Three Sharks Players That Have to Be Traded Before the Deadline
Your San Jose Sharks are in a difficult position right now. Dead last in the National Hockey League standings, this team has actually found some things to go right for the organization in recent times. Specifically, I am referring to their home record, which has seen them win five of their last eight on home ice. The problem with this is that the Sharks are in the midst of an Eastern Conference road trip.
It’s looking more and more likely that the Sharks are going to have to find a way to move players out at the trade deadline. Pending unrestricted free agents that are clearly not in the plans of Mike Grier and the organization’s front office. Cutting the dead weight to try and make sure the team gets the largest number of assets available to them is going to be very important going forward for this team.
This could be difficult because a lot of Sharks players have large cap hits in the final year of the “flat-cap era” because of the stagnation of the growth of the salary cap due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Retention has been something the Sharks have wanted to avoid in the past, but trying to make sure that this team gets the most out of what it does have is going to be vital to getting through this rebuild successfully.
Not including Radim Simek, who is buried in the minors, there are nine players who will be eligible for unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of the season. With that much roster turnover in one summer, any consistency and relationship built among the team will be destroyed with an exodus next summer. This means getting ahead of it is the only logical conclusion for this Sharks management group. So, who should be moved?
Alexander Barabanov
Since he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Alexander Barabanov has been one of the best members of the San Jose Sharks organization. The growth of the St Petersburg native has been staggering in the teal of this organization. After moving Antti Suomela to the Leafs to acquire Barabanov, this has been a major victory for the Sharks front office.
In 153 games as a member of the San Jose Sharks organization, Barabanov has 28 goals and 65 assists for 93 points. To put up totals like this while playing higher up the roster against more difficult competition than he otherwise would is a sign that this is a player who can be a good depth piece for a lot of contending teams. He’s going to be the strongest trade chip the Sharks have at the deadline if they can’t re-sign him.
But there is an issue. Barabanov has only played six games this season because of an injury, and he’s not produced a single point at this moment. Part of this is because the Sharks’ schedule to start the season was brutal and partly because he hasn’t reached the heights of the lofty expectations he set for himself in the Bay Area. But what could Mike Grier realistically expect back for Barby?
Barabanov makes $2 million in salary but carries a $2.5 million cap hit. For someone who can produce how he has in San Jose, a second-round pick has to be the starting point. If a first is offered, great. But a second-round pick should be the minimum. If the organization needs to take money back, too, there should be more added to it. Barabanov is such a strong piece.
Anthony Duclair
The Duke was one of the more savvy additions around the NHL over the course of the summer. Picking up a player with his skillset while not losing much was a good move by Mike Grier, and Anthony Duclair has disappointed in his production, but given what is around him, his five goals and two assists for seven points may not be the worst totals. You always want more, but he’s playing better recently.
Duclair has the ability to score. That, combined with his blistering speed, will give him value at the trade deadline. There isn’t a team in this league that doesn’t want a guy with a 30-goal season in the last three years in a depth role on their roster. What the Duke brings to a team, with his rapid speed and willingness to drive the net, will allow teams to finish their rosters happily.
Duclair only makes $3 million until the end of this season, too, meaning that he has quite an affordable contract in the flat cap era. Trying to fit this under the cap is going to be a lot easier for teams than trying to take on something like the Timo Meier deal last year. If the Sharks were to retain it, too, it could get lower, which would likely allow the Sharks to demand more for their asset.
A second for Duclair would be nice. I don’t think it’s farfetched either because of his skill set. Obviously, Duclair needs to up the production for the Sharks to have a true leg to stand on before they start asking for more, but this is a player who could certainly get the Sharks something nice in return at the trade deadline. With retention and a contract coming back, there could be a world where he nets a first-round pick for San Jose.
Mikael Granlund
This is a more interesting player to look at because he was traded at the deadline last year when he moved from the Nashville Predators organization to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Finding his way to San Jose in the Erik Karlsson trade, Mikael Granlund is someone who needs to be moved to a new home this winter. Let him help a team get into the postseason this spring and return an asset or two for the organization to use.
Granlund isn’t a bad player and has been a good member of the Sharks to begin this season. This is nothing personal, and we should all be grateful for his two goals and eight assists for ten points on the season. That’s second on the team, behind only Tomas Hertl. He really has been a good addition to the roster, and he is finding success on a team that has been struggling.
The problem with keeping Granlund around is that he will turn 32 before the trade deadline. He’s not got long enough left in his career to be spending it on a tanking team that is trying to build its future core. He’s on the back nine of his career and on the wrong side of 30. Making sure he has a chance to go and chase the cup is going to be important. If he’s available in free agency, revisit the matter.
Granlund was traded from the Predators to the Penguins last deadline for a second-round draft pick. He had an extra year at the time, which gave him more value. However, he’s going to have a better season in San Jose than he did in Nashville if he continues his current scoring pace. Perhaps a second is another fair return for the Finnish forward. Or perhaps I’m out of my mind.