lord Stanley's Cup a mere month ago.

San Jose also gets to keep the first and third round picks they would have surrendered had Chicago not matched their offer to the blueliner, and will not have to dump talent to get under the cap themselves.

Nevertheless, the chief advantage Chicago had over every other team in the playoffs was their blueline. They clearly had the best in the business, and have kept it primarily intact.

Here is a look at the bluelines for the teams that have represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup finals post-lockout:

• 2006 (Edmonton Oilers): Chris Pronger, Jason Smith, Jaroslav Spacek, Steve Staios, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Dick Tarnstrom, and Matt Greene were an elite unit in the top three to five of the league.
• 2007 (Anaheim Ducks): Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Francois Beauchemin, Sean O'Donnell, Kent Huskins, Joe Dipenta, Richard Jackman comprised a unit that competed with Detroit's for the very top of the NHL.
  
• 2008, 2009 (Detroit Red Wings): Niklas Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, Brett Lebda, Andreas Lilja, and Chris Chelios have comprised the gold standard for this unit in the NHL, until...
• 2010 (Chicago Blackhawks): Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brent Sopel, Jordan Hendry, and Nick Boynton formed arguably the best blueline in a generation.
  

Just two years ago, Campbell was considered the best defenseman available at the trade deadline and the best in the coming free agency market. He is overpaid, but could step onto half the teams in the league and be the best player on their unit.

That is something the Sharks cannot compete with as the blueline stands now.

Keith is better than the Sharks best blueliner, Dan Boyle, and Brent Seabrook may be as well. Hjalmarsson and Campbell are better than anyone else on the Sharks roster, and Ivan Vishnevskiy will probably be better by year's end than the declining Niklas Wallin or the pedestrian Kent Huskins.

This means Chicago has better personnel on the blueline in the first through fifth spots, while San Jose is better only from the last starter through scratched players.

The Sharks may not even have a top ten blueline, and that is not a good situation to be in with shaky goaltending.

However, one thing GM Doug Wilson showed was that the Sharks are not resigned to this unit even though they are nearly out of cap space. So long as they are willing to do what it takes to create the cap space they were willing to for Hjalmarsson, there are options...

For the best moves still available to bolster the blueline, see the companion articles on Shark-Infested Blogger (unrestricted free agents) and NetDugout (other alternatives).

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In other words, Modano had been playing at the NHL level as a member the Dallas Stars for longer than both myself and the Sharks have been alive.

Both born in 1991, the Sharks and I obviously share the same appreciation for the amazing career Modano has already accomplished, because reports amongst the professional hockey writers suggest the Sharks are interested in Modano's services.

And despite his increased age, the truth is that the Sharks would be failing their fan base if they didn't at least consider bringing in the career long Star center.

After all, not only do the Sharks have a third line center vacancy with the loss of Manny Malhotra to Vancouver, but next to Dallas, what other organization better understands the value Modano can bring to a team?

Not only did San Jose's GM Doug Wilson play against Modano at the NHL level and has obvious first hand experience as to the player Modano is on the ice, but playing in the same division all these years has also added to Wilson's knowledge of what Modano can bring to the table—even at 40 years old.

Similarly to how Wilson brought in Rob Blake for the past two seasons (a future hall of famer who played mostly with a Sharks' division rival), it wouldn't be surprising at all if Wilson brought in Modano.

Furthermore, Modano has torched the Sharks over the years and has subsequently been referred to as one of the infamous "Shark killers."

Especially when playing at the HP Pavilion, San Jose's home arena, Modano has averaged almost a point per game. In 38 career games, Modano has been good for 36 points, and two of which he will never forget.

In November of the 2007-08 season, Modano scored two quick first period goals on the road against San Jose that tied and then surpassed the retired Phil Housley for the most career points of any American born player.

And while any road arena would have acknowledged this accomplishment, Sharks fans gave a more than adequate standing ovation in appreciation for a tremendous accomplishment.

Clearly, while Modano has been a "Shark killer," he has done so in the most respectful and sportsmanlike manner possible (unlike say Corey Perry *cough* or Chris Pronger *cough*).

It shouldn't go unnoticed that while Sharks fans have been tortured by Modano one-timers over the years, they would be only so eager to open up their arms and switch from being disappointed when Modano scores to absolutely ecstatic.

"Sharks goal, scored by No. 9, Mike Modanoooo;" has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Now not only does adding Modano make sense for leadership, scoring depth, and championship experience (or in other words for just being Mike "friggen" Modano), but with Malhotra out of the picture, the Sharks don't have an ideal third line center.

Granted Malhotra and Modano bring two different styles to the third line center role, but both can provide value in different ways at that spot in the lineup.

Modano's scoring touch, play making ability and vast amount of playoff experience is a different combination of assets than Malhotra's defensive prowess, face off domination, and physicality.

And it could be argued that Modano's assets could be more of what the Sharks need to get them over the hump to their first Stanley Cup victory.

Of course, with Malhotra being only 30, San Jose could have had a defensive style third line center for many years to come and at Modano's age, he will probably only be a one-year stop gap fill in.

But even if Modano only has a year left of solid play, a couple of notions should be pointed out to how valuable that one year would be to the Sharks.

First of all, over the last three seasons, Modano has managed to still be an over a half point per game player.

Since the 2007-08 season started, Modano has played 221 regular season games and amassed 133 points in that time frame.

Doing the math, Modano has averaged .6 points per game over that time frame which is still quality production. And even in an injury shortened season last year, Modano still averaged over a half point per game by racking up 30 points in 59 games.

If he can stay healthy for the entire season, it wouldn't be wrong to pencil him in for 40-45 points.

That type of production (even if he were to finish a little shy of a half point per game) would be a big part of the solution to the secondary scoring hole the Sharks had last season.

And secondly, the experience and knowledge gained by youngsters Jamie McGinn, Logan Couture, and Torrey Mitchell by playing alongside Modano would be immeasurable.

Not only would all three benefit from playing alongside Modano but the one who has the potential to reap the most benefits would have to be Couture. The former first round pick (No. 9 overall in 2007) is coming off an impressive first year in pro hockey where he was an AHL All-Star and scored eight goals in his final 25 games combined between the end of the regular season and playoffs for the big club.

While big things are expected from Couture in the long run, either way it would be asking a lot of the 21-year-old to take over as the main third line center in just his first full year at the NHL level.

But given time to learn from Modano for a season, and Couture's time table to reaching his potential could be drastically reduced.

Therefore, bringing Modano to San Jose would do much more than just fill a need for the upcoming season as it would also help improve the Sharks roster for future seasons.

Not only can Modano still play an effective role, but that tutelage of the younger forwards would make his signing an even better move than bringing in a run of the mill free agent.

And when all is said done, many superstar athletes didn't finish their careers with the same team that they spent their primes with.

Joe Montana didn't finish his career with the 49ers, and Willie Mays didn't finish his career with the Giants.

Modano doesn't have to finish his career with Dallas, and San Jose would be more than a welcome fit.

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Now as a restricted free agent, this offer kicked into gear a period of seven days in which the Blackhawks had to decide whether or not to match San Jose's offer.

And despite most fans and experts believing Chicago would take the full seven days to mull over their decision, Yahoo Sports is reporting today that the Blackhawks have indeed matched San Jose's offer.

Had they declined to match, the Blackhawks would have been compensated with San Jose's first and third round draft choices from next year's draft, but with today's news, it is obvious that Chicago believes Hjalmarsson to be critical to their future success.

While it shouldn't come as a surprise that Chicago matched San Jose's offer, many NHL followers figured the Blackhawks might just let Hjalmarsson walk because of their salary cap issues.

Not only is Chicago still in a position where they need to shed more big contracts, but with defenseman like Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, and Brian Campbell on the roster, one can see why some out there believed the chances were high that Hjalmarsson would become a Shark.

But unfortunately for Sharks fans, the hopes of seeing Hjalmarsson wearing teal next season have been completely squashed today and fans will have to settle for a less exciting bonus.

They didn't get the huge bonus of adding a top-four quality defenseman, but they have forced Chicago into a heavy raise for Hjalmarsson and subsequently into bigger cap problems.

Therefore, even though the Sharks were swept by Chicago in the Western Conference final this past season, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that at this point in time, San Jose looks more primed to return to the Conference finals than their foes.

After all, with Chicago trading away the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, Andrew Ladd, and others, the Blackhawks are worse off than they were last season.

For Sharks fans, a trade fury dump of similar players would have been Ryane Clowe, Devin Setoguchi, Torrey Mitchell, and Logan Couture.

Clearly, Chicago is going to have a much different looking lineup next season while the Sharks, as it currently stands, have almost the entire team coming back from last season.

Minus a change in goal (which, with Nabokov's playoff inconsistencies isn't a big loss) and the loss of third line center Manny Malhotra, the Sharks bring back all the marquee contributors.

Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Dan Boyle are all returning for another year in San Jose.

But that said, even with the Sharks returning all the big dogs, and Chicago losing many key contributors, NHL writers and fans alike still agree that San Jose is need of a major defensive upgrade if they want to beat the best of the best in the postseason.

And with Sharks GM Doug Wilson having attempted to snatch Hjalmarsson away from Chicago, it is clear that San Jose agrees with the writers and fans that they need help on the blue line.

After all, besides Dan Boyle, the Sharks don't have another clear-cut top-three caliber defenseman. Douglas Murray (Boyle's main partner for last season) is more of a number four than he is a number two type defender, and the smooth skating Marc-Edouard Vlasic doesn't bring the necessary offensive consistency of a top-three.

Rounding out the defenders on the roster (who saw time in the NHL last season) are Jason Demers, Kent Huskins, Niclas Wallin, Jay Leach, and Derek Joslin.

Demers had an impressive rookie year offensively, but was a disappointment in his own end during the entirety of the regular season and because of it saw limited ice time in the postseason. Chances are he isn't ready for a top-four role just yet.

Huskins doesn't bring much to the table offensively but as a fifth/sixth defenseman, he is as reliable as they come in the defensive end.

Wallin, and his brand spanking new $2.5 million contract for next season has no business being anything higher than a No. 5 defenseman as he is older and brings less to the table than Huskins.

Leach is a perfect seventh defenseman who can play 20-30 games, filling in for injury, but his lack of any offensive talent and suspect decision making limits his ability to establish himself as anything better than a No. 7.

Joslin is a promising young defenseman with offensive and defensive upside—and at 23 years old, he may be just coming into his own with the chance to become San Jose's main No. 6 defenseman.

Now putting all these defenders together and the picture comes clear on what San Jose is missing.

Boyle- No. 1

Vlasic- No. 3/4

Murray- No. 4

Demers- No. 4/5

Huskins- No. 5/6

Wallin- No. 5/6

Leach- No. 6/7

Joslin- No. 6/7/8

Where is the No. 2 defenseman? Murray played that role alongside Boyle last year but he isn't the clear cut, prototypical No. 2 guy and neither is Vlasic.

Demers has No. 2 potential but he may not even be ready for No. 4 duties just yet.

The Sharks still need that second go to defender after Boyle and thus far during free agency they haven't made it happen.

Defensemen like Sergei Gonchar, Dan Hamuis, Paul Martin, Anton Volchenkov, Pavel Kubina, Zybnek Michalek, and Braydon Coburn were all free agents the Sharks could have signed but for whatever reason they couldn't find away to sign a single one of them.

Each and every one of them would have brought the Sharks top-two caliber ice time to the defensive corps but San Jose wasn't able to sign any of them.

So what options remain for San Jose?

Are there any unrestricted free agent defensemen left to fill a No. 2 void?

Andy Sutton maybe, but at his age he's more of a No. 4 shut down defender than a No. 2 and he would only be a stop gap.

And as for restricted free agents, there are Columbus' Anton Stralman, Calgary's Ian White, and Dallas' Nicklas Grossman.

White is arguably the best of that group but he has recently filed for arbitration so while he could potentially become an unrestricted free agent, it would be surprising if the Flames just let him walk free.

Stralman and Grossman have No. 2 potential but they have yet to fully establish themselves as consistent top-four quality defenders.

Essentially, all the options the Sharks have left available in free agency bring major question marks.

With that in mind, expect the Sharks to make yet another block buster trade for a third offeason in a row.

Based on the talents of the last two offseason acquisitions by the Sharks (Dan Boyle and Dany Heatley) possible trade targets for San Jose could be names even the casual fan is familiar with.

Tomas Kaberle, Shea Weber, Erik Johnson, Tobias Enstrom, Ryan Suter, Andrei Markov, and Marc Staal are just some of the defenseman that could soon be living in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Read more San Jose Sharks news on BleacherReport.com

The Sharks would have to surrender a first- and third-round pick should the Blackhawks not match the offer; they have seven days to make their decision. If San Jose had offered an average of just over $3 million, the compensation to the Blackhawks would have been only a second-round pick, likely making re-signing him more attractive than the combination of picks and cap space gotten for losing him.

And that is just it: The price for Hjalmarsson is going to be high now both for the team's present salary cap and for future prospects. Of course, Hjalmarsson is just 23 and more of a sure thing than picks, although there could be tremendous potential in one or both of them.

I had long been advocating the team making a play for both Hjalmarsson and goalie Annti Niemi from Chicago, to either steal them or force them to spend their limited cap room so they would be able to sign less supporting cast. I had ceased to call for this when it looked like the team had signed the team they were going to battle with.

I should remember that Doug Wilson is always capable of pulling a rabbit out of his hat. Two years ago, after losing out on Brian Campbell, he signed Rob Blake and then pulled the trigger on a trade that brought an even better Dan Boyle.

If Hjalmarsson comes to San Jose, the Sharks will return all key members of the blueline but Blake, whose replacement will be an upgrade. Furthermore, they should see continued improvement from Jason Demers and perhaps even Marc-Edouard Vlasic. At worst, Niclas Wallin may drop off a bit, but he may not dress anyway...

The reality is that the Sharks probably do not have the cap space to fill out a roster that includes all of last year's re-signed players plus Hjalmarsson., Rather, it would appear they are a good $2.5 million short—the exact amount of the overpaid contract of Wallin.

Wallin could be put on waivers and if some team picked him up, they would take on his salary. If no one did, the Sharks would be on the hook but could assign him to the minors (perhaps not even requiring him to report) so his salary would not count against the cap.

Hjalmarsson was instrumental in the team's Stanley Cup championship, and has been referred to by Scotty Bowman as "Little (Niklas) Lidstrom" for his incredible hockey IQ. For that reason, this signing would definitely improve the Sharks blueline. He would essentially replace the retired Rob Blake, who may have had an even higher hockey IQ but lacked anything close to the skating ability of Hjalmarsson.

Thus, if he does end up in San Jose, the Sharks will be better on the blueline. There is also a strong possibility that even after losing Manny Malhotra, they will have better forwards: Jed Ortmeyer is easily replaceable on the fourth line and not one Sharks forward is past his prime, meaning that plenty of young talent can step up and everyone outside of the first line will continue to get better.

Of course, the one area that the team has gone backwards in is goaltending. As outlined in the assessment of the team's bad moves in free agency, Antero Niittymaki is unlikely to perform anywhere near the level of Evgeni Nabokov.

However, the tandem of him and Thomas Greiss may be enough to keep a team with improved skaters in the hunt, especially after robbing the Chicago Blackhawks of a bona fide No. 3 defenceman. And if they match the offer, at least the team has raised the cost for a key team in their way.

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