The Sharks have acquired defenseman Jake Walman from the Red Wings and the Lightning’s second-round pick in this week’s draft (53rd overall). Detroit will receive nothing in return aside from future considerations, signaling this as a cap dump for a bigger move from general manager Steve Yzerman.
The Red Wings acquired the second-round pick they’re sending to San Jose in a trade with the Predators earlier today, in which they swapped defense prospect Andrew Gibson for the signing rights to winger Jesse Kiiskinen.
Unlike most deals involving future considerations, this swap doesn’t involve a decidedly overpriced contract. Walman, who’s broken out as a serviceable top-four defender since arriving in Detroit in 2022, costs $3.4MM against the cap through 2025-26. That’s about what his market value would be if he were to reach free agency this summer, if not under it.
That makes this arguably the best trade in general manager Mike Grier’s tenure at the helm of the Sharks, purely from a value standpoint. Walman will immediately challenge Mario Ferraro for top-pairing minutes in the Bay Area, although he hasn’t been much of a special teams option in Detroit. He averaged just under 20 minutes per game the past two seasons despite spending most of his time on their first pairing alongside Moritz Seider.
Injuries limited Walman to 63 games this season, but they didn’t stop him from recording a career-high 12 goals and 21 points. He and Seider had some of the most difficult minutes in the league, though, which correspondingly tanked his possession numbers. After controlling 50.1% of shot attempts and 54.8% of expected goals when on the ice at even strength in 2022-23, Walman controlled only 45.3% of shot attempts and 41% of expected goals this year, per Hockey Reference.
The 28-year-old Walman adds some much-needed depth to a paper-thin San Jose blue line that got even thinner yesterday with the news that they won’t be qualifying power-play specialist Calen Addison. He’s the sixth Sharks defenseman signed to a one-way deal next season, joining Ferraro, Kyle Burroughs, Nikolai Knyzhov, Jan Rutta and Marc-Édouard Vlasic. Ty Emberson and Henry Thrun are pending RFAs but are expected back in the picture next season.
The Wings do increase their projected cap space next season to $32.77MM with the move, but they lose a quality minute-munching piece of their roster in the process. After remaining in the playoff race until the final days of the regular season, it’s clear Yzerman is moving money around to add impact pieces this summer to push them over the hump. He’s also gearing up to offer rich extensions to Seider and Lucas Raymond, both of whom are slated to become RFAs next week.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Really solid move by SJ. Wallman is not bad. 3.4 is not a bad AAV and they got a 2nd. Makes you wonder what Drury offered Grier under the table for Goodrow
Bigger move from Steve Yzerman….. could John Gibson be on his way to Detroit?
No siree …….it’s BOB!
if they trade for a goalie, like Gibson, i will proceed to bang my head on my desk!! We need goal scoring on the roster
Yzerman said in his little conference last week that he wouldn’t be bringing in a older goalie for short term o believe.
i hope not
What a strange move. Also the Gibson trade feels odd. Any off-ice incidents known? On paper, you don’t move Walman for nothing, let alone attaching a 2nd round pick.
They have young defenseman that will play a bigger role.. no great loss
No way Walman looked like a big piece who helped dampen the effect of Hronek being traded away. Can’t believe they’re attaching assets to just dump him like this. What a great move by Grier.
Walman had Seider to fall back on … But the second was a bit much no doubt
Walman is not an NHL d man. Mistake machine. The value here for SJ is the pick not the player.
So where are the clowns saying GMMG sucks now? He’s had an excellent off-season, and I bet he ain’t done.
A couple good weeks doesn’t make up for previous disasters
Care to explain which disasters?
Copp/Chiarot/Husso/Holl? Steve has been horrible in FA
Charcoal, I thought GMMG was referring to Mike Grier. So I’m with kingcong, what Grier disasters is TJ referring to?
You’re right; I withdraw my GMMG sucks decree…
Grier has nill to work with so I envy anything he cooks up
OK I’ll bite. Been trying to ignore you lately but let’s take stock.
Got no value for Burns when he should have. Burns dictated the trade but did nothing with the cap space so didn’t need to whiff.
Meier, didn’t get good enough value back. Muk may pan out but only significant piece. Big whiff.
Karlsson, waited too long, did ok with it in the end. Was ok.
Hertl, one of the worst trades I’ve ever seen. 7 years retention, no real value back to a key rival. Godawful.
Dylandrea, looks ok on paper, time will tell.
Goodrow, can live with it but we can’t trade him with no retention slots (see Burns, Karlsson, Hertl coming home to roost). Meh.
This, probably a clear win.
Soooooo yeah… on the balance… he’s one step ahead of Dorion or Snow at this point. Don’t get too chirpy. You sound like someone who celebrates finding a fully wrapped Big Mac in a rubbish bin.
No retention slots is definitely a challenge for a rebuilding team. I’d not complain about the return for Burns and Karlsson, though. He got Celebrini in return.
So you’re mad that he is shedding overpriced, untradeable contracts while in an active rebuild? I’m not sure what to tell you, but if that’s your takeaway, I think you might fundamentally misunderstand how rebuilds work.
Burns, Hertl and especially Karlsson were grossly overpayed, and that’s a large part of why San Jose was in this position to begin with. So you clear the books, gain draft capital and prospects, and take on short-term bad contracts.
Hertl is constantly injured, and San Jose has forced Vegas into a quagmire where they now have to shed some of their best players to be cap compliant, and that’s in a year where they barely squeaked into the playoffs. You say “divisional rival” like the Sharks are pushing for a playoff spot next year… Get real.
+1 to PHC. It wasn’t just “OK” to dump Karlsson. It was a MIRACLE that they got any value for that grotesque contract at all. Burns was in the same camp.
You miss the point time and again. Yes, get out of contracts, love it. But dumping value for nothing to get out of contracts is exactly what the red wings just did and you are celebrating it.
It’s about retaining value as you do it.
And there has to be a strategic reason. So far, there’s been no sensible use of the cap space.
Think deeper and further. Think how it looks in 4 years, not today. I’m glad he’s making some better trades. Doesn’t mean he’s done well on average.
Burns was traded for Stephen Lorentz, a goaltending prospect, and a third. Lorentz was traded for Anthony Duclair. Duclair was traded for a defence prospect and a third.
So that’s two prospects and 2 3rds for Burns. Despite having an immoveable, overpayment contract.
Meier was traded for a first, a second, a handful of roster players, and a top defence prospect. Similarly, one of those roster players was flipped for a fifth.
I could keep going, but saying these players wee traded for “nothing” is a bald-faced lie. He’s dumping bad contracts AND getting value back.
Tell me how the players in those trades are panning out?
Tell me the chances of a 3rd rounder being a Norris winner or a 40 goal power forward?
Let me know how exactly the value balances?
Does 14 pieces of meh and maybe = 3 good pieces?
One you’ve done that, check the trade coming between the hawks and Canucks for how to use cap space, not just make it. GMMG has done nada with his generated cap space in 3 years until this trade. As the OP says, 1 week doesn’t outdo years of mismanagement
This trade doesn’t really make sense, guess we’ll see what the end game is with the cap savings?
Re-signing Ghost and Walman has some kind of muscular issue.
Petry and holl have 10 team no trade clauses …it was really the only option when getting room for edvisson a spot next year.
Screw steve at this point
Another mid move from Steve. He has been below average as GM with us. Fans need to take off the rose colored glasses at this point
You dont dump salary unless something is in the works, just have to wait and see where this is going
If its anything like recent free agent signings we should all be terrified lol
CPWalker…..I guess drafting players like Seider, Raymond, Cossa, Edvinsson and Danielson when the NHL screwed him in the lottery multiple times were mid-move picks? Also trading for Fabbri, Husso, and Debrincat while getting out from under Mantha’s contract and netting a 1st rounder for Bertuzzi were more mid-moves, right? How about sighing Perron, Sprong, Gostisbehere, Lyon and Kane were even more mid-moves? I’m sure there are other good mid moves I’m overlooking….
Granted not every draft pick/trade/FA Signing will be a home run, but Yzerman certainly has had more successes than failures with his moves.
So, I’ll keep my rose-colored glasses on for now while you can whine about the poor mid moves he keeps making.
Gotta understand also there wasnt a whole lot of choice in those FA signings, very little to choose from and everyone screaming to be better. Walman had already been replaced and was moved down the lineup when he did play, no real loss.
Maybe today we find out the rest of the plan, for sure we will know by July 1st 2 hours after FA opens.
I will enjoy another 10th place finish. It is year 6 and another underwhelming set of moves have happened. In any other franchise but ours he is on the hot seat at least.
Zadorov sighting at Little Caesars pizza in Minsk…
Kiev too?
Signing a $5.00 contract
sushi reservations in Toronto?
Interesting move in dumping Walman for nothing. He’s a good skater with a strong shot so Stevie and Lalonde must see something in his game they don’t like and with the need to make room for Edvinsson andJohansson he got axed.
However, he should have been perceived around the league as good enough to get some asset in return. Guess not
Habs fan here Montreal needs scoring ability and have an over abundance of dmen LS specifically, aside from kovicevic a RS 6/7dman. They have 9 nhl defenders right now Reinbacher, Barron, savard and Mallioux are RS. Xhekaj, Ghule, Matteason, Hutson, Harris and Trudeau all have nhl futures most as land in the 3rd to 5th dman range but there are 4 guys there who will make real impacts. M
My point here is this do the wings have a forward worth one of the MTL dmen. Xhekaj, Ghule, Hutson, Malliox, Savard and Matheason are the 6 plus Kovicevic are who they team should start with this year. Ghule and Hutson are untouchable and Reinbacher Xhekaj are close to Untouchable as it gets
Xhekaj being untouchable would be hilarious
Hes at a point where someone would have to really over pay. I think he is going to develop into a great PK guy with some 2nd unit PP time and a great 3/4 defense man
He’s an undradted 6/7 there to act as an enforcer. 6’4″ 238lbs with injury history. Nor is he French which the Habs tend to over value. You may like the guy for whatever reason, but that shouldn’t make him “untouchable”. No one is untouchable, even Gretzky got traded.
Berggren for Mailliox