The Sharks entered the season with six blueliners playing on expiring contracts, all but one (Shakir Mukhamadullin) being pending unrestricted free agents. With San Jose continuing their long-term rebuild, it’s a situation where many expect some of those players will be moving elsewhere.
It’s possible that one of those moves could come sooner than later. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (video link) that the Sharks are willing to look at moving one of their blueliners now. While this isn’t the time of year when trades are typically made, there could be some demand for a depth defensive addition from teams that are either dealing with some injuries or are concerned about how their bottom defenders are faring right now.
At this point, it’s probably too early in the season for Nick Leddy ($4MM) to move after being an offseason waiver claim. John Klingberg just signed with them and moving him just a handful of games into the season also seems unlikely.
That leaves three potential rentals in play. Timothy Liljegren ($3MM) is no stranger to the rumor mill and seems likely to be dealt at some point but he also just landed on injured reserve. Until he returns (or if his injury is deemed rather minor), he might not be in a position to be traded just yet. Vincent Desharnais ($2MM) was added late last season from Pittsburgh but has played in just two of their five games so far. He stands out as a viable candidate to go, especially being a right-shot defender, the side teams are typically coveting.
Mario Ferraro is the other pending unrestricted free agent on their blueline and has been in trade speculation for a couple of years now. He has noted before that he’d like to stay beyond this season and it stands to reason that the Sharks will probably take a run at seeing what that would cost before entertaining potential trade opportunities. Considering he’s one of their top potential trade chips should things go that route, moving him now doesn’t seem feasible.
It should be noted that San Jose only has one of three contract retention slots remaining with the other two being used on Erik Karlsson and Tomas Hertl. This early in the season likely isn’t when GM Mike Grier would want to use that last slot, it’s more probable that he’ll want to use it closer to the trade deadline to help facilitate a bigger move at that time. With that in mind, if they do move a blueliner, the acquiring team will need to take on the full freight of the contract or send a similar-priced contract to the Sharks to offset the cost.
While this wouldn’t likely yield a return of much significance at this point of the season, adding a draft pick to their stockpile isn’t a bad idea and would help clear some of the logjam they currently have. Even with Mukhamadullin and Liljegren on IR, San Jose has eight blueliners on their active roster and are searching to add more young blueliners as well. Opening up a spot to help facilitate that happening would be a good way to start what could be a busy trading season for the Sharks.