The summer 2011 flipping of Heatley for the talented but oft-injured Martin Havlat has yielded unsatisfactory results on two accounts. 

A) Despite Dany's career seemingly going off a cliff after arriving in Minnesota, the Sharks surely have missed his 26 markers from his final year with the club in, 2010-11. Whereas Havlat has yet still only netted 15 over 79 games in a Sharks uniform. Although the rise of Logan Couture has helped mitigate that lost production to a degree.

B) Despite both former stars experiencing declining production as they enter their mid 30's, Heatley's deal expires next summer, whereas Havlat is still tied to the team until July 2015. The deal naturally meant the Sharks were taking on an extra year of cap commitment in Havlat. Though his cap hit presence has caused a financial roadblock for young talents in the Sharks system to earn promotions to the parent club, despite his diminishing PPG.

This summer's compliance buyout period came and went with this option unavailable to San Jose's upper brass due to Havlat’s 'injured status', deeming him ineligible to be amnestied. However, next summer, assuming Havlat finishes the season in good health, they may choose to exercise it then, in the second and final 'off-the-books-buyout-window' permitted by the new CBA to help teams transition to the lowered cap.

As of now, San Jose remains a little over $400,000 above the cap ceiling, but Havlat is questionable to play this season at any point, which would give the team some much-needed breathing room.

Unfortunately, I believe San Jose to have the weakest prospect pool in the NHL. Hockey Prospectus ranks them 26^th in the league, and I believe they were rather generous with that assessment. Here are the default in-house candidates for discounted replacements, from the farm club group.

Worcester Sharks – Top 6 Scorers in 2012-2013

Yes, this is a pretty underwhelming group to say the least. There's a reason why San Jose's AHL affiliate placed in the bottom five in league standings two years running and the past three seasons out of the Calder Cup Playoff circuit. In fact, had it not been for bright, young netminder, Alex Stalock, the Baby Sharks might have actually bottomed out this past season. The last prospect of note to develop through the San Jose system into an NHL caliber-star was Couture, drafted way back in 2007. With Thomas Greiss departing for Phoenix this off-season, Alex will assuredly be deputized as Antti Niemi's backup this year, painting an even dimmer picture in the Worcester defensive zone.

Things do get a little bit brighter in the Bay Area this upcoming season from an offensive perspective though, as it appears San Jose's only prized international prospect, Tomas Hertl, is finally ready to make the jump overseas. The 19-year-old Hertl may well find himself on the Sharks' third line before long, after a strong year in the Czech ExtraLiga last year which saw him net 18 times in 43 games. Not too shabby for a teenager amongst men.

Moreover, look for Dougie Hamilton's big brother, Freddie, a 20-year-old winger, to have a big development year in the 'A', to follow up an impressive rookie campaign. One other bright spot on the horizon is 2011 second-rounder, Matt Nieto, plying his trade for Boston University the past three seasons. Some may point to a slight drop in production last year from his sophomore season as discouraging, though a large graduating core had departed from the program, leaving him with a very inexperienced squad. Nieto also had a strong showing in his cup of coffee with Worcester this past spring at the conclusion of his college tenure, scoring six points in 11 games. In fact, there's chatter he may have an outside shot to crack San Jose with a strong camp next month.

All things considered, whether or not we see some familiar faces leave town by the trade deadline this spring, it certainly is becoming increasingly likely that the hierarchy in the Shark Tank will experience further evolution.

~~ Follow Anthony Lancione on Twitter @anthisdaman ~~

Last Week’s Wild West:

Flaming Out