Sharks In Over Their Heads

The Sharks could be in a heap of trouble if they don't sort out the remainder of their roster, which they will have to do by moving some players around. The Sharks are quite a front-loaded team, especially after re-signing Rob Blake and Ryane Clowe and then adding Scott Nichol and Kent Huskins to the mix this summer. The Sharks are also in the middle of the Dany Heatley sweepstakes, but they will likely have to move some expensive assets to even come close to fitting him in underneath the cap ceiling.

In theory, the Sharks should be a pretty dangerous team, but with the way things are looking at the moment, we can't make any hasty decisions about their future just yet.

Forwards	Defense	Goaltenders
Joe Thornton	Dan Boyle	Evgeni Nabokov
Patrick Marleau	Rob Blake
Devin Setoguchi	Christian Ehrhoff
Joe Pavelski	Marc-Eduoard Vlasic
Milan Michalek	Brad Lukowich
Ryane Clowe	Doug Murray
Jonathan Cheechoo	Kent Huskins
Scott Nichol
Jody Shelley

The team listed above has 17 players at a cap hit of $56.2 million, leaving less than $600,000 for the remaining six players to fill the 23-man roster. That is impossible, since the minimum salary these days is about $475,000. That being said, if the Sharks can move some of their assets out, then some of their younger players can move up and fill a role (or seven) heading into October. It's getting to be a clutch time for the Sharks.

Worth mentioning on the RFA front is Torrey Mitchell, who recovered from a broken leg late last season and made a push into the playoffs. He'll be in need of a new deal this summer, if and when they can afford that kind of contract.