The 2024 trade deadline was a painful one for the San Jose Sharks. It brought about changes across the organization, with prospects coming in, picks being added to the 2024 draft board, and the roster being depleted. Some of the players we've come to know are gone now, and there will be new faces replacing them in the lineup. It's a complicated situation in the Bay Area. Things are about to change entirely in San Jose.
Players Out
Anthony Duclair, Tomas Hertl, Kaapo Kahkonen, Nikita Okhotiuk, Radim Simek
Let's start with the painful one, Tomas Hertl is moving to Las Vegas. Joining a Golden Knights roster that will compete for the next five years with the core they have, he will be getting a chance at the Stanley Cup he's never been able to win. A franchise icon in San Jose going to a team that has such a unique history with the Sharks is enough to cause anyone some pain, but for that to be the same team that avoids the salary cap like its the IRS adds salt to the wounds.
Anthony Duclair is trading in his mentorship of the Shark pups for the sunshine of Florida as he is heading down to Tampa. As the Lightning look for a final shot at the Stanley Cup with this core, it is no surprise that the Duke is someone the Bolts were eyeing up. Perhaps a reunion in the summer is on the cards when Duclair is a free agent. It's not an impossible situation. There's a chance the Sharks could explore that.
Nikita Okhotiuk and Kaapo Kahkonen were both dealt in trades with the intent of netting picks. Kahkonen's return including Vitek Vanacek is another chance to net picks next deadline if teams are unhappy with their goaltending. If the Sharks can get him to rebound, the more it sets up a return at the next deadline.
Simek was dealt out in a hockey trade that sees struggling winger Klim Kostin join the Sharks. The Russian has struggled to get going after leaving Edmonton, so this is another chance for the Sharks to generate a pick from a player that is having problems. If he can get going, with the extra year on his contract, he could even be moved in the summer.
There were also a lot of picks and prospects coming into the organization. We won't see the ramifications of this trade deadline for many years. San Jose need to draft well with the picks they have acquired, and use the prospects they have picked up to brighten the future. If they can build a new core with some of the pieces that they have gotten from this deadline. But only time holds the answer.