San Jose Sharks trade Anthony Duclair to the Tampa Bay Lightning for picks
By Conor Power
The red hot Anthony Duclair is no longer a member of the San Jose Sharks. Mike Grier has traded the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native to the Tampa Bay Lightning alongside a seventh round pick for a third round pick as the Lightning get to load up for the playoffs. It begins the deadline season for the Sharks who have a ton of players that have been linked with the exit door while we wait for puck drop tonight.
Duclair had put up 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points with the San Jose Sharks this season. Fresh off his Stanley Cup Finals run last year with the Florida Panthers, the Duke will be returning to the Sunshine state as the Sharks continue to try to increase the return on their offense. The 5'11 speedy forward will be a good addition to the Lightning's middle six as he looks to cap off another 20 goal season.
Duke Trade
In this deal, the Sharks also acquire 21-year-old defenseman Jack Thompson as the 6'1 Courtice, Ontario native will move from Syracuse to the Bay Area. Drafted in the third round of the 2020 NHL entry draft, the right-shot defenseman made his NHL debut with the Bolts this summer and put up 5 goals and 27 assists for 32 points in 46 games with the Crunch. For a defenseman, those are some incredibly strong totals.
What do you think about this trade?The pick swap is nice, moving up four rounds and a year on the draft board. There's a lot to like with Thompson. He's going to get a fair shot at the NHL here which he probably wasn't in Tampa. The OHL product coming from Tampa for the Quebecois native. Both teams go in the direction they were looking to, and the Sharks future gets a little brighter for me.