Every year, there are players that become unhappy in their teams and get linked with a move away. The flavor of the month in recent times is a young defensive prospect from the Columbus Blue Jackets that is David Jiricek. Jiricek is unhappy about the constant movement back and fourth with AHL Cleveland, and believes that he should be a full time NHL defenseman. With that, he's known to be unhappy in the Buckeye state.
Your San Jose Sharks should be all over the phone trying to get Jarmo Kekalainen to part with his star defenseman. This is a team that are lacking truly elite defensemen in the pipeline, and that is meant with no disrespect towards Shakir Mukhamadullin or Henry Thrun, but they are not expected to compete for the Norris Trophy and be among the leagues best. Jiricek has that kind of potential.
As the former sixth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry draft, Jiricek has been one of the most highly-touted prospects in the Blue Jackets organization. Playing most of the season last year with the Cleveland Monsters, making his NHL debut in the four games he played with the Jackets. This season, he's played in 36 games with the Jackets, and has a goal and eight assists for his first NHL production.
So, do San Jose have the assets to make the deal work for both sides? It would take a lot, I think starting with the Pittsburgh first-round pick and the Devils second-round pick. It may take a bit more, possibly something like Nikita Okhotiuk to get it done, but I do think San Jose could swing a deal if it tried. Jiricek would help the organization's future a lot as he could be part of the new core with guys like Will Smith, William Eklund, and the young defensemen. What do you think?