Sharks Add Ian White to Their Blue Line

For Ian White, this year has been one of ups and downs.

Traded earlier in the year to the Carolina Hurricanes, he never seemed to fit in. With a solid top-four already established with Jamie McBain, Joe Corvo, Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason; White and his nearly $3 million cap hit were seen as superfluous.

So the Canes moved him to bright and sunny San Jose where he will try to help their secondary scoring and depth. Jim Rutherford and company received a second round pick for the impending UFA.

Through 39 games with Carolina, White only produced 10 points, all coming as assists. He also knocked in two goals and six points with Calgary but with a minus-10 rating in only 16 games after hitting a career-high of 38 points last year with the Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs. A quick look back would tell you White never scored more than 10 goals or 38 points at either the NHL or AHL level, which includes playing primarily as a forward with the Leafs.

In other words, last year was the exception, not the rule.

The Sharks get a player fully capable of playing the powerplay and chipping in offensively but who seems to have hit his ceiling. Expecting a sudden boom out of White, who struggled in both the Eastern and Western Conference this year, would be a let down.

However, all White actually needs to do is replace Jason Demers– the current scapegoat of the Sharks defense. Over the past two years, White has only played for struggling or borderline teams. The supporting cast in San Jose figures to be much stronger than Carolina, Calgary, Toronto or honestly most of the Conference.

If Demers, who may be over his head in the NHL in general, can hold fantasy value then so can White. Deeper leagues might as well take a flier on the versatile skater if in need as a change of scenery should help.

In summary… (line changes)

Sharks: Demoted Demers, trade Derek Joslin and cleared space for White.
Hurricanes: Will use Brett Carson on the blue line, whose 500k salary better fits his bottom pairing role.

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