Fansided

One player on each NHL team that should be traded

By Jeremy Lambert

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin addresses the media prior to the NHL game at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 07: General manager of the Montreal Canadiens Marc Bergevin addresses the media prior to the NHL game at the Bell Centre on January 7, 2018 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
25 of 32
Next
DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 31: Mikkel Boedker #89 of the San Jose Sharks takes a shot in front of Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Little Caesars Arena on January 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 31: Mikkel Boedker #89 of the San Jose Sharks takes a shot in front of Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Little Caesars Arena on January 31, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

RW. San Jose Sharks. Mikkel Boedker. 8. player. 120.

The former eighth overall pick is, by most accounts, a NHL bust. He’s 28-years-old now and has scored just over 100 goals in nearly 600 games. He’s a serviceable depth player who never put it all together the way you would hope a top-10 pick would.

And yet, the San Jose Sharks are on the hook with him for another two seasons at $4 million.

Time to cut bait.

Will another team given Boedker one last shot at making something of himself? Probably. It’s the NHL, after all. There are a lot of teams out there who look at the flashes of brilliance and think, “If he can do that on a consistent basis, just imagine how good he’ll be.” How else do you explain Chris Stewart still playing a decent role on a potential playoff team? It’s not that players like Boedker and Stewart are bad, it’s that teams are willing to overlook their 90 percent disappointment rate because that 10 percent “holy bleep, did you see that?” rate is blinding.

Boedker’s 10 percent “holy bleep” is just too good for some teams to pass up on. They’ll think that he can be a game-changing offensive forward despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Look great with this Sharks hat from Fanatics.

But this is how you sell him, if you’re San Jose. You blind other teams with that 10 percent and finesse them out of a third or fourth round pick, even though he’s worth a fifth or six round pick at best.

All you have to do is believe, San Jose. Believe that they are teams out there who are dumber than you. And then strikes.

Home/NHL