San Jose Sharks

The best things in life are worth waiting for. At least my mom always told me that.
If mom was right, then San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson must have the mother of all plans stewing in Silicon Valley.

Taking a look at the top four stories on sjsharks.com, one will quickly notice that none of them have anything to do with the upcoming milestone 2010-2011 season.

This year, there are multiple aging long-time NHL veterans looking for renewed contracts or new homes this off-season.  While you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, they can teach the puppies a thing or two about how the game is meant to be played.

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.

When the calendar still reads July, and the buzz over the early portion of NHL free agency period has come and gone, hockey writers are simply pulling teeth trying to find worthy news to post about.

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.

On Monday, the San Jose Sharks lost again to the Chicago Blackhawks in the pursuit of young defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson.

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.

As of last season, Mike Modano was the only player in the NHL still under contract with the same franchise he played for while the San Jose Sharks completed their expansion season of 1991-92.

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.

Just this past Friday, the San Jose Sharks announced that they had signed Chicago Blackhawks' restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a 4-year, $14 million contract.

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

According to NHL.com , the San Jose Sharks have offered Chicago Blackhawks restricted free agent defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson a four-year, $14 million contract. The $3.5 million per year offer suggests that the Sharks want him badly in teal next season.

When long time goaltender Evgeni Nabokov defected to mother Russia, it left the San Jose Sharks with a gigantic hole between the pipes.

Coming off one of his best seasons, the 35 year old net minder put up a 44-16-10 record with three shutouts. He had a goals against average of 2.43 and a save percentage of .922.

Perhaps San Jose Sharks GM Doug Wilson is still fighting off a mild delirium at the frustration and disappointment of being swept out of the 2010 Western Conference Finals. How else can one explain the confusing cacophony of offseason moves he has crafted to date?