The San Jose Sharks have cleared out a spot on the blueline, albeit, not one that fans had expected. On Thursday, the team traded defenseman Kyle Burroughs to the Los Angeles Kings for Carl Grundstrom. The move offers more credence to the information from Pierre LeBrun that the Kings will not re-sign defenseman Matt Roy and let him enter free agency.
Never say never, but all signs point to Matt Roy going to market. Kings and his camp haven’t been able to bridge the gap.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2024
Roy, 29, is about the same age as Burroughs, 28. But Roy is due a new contract after coming off of a season in which he had 25 points in 81 games. His most recent contract was $3.15 million per year. Meanwhile, Burroughs is signed through 2025-26 to a very manageable $1.1 million. For the Kings, this is a way to ease the loss of Roy while not hurting the team as much.
What Grundstrom brings to the Sharks
As for what the Sharks get in return, Grundstrom is a 26-year-old forward who will be a restricted free agent on July 1. He’s coming off a two-year deal that paid him $1.3 million per year. According to Puckpedia, Grundstrom’s qualifying offer is $1.3 million.
Grundstrom had 12 points in 50 games for the Kings last season, playing 10:56 per game. He played responsible minutes in the bottom six, often taking the ice with Blake Lizotte, Trevor Lewis, Alex Laferriere and Pierre-Luc Dubois.
Looking at Evolving-Hockey’s regularized-adjusted plus-minus chart for Grundstrom, you can see that he didn’t play many minutes on the power play.
However, he was able to help control the play when he was on the ice, offering his team the opportunity to gain momentum. His 101 hits last season show he’s not afraid to play the body.
Grundstrom is a bottom-six forward who needs a new contract.
What this move says about the Sharks
It’s clear with this move that Grier is doing everything in his power to convince Macklin Celebrini that going pro next season is in his best interest. He’s signing bottom-six forwards who are responsible with the puck and play with a little grit. The move also makes it clear that if a young forward prospect wants to make the Sharks next season, he will have to prove that he has what it takes to play in the top six.
Adding a player like Grundstrom leaves the Sharks with a bottom-six group that includes Nico Sturm, Barclay Goodrow, Ty Dellandrea, Thomas Bordeleau, and Collin Graf. One would think that Luke Kunin would ideally slide down to the bottom six as the Sharks’ depth up front solidifies.
Make no mistake, Celebrini and Smith will get top six minutes this season.
