Three potential trade destinations for San Jose Sharks forward Anthony Duclair
The San Jose Sharks are enduring another losing streak. It's reached double digits yet again, and we have to endure the onslaught of jokes about this organization coming from all angles, and rightfully so. Multiple double digit losing streaks in the same season is not good enough. Three more losses, and this will crack the top 10 longest all time, so the pain can just continue for Sharks fans around the world.
So, let's forget about the teams performance and focus on the upcoming trade deadline. With the organization looking to move everything that isn't nailed down, there's going to be a ton of moving pieces at this upcoming trade deadline. If you have an expiring deal, this team will be listening to offers on you. Heck, some of the fans were traded to the 49ers a few weeks ago for a conditional seventh rounder. That's a joke, but would you be surprised?
We approach the deadline slowly because we all know time moves at a snail's pace when you are suffering. We know some of the players we have learned to enjoy watching will not be here next year. With players going to be flying out the door at a rate of naughts with so many pending free agents and the team open for business, this squad is going to change a lot between now and the final game of the season.
One of the players that we are going to see the Sharks move on from in time will be Anthony Duclair. This is a player that makes just $3 million against the cap. He's had a great season under David Quinn and the San Jose Sharks coaching staff. This is the kind of player that is great for a depth role on a playoff contender. After making it to the Stanley Cup Finals with the Florida Panthers last season, he also has experience of a deep run. So where could he end up?
New York Rangers
Sending Duclair back to his old stomping ground in New York seems like a very logical fit. The Duke was originally drafted by the Rangers many moons ago in the third round of the 2013 NHL Entry draft. He played with the Blueshirts shortly before being traded to the Arizona Coyotes. From there, Duclair kind of bounced around the league for a little bit until he arrived in San Jose this summer from the Panthers.
New York has been plagued with injuries all season, and with both Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko out for a prolonged period of time, some support on the forward core might be on the cards for Rangers general manager Chris Drury this summer. With Mike Grier already looking to make moves, it sounds like these two could be involved in conversations quite quickly. With former players on both teams, there area connections between the organizations.
Duclair's speed would go well into the Rangers middle six. They've been looking for a complimentary winger for the duo of Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad for a while. Production has come easily for the speedy winger, and on a line with two of the best players the original six organization has to offer, he could be a strong fit for a team that will be looking to try and capture another Stanley Cup banner for the rafters of thier arena.
Cap space isn't a problem either because of the contracts the Rangers have on their long term injured reserve, meaning it could be both quite cheap and fruitful to acquire the Pointe-Claire, Quebec native. He's one of the more interesting available wingers at the deadline and with teams limited cap space, teams like the Rangers are sure to be calling for the forward.
Washington Capitals
If I told you that the San Jose Sharks had scored the fewest goals of any team in the NHL, would you be surprised? Of course not. Now, the team second bottom is the Washington Capitals, and that may come as a shock. With the great eight meeting father time, things in the nations capitol aren't as pleasant as they used to be. This Capitals team is getting up there, and this could very well be their final shot with this core.
If the Capitals are going to make any form of progress, they are going to need help putting the puck in the net. Whether that is some of their current players waking up or getting help from somewhere else via the trade market, Washington cannot continue its tire-spinning if they want to be taken seriously in the search for the second Stanley Cup Championship in the history of the organization.
Now, the Capitals are well over the cap due to the cotract os Nicklas Backstrom. With the Swedish center not expected to return this season as he continues to fight his way back from hip surgery he had last season, the Caps are operating in long-term injured reserve relief, or LTIR relief. It means that they do not build cap space like other teams, but with Backstrom out for the year, they can reassign that money elsewhere.
Today, they have a little more than $3 million available, meaning Duclair could fit into the system in Washington without skipping a beat. They wouldn't need to make any corresponding moves, other than sending someone down to free up a roster spot. This makes for a good fit between two teams that could help the other figure out their problems.
Florida Panthers
Where else could be better in the league for Duclair than the team he just helped get to the Stanley Cup Final? He was moved out of Sunrise as a casualty of the salary cap, but with the Panthers now having a projected $5 million available to them at the NHL trade deadline, it could be an interesting situation for the Duke to return to his old stomping ground.
Florida haven't seen the offensive success they would have liked to start the year. Currently sitting 15th in the league in goals for, this could be a team looking for some offensive support if the price is right. They haven't been quite up to the standards they set for themselves last season in the goal scoring department. Part of this is due to the rather quiet start to the season Matthew Tkachuk had, but some depth to help replenish the scoring may not be a bad thing.
When Florida traded the Duke to San Jose this summer, it was as a casualty of their salary cap needs. The Panthers bluelne needed to be remodeled after injuries that Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour sustained in the postseason were going to keep them out of the lineup to start the season. With both back healthy, a return to the Atlantic coast of the sunshine state may not be something we can rule out.
Florida aren't averse to dishing out draft picks to address problems the team has, we've seen this in the past. That organization hasn't drafted in the first round since 2020, They are comfortable moving picks to address issues, so getting a nice return for Duclair from the Panthers is possible, hence making a return to the Cats somewhat more likely than some teams that adopt an anti-rental stance.