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Welcome Home, Brad Stuart

The San Jose Sharks did one of the smartest things thus far after last season (granted it was the only thing) in trading for essentially Brad Stuart’s rights. After watching their long hated rival Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup this week, the new trend of hard hitting and shot blocking defensive defenseman is beginning to take shape as I expect it will across the NHL. With Brad Stuart’s arrival, and hopefully subsequent contract signing, the San Jose Sharks have vastly improved their blue line without really even trying. Luckily for Sharks fans and Doug Wilson, Brad’s wife is a San Jose native who wanted him to be closer to home, plus Stuart was in a position to make it happen with his contract ending. But how will his signing impact the blue line of the Sharks for next season?

Brad Stuart’s joining of the San Jose Sharks defenseman is going to make the team a much more solid defensive crew. His game has changed drastically since the last time he has donned a Sharks sweater but it definitely fits the team’s need for next season. Just don’t expect him to be paired up on the first powerplay unit like a decade ago putting up 40+ points; do expect him to see a lot of hard minutes on penalty kills and chip in about 20 points though. He has become a much more stay-at-home defenseman who likes to hit hard and block shots from getting through, which sounds like something the Sharks were lacking the last few seasons.

As for the rest of the blue line, I think we will not be seeing a lot of the same guys being signed. Vandermeer and White are UFA’s and I think they are pretty much expendable at this point. Justin Braun will definitely be signing a big boy contract, so one-way and no more trips to the minors. And with the cupboards pretty bare for prospects, I would still love to see Petrecki get at least a cup of coffee next year, if not more. I think this will bump Douglas Murray down to the 5/6th spot though, giving him less minutes overall but making him more effective since his lack of speed won’t be as exploited as much. I heavily doubt Doug Wilson will be done wheeling and dealing making next year’s roster complete, but I really don’t know what more he could do to the blue line other than adding a 6/7th depth defenseman. From this point out, I think he will just need to worry about the 3rd and 4th forward lines and getting some key penalty killers unless one of the top 6 defensemen are involved in a trade (cough Nash cough).

The NHL always follows trends trying to get their club to win a cup, so watch for 29 other teams to follow what LA did by creating super defensive teams the next few seasons. And now just imagine how different the NHL would be today if the Washington Capitals won a cup a few years ago with their run ‘n gun style of play…

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