After a disappointing playoff loss to the Los Angeles Kings; the San Jose Sharks have started making major changes. General manager Doug Wilson announced that Dan Boyle and Martin Havlat will not be back with the team. Meanwhile Brent Burns, who spent all of this season and most of last year as a power forward will be going back to defence from his spot beside Joe Thornton.
“You want to be careful not to change too many things, but you better be really careful that you’re not just avoiding what really needs to take place,” Wilson said. “There’s two sides to that. I think what we need to do is much more drastic than just putting a Band-aide on it.”
Dan Boyle
Boyle, 37, is a pending unrestricted free agent. Wilson said that he will not be offering the defender a new contract. Boyle has been a stalwart on the Sharks blueline since joining the team prior to the 2008-09 season. This year he put up 12 goals and 36 points in 75 games for San Jose. He had just four assists in the Sharks seven game loss to the Sharks. Boyle made $6.666 million in the final year of his six-year contract last season.
Martin Havlat
Havlat, 33, has one-year remaining on his current 6-year deal with a $6 million salary and $5 million cap hit. The oft-injured forward scored just 12 goals and 22 points in 48 games this season. Wilson announced that he will attempt to trade Havlat, but if not he will make him an amnesty buy-out. A trade seems unlikely given this announcement.
Brent Burns
Burns, who scored 22 goals and 48 goals this season as a forward will be headed back to the blue line to fill the hole for a puck moving defenceman that Boyle will leave. The move is sacrificing some offence up-front to add Burns’ abilities at the back end.
“When you take a look at that type of dynamic on the back end, guys that move the puck up, shoot the puck on the power play, it creates a tough matchup,” Wilson said. “When he was originally moved up to forward, it was because of an injury. He was coming back and he was having trouble with certain parts of his skating.”
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