Sharks Tender First Offer Sheet Of Summer To D Hjalmarsson

It was just a matter of time before some team went after another's restricted free agent, and the San Jose Sharks decided to take the leap. On Friday, they tendered Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson an offer sheet worth $14 million over four years. That comes out to an average annual cap hit of $3.5 million, which means that the Sharks would owe Chicago first and third round draft picks in 2011 if the Blackhawks choose not to match. They have seven days to make that decision.
A main priority for Chicago this summer was to cut a ton of salary, which was accomplished through various deals that bid adieu to the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd. But the whole point of those salary dumps was to be cap compliant and to have the financial flexibility to re-sign key restricted free agents, including goaltender Antti Niemi and Hjalmarsson.

While it would seem like a no brainer for the Blackhawks to match San Jose's offer and retain the 23-year old shock-blocking specialist who was incredibly valuable during the 2010 Stanley Cup run, it's obviously not that simple. Even with all the moves they've made, the Blackhawks still sit just $3.613 million under the 2010-11 cap figure of $59.4 million. And that's not counting Niemi, who has filed for salary arbitration and is believed to be seeking in the neighborhood of $4 million per season. Matching would bring Chicago right underneath that cap figure and make it almost impossible to bring Niemi back into the fold. Or, it would just make demoting Cristobal Huet an absolute necessity. Still, the Blackhawks need to fill out the remainder of their roster, which requires three more forwards, two more defenseman (Hjalmarsson would make it one) and a backup goalie (if Huet is taken out of the equation.)

General Manager Stan Bowman would probably love nothing more than to retain Hjalmarsson. But the economics just don't seem to make it possible. And if he's left choosing between keeping Hjalmarsson and re-signing Niemi, the latter is almost guaranteed to win out. Chances are, he takes the first and third rounders next summer and seeks other blue line options.

The Sharks aren't in desperate need of another defenseman, but would like a top four guy to replace the retired Rob Blake. General Manager Doug Wilson is fond of what the Sharks witnessed from Hjalmarsson in the playoffs and is willing to sacrifice the draft picks in return compensation to bring him on board

"We feel Niklas is a top-three defenceman in the National Hockey League," Wilson said. "We saw his abilities firsthand in the playoffs last season and he was an important piece of a Stanley Cup-winning team. He is a solid player that would be a good fit on our team now and in the future."

He won't necessarily fill in where Blake left off offensively, but Hjalmarsson can chip in here and there in the scoring department. His true worth, however, is in the defensive zone. There, he is tremendous at shutting down opponents and laying his body on the line to get in front of pucks. And at such a young age, Hjarlmarsson has the potential to be a big part of San Jose's defensive corp for a very long time. If Wilson can land him, it would be a big pickup well worth the picks.