The entire NHL world knew the San Jose Sharks would sell at this year’s trade deadline, but they still managed to create a couple of surprises. The first mild shock came when they sent Jake Walman to the Edmonton Oilers, albeit for a solid return. However, they made a far more surprising deal by flipping Fabian Zetterlund to the Ottawa Senators, receiving an underwhelming haul for one of their offensive leaders over the last two seasons.
The moves don’t hold the same weight, but they carry similar context. They highlight the front office’s refusal to commit seriously to any players yet, and a tendency to push their contention window a little further into the future. Neither trade will fully play out until years into the future, but they both make that future a little more nebulous and reliant on specific outcomes for current uncertainties.
Sharks‘ Trades Have Validity But Introduce Ambiguity
Zetterlund and Walman both made major contributions to the Sharks. Walman has only been with the Sharks for this season, but became their clear number-one defenseman in that time, leading the team in points among blueliners while also stepping up defensively and off the ice. He might not have kept that number-one role on a better San Jose squad, but would have remained a candidate for the top pair.
Zetterlund, on the other hand, spent parts of three different seasons with the Sharks, gradually improving after joining the team via the Timo Meier trade. He led San Jose in goals in 2023-24 and will likely have another 20-goal campaign while improving his assist numbers this season. From a chemistry perspective, he seemed to get along well with just about all of his teammates and gave consistent effort to set an example for the rest of the team. He established himself as the first — and oldest — player acquired by general manager Mike Grier who could have been a part of the Sharks’ core for a long time. So, to trade both of them in a span of less than 24 hours is a stunning turn of events.
The Sharks’ main argument for the trades is that they didn’t see Walman or Zetterlund as long-term players, but instead players who could fill the gap and hold the Sharks to at least a minimum level of respectability until the true core players are ready.
“This was more about roster construction, where we see things fitting down the line,” Grier said about the Zetterlund trade, in which the Sharks received Ottawa center Zack Ostapchuk. “It’s definitely some short-term pain for our group. But in the long run, you have to be strong down the middle.”
To be fair, they have a legitimate case for that argument. Walman will be well into his 30s by the time the Sharks are true contenders, and the Sharks received a first-round pick for him after acquiring him for future considerations last offseason. Meanwhile, Zetterlund projects as a middle-six winger on a contending team. As an impending restricted free agent, he might command more money than the Sharks are willing to give such a player this offseason.
Related: 2025 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
But these trades will only pay off if the anticipated core players fulfill those roles. Out of the players who presumably fit into that category, only William Eklund has proved his ability at the NHL level across multiple seasons. All the others are either rookies, in the American Hockey League, or still in juniors. They have a lot of promise, but plenty of promising players never pan out. With these trades, the Sharks gave up two players who proved they could be key pieces on an NHL roster in order to open up spaces for players who haven’t done that yet.
If enough of the Sharks’ prospects pan out, we’ll view the Walman and Zetterlund deals as shrewd moves done with forethought and accurate analysis of the future. But the San Jose front office needs to be right about all or most of those prospects for the benefits of the trade to come to fruition.
Mike Grier Will Need to Commit Eventually
Grier took on one of the most difficult front office jobs in the NHL when he joined San Jose in 2022. He inherited a lot of bloated contracts and a weak prospect pool, and had no choice but to take several seasons revitalizing the roster and system. In many ways, he’s succeeded. Unlike the previous regime, he committed to a full teardown, moved off several of the contracts in question, drafted well and put together a number of smart trades — often thinking several steps ahead — to give the Sharks one of the best young cores in the league.
At the same time, he hasn’t initiated the upward portion of the rebuild, even at times when he could have. At a certain point, the Sharks have to focus on improvement rather than giving up good players for more uncertain future assets. Every recent major trade of Grier’s — Walman, Zetterlund, Ty Emberson, Tomas Hertl — has pushed that date a little further down the line. Grier’s job is a lot more secure if he can point to brighter days ahead, rather than pushing to win. Once he does that, he has a few make-or-break seasons to prove all of these trades were worth it. He insists that era is about to get underway.
“That’s where we’d use that capital from the first-round picks we’ve acquired over the last month or so and try to go out and acquire some good players using those, and maybe even some of the prospects where it’s time for us to start doing that,” Grier said about the upcoming offseason. “That’s the idea, that this phase of just ‘Sell, sell, sell’ is for the most part over. Now it’s time to start building.”
Grier has several ways in which he could build. He could use their ample cap space to sign some major free agents or turn their many draft picks into a couple of high picks or good players. He could also continue his streak of good drafts, but this time, do so without making any big trades, showing he’s dedicated to winning with the current group. Whatever the moves, they have to happen soon. The Sharks can’t afford to keep making trades like those of Zetterlund and Walman for much longer.
