Toronto Maple Leafs: Ranking All 32 NHL General Managers
By Jeff Borsuk
The 16th Ranked GM – Doug Wilson (San Jose Sharks)
It’s almost unfathomable to think that Doug Wilson has been the general manager of the Sharks since May of 2013. He has been in the role for over 18 years. That means he could be drafting players this year who weren’t even born when the Sharks first hired Wilson to be their GM.
The Good – Wilson has managed to find some valuable players very deep in the draft. He took Nick Bonino (2007) Tommy Wingels (2008), and Dylan DeMelo all in the sixth-round. He did even better with a pair of seventh-round selections. In 2003, Wilson drafted Joe Pavelski 205th overall. He did it again in 2008 when the Sharks selected Jason Demers 186th overall.
The Bad – While Wilson can be lauded for his success finding NHL regulars at the back of the draft, he can be equally criticized for some moves he made in the first round. Some of his worst were after trading up to get better picks.
In 2005, Wilson traded it’s 12th overall pick to the Atlanta Thrashers, which they used to select Marc Staal, their second-round pick, used on Chad Denny, and their seventh round pick, which turned into Myles Stoesz. Wilson moved the trio of picks to move up to seventh overall where he drafted Devin Setoguchi.
That was actually the second time Wilson traded up in a draft. The first was in 2003. In a cohort loaded with talent, Wilson wasn’t happy picking with the 21st selection. He managed to get himself up to 16. In that slot, Wilson and the Sharks chose Steve Bernier. While he played well in San Jose, one must wonder what could have been if he had chosen one of the players that was drafted after Bernier in the round. They include Zach Parise, Ryan Getzlaf, Brent Burns, Mark Stuart, Ryan Kesler, Mike Richards, Brian Boyle, Corey Perry, and Patrick Eaves.
The Ugly – It’s hard to look at Erik Karlsson’s current contract and not feel bad for the Sharks. Wilson locked the blueliner up for eight years in 2019. He signed the unrestricted free agent to a contract worth $92M, which carries an AAV of $11.5M. Now 31 years old, Karlsson still has six years remaining on his deal.