With the Four Nations Faceoff now complete and the teams back playing, the sprint to the March 7 trade deadline has officially begun. All 32 GMs had a chance to take some time over the Four Nations’ break to seriously evaluate what they plan to do, whether it’s go for it or call it a season. While trades were allowed during the season, there weren’t many to talk about. But you can bet that GMs were talking and General Manager Mike Grier was taking calls.
One of the key targets for GMMG at the trade deadline will likely be draft picks. The Sharks have eight picks in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, including just three in the first two rounds. San Jose has its own first-round pick, Dallas’ first-round pick and its own second-round pick. That’s it for the first two rounds of the draft. For a rebuilding team like the Sharks, getting more picks for this upcoming draft is essential, especially if the team can pull some picks in the first two rounds.
Enough cap space to help out?
There are a few ways that the Sharks can grab those picks. The team can trade players, which we’ll talk about in a moment, or it can use its cap space to help a team make some room. The Sharks can use its cap space to be the third team in a trade. According to Puckpedia, San Jose has $7.18 million in projected cap space as of Feb. 20.
That’s enough room to take a throw-away contract, possibly one with term, if that’s what needs to happen. Of course, if Grier does this, he’ll expect something in the form of draft picks or prospects in return.
Can the Sharks retain salary?
The one tool not at the Sharks’ disposal is salary retention.
If you’ve monitored San Jose’s cap situation for any short amount of time, then you know the Sharks don’t have a retention spot to spare. That means the Sharks can’t help out contending teams, even in the short term.
It also means San Jose can’t trade a high-contract player like Marc-Edouard Vlasic or Barclay Goodrow, unless another team is willing to take on the full brunt of the salary.
While the issue will be rectified in the summer when Brent Burns’ contract ends and San Jose is off the hook for the $2.72 million it retained in the deal, it will not help the Sharks at this trade deadline.
What does San Jose have to offer?
The real question is, what does San Jose have to offer now that one of its biggest trade assets, Mikael Granlund, is off the board? There are no more top-six forwards on the table, which means there’s no shot at another first-round pick this trade deadline unless there’s a package deal.
So, what else is there?
A bottom-six forward
The thing San Jose seems to have most of is bottom six forwards. Luckily for Team Teal, there are teams that need depth scoring if they want to go far in the playoffs. Looking only at the teams in a playoff position at the Four Nations break, the Florida Panthers (Yahoo Sports), Dallas Stars (The Hockey News), Edmonton Oilers (The Hockey News), Minnesota Wild (Pro Hockey Rumors) and Vegas Golden Knights (Vegas Hockey Now) all need bottom-six forwards to add scoring depth. The Tampa Bay Lightning could use a middle six winger (The Hockey News).
Meantime, the Toronto Maple Leafs (The Athletic), Washington Capitals (Stars and Sticks), Colorado Avalanche (Pro Hockey Rumors) and Carolina Hurricanes (Last Word on Sports) are a bit more specific in what they need. It’s not just scoring depth but center depth. And the Los Angeles Kings (Rink Royalty) could use a 4C.
The question is, can the Sharks fill those needs?
Luke Kunin
Topping the list is Luke Kunin. Kunin plays with grit and heart, which can be something coaches and general managers want more of in the postseason. There’s always a need for a guy who will jump someone much bigger than them to get their team going or because one of their star players got hit. Kunin isn’t afraid to do either and understands the game well enough to know when it’s necessary and when it’s not. A smart, feisty hockey player can be invaluable.
With 18 points including 11 goals in 57 games, he might have enough of a scoring touch to suit what GMs are looking for. His ability to play center in a pinch also helps.
Kunin is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Nico Sturm
Nico Sturm is another option for teams, especially ones looking for a depth center. Sturm is a strong penalty killer and a faceoff specialist, which means a coach can toss him over the boards when they need a faceoff win. While he’s a few years removed, one should also remember that Sturm won a Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, which general managers really value in the postseason.
Sturm has 11 points in 41 games this season and is currently on IR. But he’s expected to be back in play after the Four Nations break, giving him enough time to show teams that he’s healthy enough to play in the postseason.
Sturm is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Klim Kostin
The 25-year-old Klim Kostin hasn’t had a breakout season like the Sharks had been hoping, but his play has gotten better as the season has progressed. Kostin has just four points in 26 games this season and is averaging just 10:32 TOI per game. But he plays with speed and isn’t afraid to hit, which might inspire teams to at least give him a look.
Kostin is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Walker Duehr
Grier has played this game before. He’s flipped a waiver wire pickup into a draft pick at the trade deadline. Duehr hasn’t been shockingly good since the Sharks snagged him from the Calgary Flames in mid-January, but also, he hasn’t been bad. Duehr has two goals in seven games with the Sharks after going goalless in 16 games with the Flames.
Duehr is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Colin White
Colin White cleared waivers when the Sharks sent him back to the San Jose Barracuda earlier this month after giving him a three-game stint with the team. That pretty much shows there aren’t a lot of trade options out there for the 28-year-old forward, but who knows?
White has NHL experience with 323 games played. If a team is looking for a depth winger with experience and a low, low price, White might be an option.
White is on a two-way contract and is an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Nikolai Kovalenko
The only restricted-free agent on this portion of the list is Nikolai Kovalenko, who is young with a scoring touch. If the Sharks feel like they have enough young wingers on the team, Kovalenko could be moved at the deadline. He’s shown sparks of skill playing alongside Macklin Celebrini and has eight points in 17 games with the Sharks. He also had eight points in 28 games with the Colorado Avalanche earlier this season.
While the Sharks likely want to keep Kovalenko for next season, you can bet that if someone calls about him, Grier will listen.
Depth defense
The Ottawa Senators (Bleacher Report), New Jersey Devils (The Hockey News), Detroit Red Wings (The Hockey News), Golden Knights (Vegas Hockey Now) all need depth defense. The Florida Panthers are specifically looking for a veteran defenseman according to Yahoo Sports.
Meantime, the Dallas Stars (The Hockey News) need a top-four defenseman, and the Edmonton Oilers (The Hockey News) is looking for a middle-pair defenseman, something the Sharks can’t offer unless the team is willing to give up Mario Ferraro. Pro Hockey Rumors reports the Avalanche could use not just a middle-pair defenseman, but a right-shot one at that. That’s a role Ferraro can’t fill.
Jan Rutta
In terms of defense, the most available of the defensemen is Jan Rutta, who is as veteran as they come. Rutta gained notoriety playing as the defensive anchor for Victor Hedman on the Tampa Bay Lightning. He won back-to-back Stanley Cups with the Lightning, something that GMs might like about his game.
That said, Rutta has lost a step and is among the worst of Sharks defensemen this season, particularly in expected goals above replacement. That may make general managers think twice.
Rutta is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and is with San Jose on a contract that pays him $2.75 million this season.
Jack Thompson & Shakir Mukhamadullin
Jack Thompson and Shakir Mukhamadullin will be listed together since they’re in similar situations. Both are restricted free agents at the close of this season and the Sharks need to make decisions about them.
As depth defensemen, Thompson and Mukhamadullin might fill the role of a sixth or seventh defenseman for a playoff contender, but since neither has played in the postseason at the NHL level, it’s tough to believe that a team will want either of them, at least from a pure playoff standpoint.
Just the same, both show potential as NHL defensemen and the ability to move them between the NHL and AHL is appealing. The fact that both are under team control could be invaluable for a team in a trade.
While it’s unlikely that either is available at the trade deadline, they are options if Grier decides he needs to make a bigger move ahead of the deadline.
Backup goaltenders
Barring an injury, the backup goaltender market has a limited number of buyers. Among the teams currently looking are the Hurricanes (Last Word on Sports) and the Vegas Golden Knights (Vegas Hockey Now). The Hurricanes might be hunting for bigger game than the Sharks have, multiple rumors have linked them to John Gibson with the Anaheim Ducks. After trading Logan Thompson in the off-season, the Golden Knights might want some extra insurance in the net.
Each of San Jose’s goaltenders comes with his own problems. For Vitek Vanecek, this was supposed to be a bounce back year where he showed other teams he was still capable of holding his own in the NHL after an injury cut his 2023-24 season short. The trouble is, Vanecek took a puck to the face in the winter, which removed him from play for several weeks. He had a very good return on Feb. 6, but followed it up with a game the Sharks would rather forget on Feb. 8. Vanecek may not have the runway to show that he can be the backup goaltender a team needs.
The story for Alexandar Georgiev is a little different. This was a player who was playing on a playoff contender and then lost the confidence of his team. Georgiev parted ways with the Avalanche, and the fact that things have not gotten better while playing for the Sharks, it’s unlikely that there will be any calls about the netminder before the deadline.
One of the better questions might be whether the Sharks think that Georgiev is suited to be Yaroslav Askarov’s backup or tandem partner next season or if the team will choose to shop the goalie market.
A scoring forward
Every team in the playoff race would love to add a scoring forward to the mix. The Lightning (The Hockey Writers) need a middle-six forward, while the Devils (The Hockey Writers), Wild (Pro Hockey Rumors), Vancouver Canucks (The Athletic) and the Red Wings (The Hockey News) are looking for someone they can slot into the top six. The Kings (Rink Royalty) need to add to scoring and the power play, while the Winnipeg Jets (The Hockey Writers) need a second-line center.
The Sharks have a pair of restricted free agents that might fill those roles, though the second-line center might be a bit of a stretch.
Fabian Zetterlund
A restricted free agent at the close of this season, it would take A LOT to pry Zetterlund away from the Sharks. Zetterlund has 33 points in 57 games this season, on a better pace than his 44 points in 82 games last season. Better yet, more of Zetterlund’s points this season have come at even-strength as he’s been dropped down to the second power play unit with the additions of Tyler Toffoli and Celebrini to the lineup this season.
Grier would get a lot of calls for Zetterlund if he let teams know the young forward was available. Of course, we don’t see him doing that, but it’s always an option.
Thomas Bordeleau
Another option that might be more likely is to trade Thomas Bordeleau. Bordeleau is, technically, a center, though he rarely played that role with the Sharks last season. Bordeleau has not received a call up to the Sharks this season, surpassed on the depth chart by players like Danil Gushchin, Ethan Cardwell and Collin Graf. Still, Bordeleau has scoring skills and might be able to slot into a top-six role in a pinch if a team is in a cap crunch.
Conclusion
The Sharks have already distributed the team’s top trade asset in Mikael Granlund, so don’t expect GMMG to make any miracle moves at the trade deadline. He’s likely going to make those hockey trades for low-level draft picks or B/C level prospects. Those low level picks should not be written off, those are the ones you package with the picks that you have to move up in a draft. At this point, Grier needs to get something, anything, for his unrestricted free agents to help keep this rebuild going.
