Three bad contracts the San Jose Sharks could take on for future assets
This season is a lost cause for the San Jose Sharks organization. There is nothing to do other than endure the pain and suffering of the rebuild. So, the Sharks need to lean into it and do all the things a typical rebuilding team does. Whether that is trading away pending UFAs or trying to buy low on players in the summer, it'll need to be the route they take to make the future of the organization brighter than the present.
Something that a lot of people don't like to acknowledge bad teams do is take on bad value contracts at a price to allow the team that wants to move the player, the chance to open up the cap room for improvement. It's part of the beneficial side of the salary cap era. We know that the Sharks are capable of doing this, because it is how they ended up with Anthony Duclair. So, they are clearly saavy enough to make a move like it.
When it comes to the type of team looking to move money out to make room for itself, we are going to be looking at mostly teams near the top of the NHL standings. This is because those teams are the ones trying to load up for the playoffs in their hunt to win the Stanley Cup. Those are the teams that want to be free from past mistakes to make new ones at the deadline. It's a fun cycle to watch as a neutral.
With that in mind, there are often players that will find themselves on the outside needing moves to other parts of the league to play out the remainder of their contract. For the Sharks, this could be a deadline where they are looking to try and acquire some of these bad contracts alongside picks and prospects in exchange for the cap space it provides the team that gets it. San Jose will have room when they sell off all their trade bait, so it does seem like a comfortable plan.
Barclay Goodrow
This is an interesting one, because the former Shark wears a letter for the New York Rangers organization as an alternate captain, but Barclay Goodrow's contract remains somewhat undesirable for the original six team on the East Coast. With the Rangers flying high early in the season, there is some debate as to whether his cap hit could be put to better use in other areas of the roster.
Goodrow makes $3,641,667 against the cap for this season and the three after. With that kind of term, you can imagine the leverage a team would have to take on the deal and allow the Blueshirts to open up their cap structure to acquire a right winger that they sorely lack. But that doesn't mean Goodrow should come back to the Bay free of charge. There will be a price for taking on the contract the Rangers signed him to.
This is a player who has recorded a single goal and three helpers this season for his money, so the production isn't there for someone who deserves to be making as much money as he is. However, leadership and term will make him a valuable commodity at some point if the Sharks can get his production to increase. They got a first-round pick when they traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning years ago, so it's not unrealistic to suggest they could increase his value.
Suggest they were to get the 2024 second-round pick from the Rangers in exchange for taking on the contract, and include a young roster player like Zachary Jones to help the blueline out, it isn't a bad idea for the Sharks if they can get enough value to justify taking on this kind of deal. However, we've seen with guys like Mike Hoffman and Jan Rutta that this is a team capable of elevating the trade value of players it lands.
Jack Campbell
Goaltending has been a problem for a lot of teams, but perhaps the most desperate team for a netminder is the Edmonton Oilers. They were down in the doldrums of the league for a while when their goaltending was at its worst, but they seem to have recovered a little now. It doesn't mean that the Oilers will not be looking for an upgrade in goal when the time comes.
With an upgrade in goal needed, the Oilers will have a spare netminder. Calvin Pickard can go back down, but the goaltender they have in the AHL right now is the one of interest here. Jack Campbell is a netminder that tends to be incredibly streaky, When he is good, he is very good. When he is bad, he is a sub .800 netminder in the AHL, and it really is the problem with a netminder of his skillset.
Campbell's tenure in Edmonton has been mared in struggle. He's been dire and could use a frsh start away from the pressure cooker that is the Edmonton media circus. With the Oilers struggles being exaggerated due to the media pressure and the expectations placed upon them before the season to win the Stanley Cup, you cna be forgiven for thinking Campbell has been the entire problem. Truthfully, he's been scapegoated a little.
His NHL numbers are not good by any means, with an .873 save percentage and a 4.50 goals-against average, he was a little hugn out to dry in the five games he played at the NHL level this season. After that, he was waived and sent down to AHL Bakersfield, and his stats with the Condors are not much better. In 10 games, he has a .888 save percentage and a 3.46 goals-against average. He is struggling right now.
In year two of a five year deal that sees him make $5 million a year, he will be quite expensive against the cap, but it also means you can demand a lot to take on the problematic deal the Oilers have. If the Sharks could get Philip Broberg alongside the 2024 first-round pick in a deal that sees the Sharks replace pending UFA Kaapo Kahkonen in the organization with Jack Campbell, it wouldn't be a bad deal for club.
Tyler Myers
The shock team of the year so far this season is the Vancouver Canucks. Sitting top of the standings on Christmas day, the Canucks have been able to find success in a season where expectations were low before the start of the year. They started winning and found production from their high-end talent, and that can be enough sometimes to make you competitive.
Now, the Canucks are far from the fiished article. They have a glaring issue among their defensive ranks. They've tried to address it over the years, but the signings they have made have been probmeatic. One such attempt was former Calder Trophy winner for rookie of the year, Tyler Myers. Myers has not been able to fill the hole the Canucks were asking him to in British Colombia, so perhaps he could be moved to open the door for other players.
Myers is in a weird situation. He makes $6 million against the cap, but he's only owed $1 million in real money. It makes it a situation where the Sharks could very easily take the contract, eat half of it, and flip it again if someone wants a physical defensive defenseman for a playoff run. His contract is up at the end of the year too, so this isn't a lasting financial commitment from the Sharks.
If they could get a 2024 second-round pick for eating this deal, that would be good asset management. Acquiring bad deals for future assets will always be a good move for the San Jose Sharks during this rebuild. Cap dumps are a great way to bolster a prospect pool without losing what you have to offer. Perhaps that is the way the Sharks need to go to make the future brighter for this organization.