Quote:
Originally Posted by wraith985
I don't understand why everyone is immediately jumping to the conclusion that Vlasic is going somewhere or that the move was made to 'send him a message' or whatever. What the heck are the indications that Colin White's *one-year* deal is going to push Vlasic out of San Jose?
This reminds me almost exactly of the Niemi situation last year: Doug makes his moves early on and assembles a team that he'd be okay with heading into the season, and then another player becomes available and he makes the deal. Last year, Niittymaki was all set to go as the #1 (or the co-#1 with Greiss) until Niemi became available. This time around, just swap names and numbers - Vandermeer was all set to go as the #6 until White became available. I don't think there's going to be a whole lot of debate about the fact that White is better than Vandermeer, so it's purely just a question of making the team better. You don't pass up those opportunities, especially when you're this far below the salary cap and when you're gunning for the Cup like the Sharks are. This makes sense as purely a depth move, so I don't see any reason to tack on other, unwarranted implications.
I could buy speculation that this means Moore will get shipped somewhere where he might get a shot at sticking for like a 7th rounder or something (with Braun staying in the AHL for one more year), but immediately jumping to Vlasic being on the block or in the doghouse is hilarious.
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I completely agree and I hope you're right.