The San Jose Sharks Still Selling But Who’s Buying?
Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey NOW: So, with quite a few top trade chips long gone, what can the Sharks do now? Limitations are there obviously. Buffalo, the New York Rangers, and others ponder moves but San Jose is a team trending toward younger talent that is not quite NHL ready.
Yes, experts admit Mario Ferraro is a bottom-pairing defensing making too much money (still has one year at $3.25 million AAV). Ferraro plays with all sorts of heart but the old habits die hard. He makes the same mistakes as when the defender was merely a rookie. It is unfortunate what losing does. Also, San Jose always feels under siege from an opposing team’s offense. That does not help either. Some potential lurks but enough to start a bidding war?
Now, that feels unlikely but a mid-round pick may be what it takes. As for Luke Kunin, he is the one player who could extract the highest value. He is another year removed from knee surgery and looks more like his old self. After that, late-round picks could be had for guys like Nico Sturm and one of their goaltenders potentially.
NHL Rumors: San Jose Sharks and a trade watch list
Does Pittsburgh Try To Move The Needle
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: The Pittsburgh Penguins know that the clock is ticking. With days to go until the trade deadline, Kyle Dubas keeps trying to make that move which will cause a jolt. However, is there one to be made? Ideally, even Jason Spezza (Pittsburgh’s Assistant GM) acknowledged they need more.
Unfortunately, Dubas and Pittsburgh possess one blue chip player in Rickard Rakell. Rakell is on pace to easily blow past 30 goals this year and could even come close to 40 goals. After that, the potential deals only get more sticky. However, Dubas feels little urgency to make a deal. Rakell has three more years on his contract and that looks less worrisome.
However, the time to make a move may be now. After all, the value in a potential trade may never be higher with Rakell. Unlike Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, Rakell has none of those issues (NMC, etc.) to fret over. Now, does Dubas pull the trigger or make one of those smaller moves like a Matt Grzelcyk or Anthony Beauvillier?
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