Rundowns at the end of the year are popular, so we’re going to throw one together for the trades completed by General Manager Mike Grier in 2024. His teardown is practically done, and now we’re in the build phase of the rebuild. Grier has stripped the team of almost all of its albatross contracts and added assets. Some of those assets he’s flipped into new prospects, while others, he’s integrated into the team as he prepares for a teal future.
So, before we turn the calendar on to 2025, here’s a look at the top ten moves GMMG made in 2024.
Missing the cut
The June 23 trade of Ozzy Wiesblatt to the Nashville Predators for Egor Afanasyev might have worked if it weren’t for the fact that Afanasyev was tired of playing in the AHL and decided going back to Russia would be a better plan. Wiesblatt wasn’t working out, but the Sharks received nothing in return for the trade. Of all the trades that missed the cut, this one might have been the most likely to make the list if Afanasyev decided staying in San Jose was for him.
Other trades that did not make the cut include:
- On March 8, the Sharks traded Kaapo Kahkonen to the Devils for Vitek Vanecek and a 2025 seventh-round pick.
- On March 8, the Sharks traded Radim Simek and a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Klim Kostin.
- On June 19, the Sharks traded a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Dallas Stars for Ty Dellandrea. Dellandrea signed a two-year, $1.3 million AAV contract on July 4, 2024.
- On June 23, the Sharks traded Nikita Okhotiuk to the Calgary Flames for a 2024 fifth-round pick (Colton Roberts).
- On June 27, traded Kyle Burroughs to the Los Angeles Kings Carl Grundstrom. Grundstrom signed a two-year, $1.8 million AAV contract on July 4, 2024.
- On June 29, the Sharks traded the 85th overall pick in 2024 and a 2025 sixth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils for the 82nd overall pick in 2024 (Carson Wetsch).
Those are the ones that missed the cut, but here are the ones that made the list.
10. Traded 2025 seventh-round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Devin Cooley (March 8)
This trade comes in at number 10 because of the vibes.
Devin Cooley is no longer with the Sharks organization, but a 2025 seventh-round pick was a small price to pay for a good story at the tail end of a crappy season.
Watching the Los Gatos native and former Junior Shark play for his hometown team was a thrill not just for him and his family but for Sharks fans everywhere.
9. Grabbed Barclay Goodrow off of waivers from New York Rangers (June 19)
It’s not a trade, but with no inside knowledge, I believe conversations were had.
For Grier, this is a brilliant move. Will Smith was signed. Macklin Celebrini was going to be the first overall pick for the Sharks. The young players were ready to move into the NHL; they just needed to be protected by players who could still play at an NHL level and weren’t afraid to stick up for their teammates. Goodrow fits the bill.
The fact that Grier got the 31-year-old forward for free is amazing, and that’s why the moves comes in at ninth on the list.
8. Traded Ty Emberson to the Edmonton Oilers for Cody Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick (Aug. 18)
While adding value out of nothing earns the previous trades a spot on this list, the assets given up for Cody Ceci are what drop this trade all the way down to seventh.
We here at Fear the Fin liked Ty Emberson, especially because he was a young, right-shot defenseman on a team that desperately needed right-shot defensemen. For a rebuilding team like the Sharks, youth would almost always be the better option.
And that’s the knock against Ceci. Yes, he’s an NHL-level defenseman, but he’s hit his ceiling. At 30 years old, he’s likely hit his peak and is heading toward the back end of his career. He doesn’t fit into the future for the Sharks.
The only way Grier can make this trade worth it is if he flips Ceci this year for a pick or a prospect. As it stands, it’s a so-so trade.
7. Traded Tomas Hertl and two picks to the Vegas Golden Knights for David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick (March 8)
This trade might be higher on our list if it weren’t for two glaring issues. First, the Sharks gave up a top-six talent, the team’s top scorer and a power play threat and had to pay two third-round picks (2025 and 2027) to make it happen. What’s more, the Sharks had to retain $1.39 million per year for the rest of the contract.
In return, the team received potential middle-six center David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick (likely a late first-round pick) from the Golden Knights.
The only reason this trade ranks above the previous trades is that we already know what Grier did with those assets to make the Sharks better.
6. Traded Matt Benning and picks to Toronto Maple Leafs for Timothy Liljegren (Oct. 30)
The San Jose Sharks needed a right-side defenseman and Matt Benning wasn’t the answer. The team hopes that a change of scenery will allow Timothy Liljegren to blossom. The 25-year-old 17th overall pick from the 2017 NHL Entry Draft was once projected as a potential top-four defenseman.
However, pundits have soured on him over the years. In fact, in 2021, The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler dropped Liljegren down on the Maple Leaf’s prospect chart and said he might peak at a four or five defenseman with an emphasis on might.
Still, he’s young and he has a chance. Liljegren is an improvement over the dismal defense the Sharks have trotted out over the past year and a half. Benning, a 2025 third-round pick and a 2026 sixth-round pick, isn’t a bad trade for what Liljegren could possibly be if the gamble pays off. While the third-rounder might turn into something, the sixth-rounder isn’t likely to and Benning was having a hard time breaking into our lineup.
5. Traded Anthony Duclair and 2025 seventh-round pick to Tampa Bay Lightning for Jack Thompson and 2024 third-round pick (March 7)
It was a while ago, but on March 7, the Sharks flipped the team’s most significant asset at the deadline, Anthony Duclair, to the Tampa Bay Lightning, along with a seventh-round pick. In return, the Lightning sent defensive prospect Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round pick (which was then flipped to the Capitals for the 82nd overall pick).
Thompson has played 14 games for the Sharks and has five points (2 G, 3 A) in those five games. While he’s back with the San Jose Barracuda at the moment, Thompson may still turn into a bottom-pairing defenseman for the Sharks. He can transition the puck relatively well and there will be at least a spot or two opening up on defense at the end of the season. Thompson could compete for one of those spots or the Sharks could trade him for future assets.
Grier gave himself some options after trading a player he traded Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
4. Traded Mackenzie Blackwood, Givani Smith and 2025 fifth-round pick to Colorado Avalanche for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko and picks (Dec. 9)
This trade is the culmination of what started out as a simple trade with the New Jersey Devils in 2023. The Sharks sent a 2023 sixth-round pick to the New Jersey Devils to acquire the rights to then-restricted free agent Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood re-signed at a reasonable price.
Earlier this month, Grier worked his magic and traded Blackwood, Givani Smith and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2026 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
The acquisition of Georgiev changes nothing for the Sharks. His contract also expires at the end of this season, so the timeline for bringing up Yaroslav Askarov will not change. What’s more, if Grier can trade Georgiev at the deadline, it only makes the deal sweeter.
Swapping 26-year-old Givani Smith, who was in and out of the lineup all season, for 25-year-old Kovalenko has added a bit more skill to the Sharks lineup and given the Macklin Celebrini line a hard-checking forward who can help create plays. While it’s hard to say what Kovalenko will develop into for the Sharks, it’s so far, so good.
Let’s say the fifth-round picks basically cancel each other out, there’s still a second-round pick that Grier has to work with in 2026.
To sum up. Grier turned the sixth-round pick he used to acquire Blackwood and a soon to be free agent forward that was in and out of the lineup, into a serviceable goaltender for a tanking team (Georgiev), a forward with potential (Kovalenko) and a second-round pick.
Not a bad piece of business.
3. Traded picks 14 and 42 for pick 11 in the 2024 NHL draft (June 27)
Grier used the team’s massive draft capital in 2024 to move up in the draft, trading the 14th and 42nd overall picks to land the 11th overall pick.
Grier was rewarded for his boldness when not one, but two top-tier defensemen were left on the board by the time it was San Jose’s turn to pick. Say what you want about who Grier picked (I know some of you think Zeev Buium was the better option), but the fact that he had the opportunity to choose between two potential top-pairing defensemen is excellent work.
As for Sam Dickinson, who was selected 11th overall. He is trying to prove Grier made the right decision. Dickinson will represent Team Canada at the World Junior Championship and was recently named the defensive player of the month in the OHL for November.
So far, Dickinson is one of the top scorers in the OHL. That’s among defensemen and forwards.
2. Traded Magnus Chrona, David Edstrom & 2025 1st round pick to Nashville for Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke and 2025 3rd round pick (Aug. 23)
One of the key components for a contending NHL team is a top-flight goaltender. Up until August, the Sharks didn’t have one in the team’s system. Grier fixed that problem by taking advantage of a team that was desperate to make a move.
On Aug. 23, he traded Magnus Chrona and the draft capital the team received from the Hertl trade (Edstrom and Vegas’ 2025 first-round pick) for Yaroslav Askarov, Nolan Burke and a 2025 third-round pick.
While it seems like a big give, it was worth it for Askarov. Vegas’ 2025 pick will likely be late in the first round. Meantime, Edstrom, while a very good player, was one of many in a deep pool of Sharks centers. With Celebrini, Will Smith and potentially Filip Bystedt, Collin Graf, Tristen Robins or Thomas Bordeleau down the middle, the Sharks could afford to give up Edstrom.
By making this trade, Grier has added a key young piece to, hopefully, make the Sharks a dangerous team for many seasons to come.
1. Traded future considerations to the Detroit Red Wings for Jake Walman and a 2024 second-round pick (June 25)
If the trade for Askarov was a home run, this is a grand slam.
On June 25, the Sharks got Jake Walman and a 2024 second-round pick (Leo Sahlin Wallenius) for future considerations.
The 28-year-old Walman has 25 points this season in 31 games and is 13th in the entire league when it comes to scoring by defensemen. (He’s tied with Erik Karlsson and has played six fewer games than Karlsson for those of you tracking these kinds of statistics).
Crazier still, Walman’s point total is better than every single Detroit defenseman. The closest Detroit defenseman is Moritz Seider, who has 19 points in 35 games. He’s 31st among NHL defensemen in scoring.
But wait, there’s more. Because Grier then used the second-round pick from Detroit to help prepare the Sharks for the future. He selected Sahlin Wallenius, who projects to be a middle of the lineup defenseman.
Obviously, it will take time for Sahlin Wallenius to make his way to North America and the NHL, but it’s laying the groundwork for a solid prospect pipeline over the next few years.
Conclusion
Like 2023, when Grier pulled off more than a dozen trades that helped make the Sharks’ future look brighter, the GM continued his work this year. He continues to lay the groundwork for a team that has the potential to be competitive in a few seasons and also has a pipeline to keep them competitive for several seasons after that.
