Sharks' GM Remains Inactive Heading into Playoffs

April Fool!

Sharks GM Dan Hooper was front and center in the recent flurry of trade activity. Booking flights out of San Jose are stars like Sergei Gonchar, Daniel Sedin, Martin Straka, and promising junior goalie Patrick Ehelechner. Some might think it was a fire sale signifying that San Jose was throwing in the towel and looking toward next year.

On the contrary, the Sharks' GM has figured out a way to strengthen the team for the playoffs while addressing personnel issues. Surfing into San Jose will be veterans Aaron Ward and Patrik Elias. These two will be joining a first line already containing Radek Bonk, Jaromir Jagr and Scott Neidermayer. This should create one of the top lines in CLUTCH. In addition to forming this impressive lineup, Hooper has secured enough junior players and draft picks to avoid league violation scenarios left by the previous GM.

When asked for comment Hooper had the following to say, "It was hard to pull the trigger when moving such quality players not to mention quality people. The contract status [UFA] of Sergei and Martin made them logical choices. I think a lot of us hated to see Danny and Pat go, but at least now we can look ahead without roster problems looming overhead."

Is the roster finally set for the playoffs? "We'll see." replies Hooper with a grin, "I wouldn't mind adding a quality center for the postseason. We've been in contact with several GMs and could have another deal in a matter of hours."