Karlsson Trade

[tack]

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38144636/erik-karlsson-penguins-3-team-trade-sharks-canadiens

Well, the end of the worst trade in Sharks' history finally arrived. Basically, the Sharks got a 2024 first round pick and a bag of hockey pucks for Karlsson. They would have been better off with picks at any level than getting Granlund and Rutta, both over 30 and useless to a rebuild. They retained $1.5MM in salary, too, but that part is tolerable.

[googz]

On Sunday, August 6, 2023 at 4:09:38 PM UTC-7, tack wrote:
> https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38144636/erik-karlsson-penguins-3-team-trade-sharks-canadiens
>
> Well, the end of the worst trade in Sharks' history finally arrived. Basically, the Sharks got a 2024 first round pick and a bag of hockey pucks for Karlsson. They would have been better off with picks at any level than getting Granlund and Rutta, both over 30 and useless to a rebuild. They retained $1.5MM in salary, too, but that part is tolerable.

Finally!

All in all, happy with the 1st round draft pick and the retainer amount. The incoming players might be flipped for more draft picks before the trade deadline, but the good news is that their contracts end in a couple of years, so even if they can't be traded, they're off the books sooner than Karlsson.

This will be an interesting season. Without any significant offensive threats from the blue line ( a first in many years) and a retooled mid-tier forward corp, the Sharks look to me (on paper) more like the 1999-2000 season when they had (i think) six 20-goal scorers. I know it's wishful thinking, but there is potential to have better scoring distribution while refocusing the blueline more on defense.

[tack]

To me, they still seem rudderless. They can't begin to compete, and they have no budding high-level stars in the system, NHL or minors. A total rebuild stilll looms ahead. They need to maximize returns for Couture and Hertl before it's too late with them, too.

I wish I could be more optimistic, but their path ahead appears far too murky to discern. Putting a neophyte GM, like Grier, in place to address the massive damage wrought by DW seems just as dubious to me.

[googz]

The rebuild is a process that takes 3-4 years, and what we see now is a transitional roster that will likely suck, but has potential to surprise with a marginally successful season. My mild optimism is based on a lot of ifs and maybes, so take my last post with a grain of salt. Is MG green, yes. There are plenty of examples of GM newbies taking on a rebuild. We'll know in a couple of seasons if Grier's drafting and trades were good enough to be compared with GM newbies like Sakic, so in the meantime we just have to tolerate the transition seasons.

[Mr. T]

I tried to follow the Karlsson situation and I bought into the narrative that the market really isn't there to get some ideal haul. On the face of it, it's bizarre they get three 30+ year olds and give a third. But like you say, this deal gets a pass if they flip a couple of these guys at the deadline and finally realize the future assets.

I had a lot less sympathy for the Meier deal. I don't know why that was rushed and I feel they could have waited and got a bigger haul but I could be wrong.

[Mr. T]

On Sunday, August 6, 2023 at 4:09:38 PM UTC-7, tack wrote:

> https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/38144636/erik-karlsson-penguins-3-team-trade-sharks-canadiens
>
> Well, the end of the worst trade in Sharks' history finally arrived. Basically, the Sharks got a 2024 first round pick and a bag of hockey pucks for Karlsson. They would have been better off with picks at any level than getting Granlund and Rutta, both over 30 and useless to a rebuild. They retained $1.5MM in salary, too, but that part is tolerable.

That level of retention was the second best part of the trade for the Sharks and a bit of a miracle. See my and googz's comments about flipping players later. That leaves the 3rd round pick. That really hurts and I wonder if that could have been avoided. A 4th or 5th would have been much more palatable. It doesn't seem the pick was required to achieve the retention, taking all the bad contracts the other way took care of that.