The San Jose Sharks were a very good team for a long time until their aging core group was traded or moved on and the team fell to the bottom of the standings. Some of those deals were made by general manager (GM) Mike Grier, who executed four key trades since he was hired.
Grier has been the Sharks’ GM since July 5, 2022 and came flying out of the gate at the 2022 NHL Entry Draft with four moves in two days. Most notably, he gave up the 11th-overall pick (that became Conor Geekie) for the 27th overall pick (Filip Bystedt) and two second-round picks. That kicked off a string of poor moves over the past year and a half.
First, the Sharks sent Brent Burns to the Carolina Hurricanes. Not only did they retain 34 percent of Burns’ AAV (average annual value), the contract was front-loaded and the veteran defenseman still had three years left on his deal. In return for Burns, the Sharks got a third-round pick, Steven Lorentz — a bottom-six forward — and Eetu Makiniemi, a goaltender who has declined since the trade. (from “Answering 10 Sharks questions about Brent Burns trade and what comes next, The Athletic, July 14, 2022).
Soon after, the Sharks traded future Stanley Cup-winning goalie Adin Hill to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fourth-round pick in 2024.
The other two losing trades involved Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson. Meier, who was traded to the New Jersey Devils, was one of the most-targeted players at the 2023 Trade Deadline — an elite power forward who was just 26 years old, in his prime, and on a contract worth $6 million AAV for the remainder of last season.
Regardless of how unexpectedly poorly Meier has played for the Devils, the return was also poor, especially considering the Sharks retained half of his AAV for last season.
The return included Andreas Johnsson, Fabian Zetterlund, Nikita Okhotiuk, Shakir Mukhamadullin, a 2023 first-round pick, and a 2024 second-round pick and seventh-round pick. This seems like a huge haul, but only Zetterlund, Mukhamadullin, and potentially the first-round pick are of any importance. The Sharks failed to get Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, or Simon Nemec in the deal, who are better prospects and younger than who they got.
Finally, of the four trades, Karlsson’s move to the Pittsburgh Penguins last August was the most recent one to made waves. Coming off the first 100-point season by a defenseman in years, the cost to acquire Karlsson was not going to get any higher, and the Sharks dropped the ball. The Sharks took on two bad contracts from the Penguins (Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta) and one from the Montreal Canadiens (Mike Hoffman) in this massive trade, all so they could only get a top-10 protected first-round pick in 2024. Karlsson won the Norris Trophy in 2022-2023 and provided the bulk of the Sharks’ offense that season. He isn’t exactly young at 33, but he has four years remaining on his deal and getting a player for multiple years generally costs a fair bit more to acquire.
How the Oilers Take Advantage of the Sharks
So, what was all that information useful for in terms of relation to the Oilers? Well, Edmonton has been linked to the Sharks on multiple occasions because of the availability of players such as Mackenzie Blackwood and Anthony Duclair. Those two aren’t at the same level as Karlsson, Burns, Meier, and Hill, but they are among the best the Sharks have to offer this season. The Oilers must try to get a deal done.
To address two critical needs, the Oilers should be looking for a top-six forward and a backup goalie. Duclair and Blackwood fit the mould. The team has a ton of speed and would love to acquire a player who can score from the wing in the top six. Duclair checks all of those boxes, is in the prime of his career, will be a unrestricted free agent (UFA) after the season, and has a $3 million AAV. On the Sharks, everyone’s offensive numbers are poor, but as a member of the Florida Panthers, Duclair produced 43 goals and 99 points in 137 games over two-and-a-bit seasons. In half of those games, he wasn’t a part of the top power-play unit either, so he can help out at five-on-five, which is where the Oilers will need him most.
Since the Panthers moved Duclair to the Sharks in the offseason as a cap dump for a first-round pick and Lorentz — as well as Duclair having a down year offensively with 17 points — the Oilers may be able to pay less than a second-round pick for him if the trend of Grier getting weak returns for the Sharks players continues.
I would consider Blackwood as a netminder best suited for a tandem and would work for the Oilers to help them lock down games Skinner isn’t playing in or if an injury occurs to a goalie. Regardless, Blackwood has been solid on a bad team and would do the trick if he doesn’t cost too much. The Oilers have been able to get by for most of the season on Sinner’s back, and while playing well right now — and I don’t see his game falling off — he might struggle eventually.
That is where a backup or a second goalie comes in. Calvin Pickard has done a better job than expected, but with the Oilers’ condensed schedule the rest of the way, he will have to play more. I think the Oilers would want a goalie they can trust to take starts away from Skinner, give him rest, and confidently play in back-to-backs.
Blackwood is more than capable of being that goalie, but if all goes according to plan, Skinner will be playing throughout the playoffs so the Oilers would be paying a big price for someone to play less. If Edmonton can get a deal closer to what the Golden Knights got for Hill, that would be great, but something less than a first-round pick would still be a win in my eyes as Blackwood has one more year left on his deal.
Related: Insider Links Oilers to 3 Impactful Wingers After Signing Perry
These potentially cheap trades for the Oilers would be ideal, but I don’t expect both to happen. The Sharks are only starting their deep rebuild and will continue to try to move assets before the UFAs hit free agency. This includes Duclair and Blackwood in the short term, and with Grier’s track record, they could cost less than expected for the Oilers to acquire.