A little more than a week ago, the San Jose Sharks did what many of their fans never imagined they’d do: cut ties with cornerstone defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. 

Buying out the final season of Vlasic’s eight-year, $56-million contract raised eyebrows at first because the Sharks have loads of cap space. But GM Mike Grier made the appropriate move for now and the long haul. You can’t accuse Grier of not liking players with experience, either, because his free-agent signings show he wants to set a sense of veteran professionalism to guide the way for San Jose’s young, up-and-coming stars.