San Jose Sharks Trade Possibilities
There really is no question about it. The San Jose Sharks need to make a trade if they want to make a statement in the playoffs. With their current roster, there’s no chance they can make it out of the first round, if they even make it at all. The NHL trade deadline is Monday, and even though Comcast Sportsnet’s Kevin Kurz has said he believes the Sharks won’t make a big trade until the offseason, there are plenty of options for them to make a deal. NHL.com’s Dan Rosen has named the top 15 trade targets for the Monday deadline, and he has the Sharks as possible suitors for many of them. But would any of them happen? Let’s go down the list.
Phil Kessel
If you know a Sharks fan that does not want Phil Kessel on the team, slap them in the face and tell them to move along. Phil Kessel is an elite scorer on a pretty terrible team, and the thought of Joe Thornton and Phil Kessel on a line is absolutely magnificent. Despite all of it, there is no chance this trade happens. Doug Wilson has made it clear that the Sharks are looking towards the future, and trading for Phil Kessel would give up way too many prospects or key draft picks. Even though I would love Kessel, it just will not happen.
Jonathan Bernier
Bernier is an interesting thought. With all the rumors of the Sharks trading Antti Niemi, the Sharks will have to trade for a goalie to make it happen. Niemi is the best available unrestricted free agent, and Stalock is not ready to be an NHL starter. There’s the possibility the Sharks could get Bernier in the offseason as he is a pending restricted free agent, but the Sharks would have to completely overpay for the Leafs not to match, and then give compensation for him if he is tendered. A trade makes the most sense. Bernier shouldn’t cost too much to get through trade due to his average stats, and the Sharks can sign him to a short term deal in the offseason to see if he works out or not, especially if they’re serious about trading Niemi.
Mike Green
There’s really only one way I would like to see this trade happen. Bring in Mike Green, and move Brent Burns to forward (which they should do anyway). If not, they have two offensive minded defensemen who are known for turning the puck over. According to SportingCharts.com, Mike Green has a -17 turnover plus minus, and Brent Burns has a -45. Having both Burns and Green on the blue line would be frightening night in and night out. Since the Sharks have no intention of moving Brent Burns to forward, despite how much sense it makes, the Sharks should not go after Mike Green.
Dion Phaneuf
There’s no question Dion Phaneuf would be an improvement on the Sharks blue line. He’s better than Irwin, Hannan, Tennyson, Dillon, and Mueller. There’s no question he’d be an improvement, and the Leafs probably won’t be able to get too much for him, considering the massive contract he signed last season. That, however, is the main problem. Dion Phaneuf has 6 years left at 7 million a year. He’s not worth that type of money, and the Sharks only have 8 million dollars in cap space. Dion would be a much needed addition to the defensive corps, but they’ll be crippling themselves on cap space. Take a pass on Dion.
Antoine Vermette
Antoine Vermette’s SAT this season is -79, which is not good. However, alongside of the defense, the Sharks really lack depth forwards. Players like Thornton, Pavelski, Marleau, and Couture are studs, while players like Wingels, Nieto, and Hertl (even with his down year) are good depth forwards. That’s it. Maybe Tyler Kennedy would fit into that list if the Sharks played him more than they did and on a competent line, but since they don’t, we’ll never know. Adding a player like Antoine Vermette adds depth to a forward group that needs a lot of depth. Vermette is also an unrestricted free agent, so if he doesn’t work out they just move on in the offseason. Vermette could seriously work in San Jose. Who knows? Maybe bringing in Vermette will mean less John Scott.
Tyler Bozak
Tyler Bozak is just like Antoine Vermette, a good player that you can bring in to help the depth with the forwards. The main difference between Bozak and Vermette is that Bozak will have 3 more years at 4 million a season after this year. That’s not so bad for a good player like Bozak, but where does he fit? They’ll have to put him on one of the top two lines at wing, because he won’t start at center ahead of players like Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, and Logan Couture. He’ll have to be a 3rd line center, and the Sharks using half of their available cap space on a third line center seems like a dumb decision, especially with Hertl and Nieto soon needing new contracts. Bozak could be a good fit with the Sharks if they put him at wing on one of the top two lines. Otherwise, using half their available cap on a third liner seems like a waste.
Out of all of these options, the most interesting is Bernier and Vermette. Both could be good additions to the Sharks and make them a better team, and would improve their chances of making the playoffs, and making a decent run in the postseason, especially considering the Pacific Division isn’t exactly top notch.