San Jose Sharks Gameday: Doug Wilson's worst trades

As proven by the recent trade of Douglas Murray for something more than an expired can of pinto beans, Sharks GM Doug Wilson is still one of the better move-makers in the NHL. Fans are hoping that he will be able to pull off similar magic with the rusty old swing set that is Ryane Clowe, and are also watching expectantly to see whether he decides to move the aging-but-still-great Dan Boyle in an effort to boost the team's struggling offense.

Doug Wilson has earned a bit of trust from fans with the remarkable run he's had since taking over as GM. The Sharks have been a competitive force for the entire decade Wilson has run the team, and while some of the credit for that is due to the previous roster put in place by former GM Dean Lombardi, Wilson has made the team his own through solid late draft picks and major trades.

But not every trade Wilson has made has been a good one.

As the clock ticks down towards next week's trade deadline, it's important for us to remember that trades don't always work out. Here is a quick rundown of the worst trades Doug Wilson has made as GM of the Sharks. I'll rate each with "WHY" followed by some question marks. The more question marks there are, the harder this trade is to accept in retrospect.

Miikka Kiprusoff for a 2nd-round pick (which became Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so that's cool).

WHY?? The Sharks had Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala, who seemed good at the time, so there really wasn't any room for Kiprusoff. He went on to have some success with the Calgary Flames, but the Sharks have done just fine with their own goaltending.

Tom Preissing and Josh Hennessy for Mark Bell.

WHY? The Thornton-Cheechoo line needed a wing, and some cars needed to be crashed into. Mark Bell sucked, but neither Preissing or Hennessy ever really did anything, so who cares?

Josh Gorges and a 1st-round pick (Max Pacioretty) for Craig Rivet and a 5th-round pick (Jason Demers).

WHY??? Shit, that pick got the Canadiens Pacioretty? God damn it.

Ville Nieminen, Jay Barriball, and a first-round pick (David Perron) for Bill Guerin.

WHY??? Nieminen sucked and Barriball isn't an NHL player., but this was STILL a bad trade.

Steve Bernier and a 1st-round pick (Tyler Ennis) for Brian Campbell.

WHY?? This one wasn't all Doug Wilson's fault, since stupid sweaty Brian Campbell ruined everything by looking for a big payday rather than signing with the Sharks, but all these first-round picks that were traded away for players who aren't on the team anymore sure look painful in hindsight.

Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo for Dany Heatley.

WHY? Michalek has arguably ended up being a better player than Dany Heatley since this trade was made, but it still wasn't a horrendous deal.

Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat.

WHY?? It's been frustrating to never really get to see what Martin Havlat can do when fully healthy, but that was a known risk when the trade was made. Dany Heatley has declined since the move, but he's also played a hell of a lot more games.

Jamie McGinn for Daniel Winnik and T.J. Galiardi.

WHY???????? If Daniel Winnik was still on the Sharks this would be one of the best trades Doug Wilson ever made, but he's not and I am sad.

So what do you guys think? Which of these trades was the worst? Vote in the poll at the end of this article.

"And it happened all the time that the compromise between two perfectly rational alternatives was something that made no sense at all."

― Neal Stephenson, Anathem

Prediction: Sharks win 4-1, as the goals just keep on coming. Hooray for regression!