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Burns’ injury opens up trade possibilities for Sharks

Brent Burns Getty

Injuries are never really a good thing, aside from the occasional bit of dumb luck (see: Drew Bledsoe being sidelined to open the door for the Tom Brady Age). That being said, if they need to happen, teams likely prefer them to take place in advance of the trade deadline.

CSNBayArea.com’s Ray Ratto indicates that might be the case with Brent Burns and the San Jose Sharks. The offensive defenseman fell victim to bad luck in the form of Alex Hemsky’s knee-to-knee injury, a snafu that might force GM Doug Wilson’s hand a bit.

Here’s a quick look at the possible scenarios according to Ratto (click here for an extended take).

1. Wilson could do little-to-nothing if Burns, Ryane Clowe and Martin Havlat end up healthy.

2. He could be forced to overpay in a scenario in which Burns is hurt but the two forwards end up healthy.

3. The Sharks might be forced to replace Clowe - a player I deemed the NHL’s most functional fighter - but the other two are fine. (Good luck finding another Clowe at a reasonable price.)

4. Chaos if Burns and at least one of those two are out for a prolonged period.

So what’s going to happen? That remains to be seen as injury updates trickle in, but Ratto has this entertaining look into how it could play out if No. 4 is the answer:

But this will allow a glimpse of Doug Wilson’s gift for tactical prevarication. Maybe he’ll slip us a safe word as a tell -- maybe something from the George Carlin Words You Can’t Say On Television Collection. Because if the news on Burns and/or Clowe and Havlat is bad, he’ll be using all seven of them, loudly and repeatedly.

For unbiased observers, it all sounds quite entertaining, doesn’t it?