San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson tinkered around the
edges of his roster Tuesday, acquiring two forwards with the
potential to bolster his team’s third and fourth lines without
giving up much in return.
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SAN JOSE
San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson tinkered around the edges of his roster Tuesday, acquiring two forwards with the potential to bolster his team’s third and fourth lines without giving up much in return.
First, Wilson sent a fifth-round pick in the 2011 NHL entry draft to the Atlanta Thrashers for Ben Eager, a rugged 6-foot-2, 230-pound left wing who was part of last season’s Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks team.
The Sharks then filed a waiver claim for center Kyle Wellwood, blocking an attempt by the St. Louis Blues to bring Wellwood — a veteran of 338 games with the Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs — back to the NHL after a short stint in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. Wellwood, in fact, was taking part in the Blues’ morning skate when he got word he would be suiting up for San Jose instead.
While all this was transpiring, the NHL handed Scott Nichol a four-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Phoenix Coyotes defenseman David Schlemko during Monday’s 4-2 victory.
Wilson said the roster moves were not tied to his team’s recent six-game losing streak, but he did cite recent injuries to Ryane Clowe and Torrey Mitchell as well as the fact the Sharks would be without Nichol in coming games.
Part of the timing, Wilson added, is also the fact that the season reached the point where teams do not want to rely as heavily on young players from the minors.
“This is the man’s time of the year,” he said, “and adding to our depth of players who can contribute in those areas is very important.”
Eager also provides a physical presence so that Clowe, who has a team-high nine fights this season and missed the Phoenix game with a leg injury, may not have to take on that role as often in the future.
Wellwood, Wilson said, “gives us veteran depth with our injury situation and adds experience for our coaches to draw upon.”
Eager, who has 77 penalty minutes this season as well as three goals and 10 points, says he prides himself on “trying to come and compete every night, be a tough player to play against.”
During his two seasons with Vancouver, Wellwood said, he focused on playing smart — “winning faceoffs, playing smart defense, handling the puck in good situations” — but was not very dangerous on offense.
“What I’ve been working on,” said Wellwood, who had a career high 18 goals with Vancouver two seasons ago, “is trying to get back to making more plays offensively.”
Both of the new Sharks, however, do bring some baggage.
Eager, who divided five NHL seasons between Chicago and the Philadelphia Flyers before going to Atlanta, has just completed a four-game suspension for a blindside punch to the head of Toronto’s Colby Armstrong.
“Obviously it wasn’t the right thing to do on my part,” said Eager, before noting that he was “more or less shocked” to get the four games because other highly publicized hits recently went unpunished. “But that’s part of the game. It’s over with now so I’m going to put that behind me and move on.”
When Wellwood first reported to Vancouver in 2008, he was called out publicly for being overweight and out of condition.
“When I came to Vancouver, I came off waivers from Toronto and I had three groin surgeries and I had a broken leg over the summer,” he said. “When I got to camp, I wasn’t in good enough shape. That was something I fixed. “¦ I’ve been under 180 pounds, so it’s kind of a running joke — you still get the fat jokes when you’re one of the lightest people in hockey.”
Both Eager, who is earning $965,000 this season, and Wellwood, who signed a $650,000 contract with St. Louis, will be unrestricted free agents at the end of this season.
The two new Sharks are expected to practice with the team Wednesday and could be in the lineup Thursday night in Vancouver.
— Story by David Pollak, San Jose Mercury News
