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.