Locked On Sharks
Could Sharks Go Big Trade Hunting This Summer?

If Mike Grier wanted to add a foundational NHL piece to the San Jose Sharks this off-season, what names could be available for him? I start with Pierre-Luc Dubois, as the Winnipeg Jets might be at the beginning of a teardown — he could help provide scoring for the Sharks post-Timo Meier. Next, if Alex DeBrincat wants out of Ottawa, why would he be worth the price of a trade and a new contract (10:00)? Would Nick Schmaltz (and his affordable contract) from the Arizona Coyotes be worth the asking price (15:00)? Finally, if the Toronto Maple Leafs are really going to split up the Core Four, William Nylander would alter the San Jose Sharks (21:00).
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Good fantasy trade piece JD. I get this is simply a “players that would be nice to have” piece, but I wonder though – if DeBrincat is not happy in Ottawa why would he consider SJ?
Dubois would be a good add. Young and relatively inexpensive for what he provides. I would be on board with moving Labanc and sliding Dubois in. Make it happen JD!
SJ is in California. That would be a major reason.
I think the team being in CA can be a double edged sword. Usually what gets pointed out as a main barrier to players going there is a higher cost of living. Whether that’s a valid point or not is unknown to me, but that’s generally what gets floated.
I think these guys on their multi-million dollars per year contracts are NOT worried one bit about the “high cost of living in California”, if the Sharks were a championship caliber franchise, which they aren’t (yet), high end to elite players would have no problem coming to San Jose.
That’s hardly a reason especially for hockey players, many of whom are homeboys who like to play closer to family back east. If they come to Cali, they prioritize LA, not SJ and they always have. SJ might have been more of destination when they had a perennial playoff team all those years but they still couldn’t attract a number of targets that ultimately went to LA over SJ before their cup wins.
Like all the ideas but just don’t see Debrincat being a Grier target. I’ve wanted Nylander on the Sharks since his last contract impasse. DuBois is already ticketed for the Habs but otherwise he would be a perfect addition.
Nope. No cap space and lots of untradeable contracts. Sharks are beginning a true rebuild this summer.
Take your comment back to 2020. They actually have a bunch of cap space and no more big contracts than most other teams. Couture 8, EK65 11.5, Vlasic 7, Hertl 8. The other larger contracts that they would like to move on from (Labanc & Simek) are expiring this next season which makes them easily moveable. If they do trade EK65 they will have a ton of cap space even if they retain a little.
Something occurred to me. If the Bruins lose Bergeron I could see them targeting someone like Couture if they’re still in win now mode which they should be. Bet he would agree to a trade if it was to one of the best teams n the league.
I’ve written before that people in the industry think that Couture has value as long as Sharks retain. He’s still seen as a playoff-caliber 2C
The names that are thrown around for example Nylander — why would he want to come to San Jose? Most of these guys probably have “only tradeable to certain teams” and we can all bet the house the Sharks aren’t one of those teams.