Sharks have decisions to make with Hertl and Meier
Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News: With the NHL trade deadline set for March 21st, the San Jose Sharks and pending UFA Tomas Hertl need to decide soon if there is a long-term fit or not. If the Sharks and Hertl aren’t able to reach an extension, the Sharks need to move him for assets.
Hertl has a modified no-trade clause with only three teams on his list.
If Hertl is traded, the Sharks could also have a decision to make regarding All-Star Timo Meier. Would he be part of their rebuild, or would they consider moving him for more future assets?
The Sharks may not be looking at a full rebuild either way.
Meier has a year left a $6 million cap hit, with a $10 million salary. He’ll be an RFA and is owed a $10 million qualifying offer. The Sharks may be smart to keep him as part of their future.
It wouldn’t be easy for the Sharks to find another top-six center if they traded Hertl.
Hertl spent the All-Star break in Hawaii to relax and will see where contract talks go ahead of the deadline.
“When I come back, I’ll be just focused on playing and we’ll see what the talks will be after that. But right now, I will be just relaxing and enjoying family time.
“I know it’s getting close and probably after the break there will probably be more talking. … I’ll enjoy a little time off and after, we will see what happens.”
Stars have four big pending UFAs to wonder about
Mike Heika of NHL.com: Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill on pending unrestricted free agents John Klingberg, Braden Holtby, Alexander Radulov and Joe Pavelski.
“We’ll monitor all those situations. We still have a long way to go. Let’s see where we are in six weeks. That’s going to tell a lot about our team and that’ll tell us what we want to do with each of the players.”
Nill on his relationship with Klingberg and how he seemed frustrated earlier this season.
“Everything is good. We keep in touch, and we talk to the agent. I’m not going to negotiate in the media, so we’ll keep all that quiet. But we communicate, and I think the message has always been that if he keeps playing well, good things will happen. It’ll either be with us or some other avenue, but that’s the best strategy for everyone. I understand where they’re at, they understand where we’re at, and now we just need to work through everything.”