Five thoughts: what the Duchene trade tells us about Sharks chances of acquiring a replacement for Marleau

SAN JOSE — The Sharks might find a way to replace Patrick Marleau’s offensive production with an internal group effort. The chances of finding a one-to-one replacement for Mr. Shark on the trade market are slim, and that’s probably a generous assessment. Get Sharks news in your inbox. Sign up now for the free Sharks Report newsletter.

As Marleau and Joe Thornton headed toward unrestricted free agency last summer, a common narrative being spun around town was that it was time for the Sharks to move on. Things were getting stale. The Sharks needed to let at least one, if not both, of the future Hall of Famers walk to free up the cap space to bring in another all-star caliber player to lead the franchise into the future.

The Ottawa Senators blockbuster trade for Matt Duchene over the weekend shows what it takes and how challenging it can be to acquire franchise players on the market in the modern NHL.

“They’re hard to replace, too. We had one leave, Patty Marleau. Those guys that play at that level, it’s a short list,” head coach Pete DeBoer said. “And even more importantly, centermen. They’re like goaltenders, or top-two defensemen, it’s hard to find, but you have to have them.

“You look at the teams that win at the end of the day, they’re all deep up the middle.”

Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic faced heavy criticism for demanding such a steep price for Duchene and waiting more than a year to pull the trigger on a deal. In the end, he won a king’s ransom, acquiring prospects Samuel Girard (No. 47, 2016), Vladislav Kamenev (No, 42, 2014) and Shane Bowers (No. 28, 2017), goalie Andrew Hammond, and a conditional 2018 first-round pick, a 2018 second-round pick and a 2019 third-round pick.

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The Senators, who worked out a three-way deal with the Nashville Predators to acquire Duchene, gave up a top-six center in Kyle Turris, their top pick from the 2017 NHL Draft (Bowers), a conditional first-round pick (2018), a third-round pick (2019) and Hammond, who led them into the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2014-15 by going 20-1-2 down the stretch with a 1.79 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage.

The trade is basically the equivalent of the Sharks giving up Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, last year’s first-round pick, this year’s first-round pick, a third-round pick and Aaron Dell or Troy Grosenick to obtain Duchene’s services.

I threw Tierney into the mix because Turris has achieved a lot more than Hertl at the NHL level with three seasons of 20 or more goals and 50 or more points. He also doesn’t have Hertl’s history of knee injuries.

Looking at that price tag, the only thing that comes to mind is Dana Carvey’s impression of former-President George H.W. Bush on Saturday Night Live: “not gonna do it.”

2. With all that being said, if there’s one general manager in the salary cap era with a track record of acquiring franchise-caliber players without giving up the house it’s Doug Wilson. Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation.

In the last 11 years, he’s brought in a Hart Trophy winner in Thornton, a Norris Trophy winner in Brent Burns and quite possibly a future-Vezina Trophy winner in Martin Jones. He obtained this trio of all stars for Marco Sturm, Wayne Primeau, Brad Stuart, Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, Sean Kuraly and a pair of first-round picks.

Not bad.

Does Wilson have anymore trick cards left in his deck?

3. If the Sharks are going to pull off a trade for a scoring forward this season, they’ll need to give up a young defenseman. Everyone needs blue line depth and that’s a position of strength for the Sharks right now.

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Sharks reach agreement with depth centerman on two-year deal With that in mind, the Sharks probably aren’t crying over the fact that Paul Martin has been on the shelf for a month now. It’s given Joakim Ryan an extended showcase.

Like it or not, Ryan is likely the blue liner that will be shipped out of town if the Sharks go shopping for more scoring in February. The Sharks can’t afford to cut ties with Tim Heed (the guy that everyone is probably asking about) because they need his offense from the backend and Dylan DeMelo won’t have enough value as a guy who can’t crack the team’s top six.

Wilson might want to hold onto Ryan as he appears to be the perfect replacement for Martin when his tenure with the Sharks expires. But he’ll need to give up something to get what he wants and the rookie defenseman could be a sound compromise depending on the deal.

4. Ryan’s game is reminding a lot of people of Martin, including Martin.

“Just watching him on the ice, the way that he skates and moves, he’s very methodical. He’s a thinker,” Martin said. “And he’s good with Burnzie, he’s the right type of player to fill out and compliment that pairing. He’s the same way off the ice. He’s very even keeled and he doesn’t get too high or too low.”

Martin also praised Ryan’s stick work, his positioning and his innate ability to anticipate where the play is going.

These traits should make for good selling points at the negotiating table.

5. Under DeBoer, the Sharks are a defense-first hockey team.

They’ve jumped out to an 8-5 start by leading the NHL in shots against (27.8) and ranking second in goals-against average (2.31). The Sharks have allowed two or fewer goals in six-consecutive games, compiling a 5-1 record over that span.

But the Sharks defensive approach is predicated on puck possession and a strong forechecking offense. They aren’t keeping their forwards high in the offensive zone to retreat into the neutral zone and collapse around the net in the defensive zone.

“This isn’t us becoming the (1995) New Jersey Devils,” DeBoer said. “We’re doing it, but we’re doing it a different way, in an offensive way.

“We’re never pulling out or backing up in the neutral zone. I’ve never coached that way. Our defense comes from taking away time and space, being on top of people and, hopefully, having the puck more than they have it.”

DeBoer’s brand of hockey is a lot like how the 49ers played during the Jim Harbaugh-Alex Smith era. They keep opposing offenses off the field by holding onto the ball, eating up the clock with seven, eight and nine-minute drives.

“And you’re wearing out their key players, too,” the Sharks coach said.

With that being said, is DeBoer also a fan of that Chuck Noll-era Pittsburgh Steelers style of football?

“I don’t know,” the Sharks coach said, acknowledging that he’s more of a Canadian Football League fan. “We have a lot of passing up there.”

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