Karlsson trade example of Sharks' evolution under Wilson

SAN JOSE --The books sit on a shelf in the office of San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson next to editions of the NHL Guide & Record Book. They are "Orr: My Story" by Bobby Orr and "All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results" by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton.

Perfect, right? The Sharks acquired Erik Karlsson, the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, in a trade with the Ottawa Senators last week. Wilson is trying to make San Jose a place players want to be and to win the Stanley Cup.
Don't judge this coverage by those books, though.
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The Karlsson trade involved everyone from owner Hasso Plattner to the scouts. Wilson's influences range from the late Chicago Blackhawks forward Stan Mikita, to the late San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, to Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers to two other books in particular.
Wilson would rather not name those two books publicly, let alone detail their lessons.
"We're competitive," he said with a smile.
But it's no secret that the Sharks and Wilson are trying to keep evolving so they can contend for the Stanley Cup year after year and eventually break through.
"I'm lucky," Wilson said. "I live out here in Silicon Valley, where you've got people who are reinventing themselves all the time. I've got a brilliant owner. I've got some amazing people willing to give me their time, and I can listen and learn from them."
The Sharks hired Wilson as GM on May 13, 2003. Since then, they have had the best record in the NHL and made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 13 times in 14 seasons.
No GM in the NHL has made more major trades except for perhaps David Poile of the Nashville Predators. Wilson has acquired center Joe Thornton, defenseman Brent Burns, goaltender Martin Jones and forward Evander Kane. Karlsson is just the latest.
Some of it has been because the Sharks have put themselves in position. Plattner, co-founder of SAP SE software company, has given Wilson the resources to acquire players and sign them to contract extensions, and to move the American Hockey League affiliate to San Jose in 2015. The scouts have found players through the NHL Draft and free agency, and players have been developed in San Jose, giving Wilson the assets to make trades and the confidence he still has players coming. Wilson has managed the NHL salary cap in a way that has left room to seize opportunities.
Some of it has been necessity. Thanks to their success and trades, the Sharks' average first pick since 2004 has been No. 27. The Sharks also lost forward Patrick Marleau in free agency on July 2, 2017, and came close but didn't sign center John Tavares in free agency July 1. Each ended up with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"We don't just use one component," Wilson said. "In this business, though, you do need difference-makers. If you're not drafting in the top three and you're drafting late like us, that's really the only way you're going to get them."

Wilson watched his older brother, Murray, win the Cup as a forward with the Montreal Canadiens in 1973, 1976, 1977 and 1978. Each season, the Canadiens were expected to compete for a championship.
That rubbed off on Wilson, whose first roommate was Mikita when he broke into the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1977-78. Wilson was an elite offensive defenseman himself, winning the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman when he had 85 points (39 goals, 46 assists) in 76 games in 1981-82. He had 827 points (237 goals, 590 assists) in 1,024 games over 14 seasons with Chicago and two with San Jose. He appreciates the impact elite offensive defensemen like Burns and Karlsson can have.
Wilson had a curious mind, looking for lessons in the past, trying to stay ahead of the curve. Sharks head athletic trainer Ray Tufts spent 10 years as an athletic trainer with the 49ers. Through mutual friends, Wilson reached out to Walsh and met with him two or three times before he died July 30, 2007. Wilson would drive up to Palo Alto, California, and sit down with Walsh at his favorite ice cream place. A meeting that was supposed to take 30 minutes would take two hours.
"I'm sitting there going, 'This is one of the greatest gifts you could ever get,'" Wilson said.
In 2014, the Sharks blew a 3-0 series lead and lost to the Los Angeles Kings in seven games in the Western Conference First Round. The following season, they missed the playoffs for the first time under Wilson and parted with coach Todd McLellan on April 20, 2015. Wilson met with Myers, who had hired Steve Kerr to coach the Warriors on May 15, 2014, before hiring Peter DeBoer on May 28, 2015.
"I spent a lot of time with Bob on researching the ingredients he was looking for in a coach," Wilson said. "Pete DeBoer has a lot of similar ingredients [to Kerr]. A lot. Inclusive. Bright. Can deliver a message succinctly in less than 30 words."
The Warriors have made the NBA Finals in all four seasons under Kerr, winning three championships. The Sharks have made the Final once under DeBoer, in 2016, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. But the Sharks have continued to adapt, most notably adding Kane and Karlsson, and their chances of winning the Cup are as good as they've ever been.
"We've changed the blend of our team, but we've also tried to get current with how the game is played," Wilson said. "You can play a speed game either by physically being fast or by thinking the game fast, so there's a place there for everybody. If you can find a difference-maker, and it's so rare that it comes along, that impacts the rest of the people."
Maybe one day Wilson will write a book of his own.