Should I Stay or Should I Go? Unrestricted Free Agents

The free agency period has begun, and Doug Wilson has made moves that have given the Sharks cap space. The question is not whether they will sign new players, it is how effective those players will be. In the summer of 2008, the Sharks made major upgrades on the blueline that were supposed to carry them to a title. Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, and Brad Lukowich certainly provided that upgrade, as the Sharks had arguably the best blueline in the regular season. But the team got no post-season hardware out of their new unit. This should bring Wilson to the realization that the problem is not on the back end, but rather among the forwards. The Sharks have struggled to score in the playoffs for four consecutive post-seasons, and bowed out in the second round each time. The widely accepted theory is that it is defence that wins in the playoffs, but the statistics post-lockout say otherwise. The top eight offensive teams were all in the 2009 playoffs, but the second-best defensive team, th...