Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[Juxtaposer]

DeMelo, Chatfield, and Carrier would be my preferred targets amongst UFA RHD. Just getting one of those guys and getting Benning back healthy would be a huge step up on what we have.

 

[TheBeard]

I'd prefer to bring in one higher end guy (like Skjei or Pesce) and let a bunch of scrubs fight it out for the rest. Roster locks should be Mario, Ruuta, Benning and Shak. Not sold on Thrun and Thompson has a shot. Pickles is a spot start 7th.

 

[timorous me]

Just start burying or non-tendering guys.

I think we could find a buyer for Rutta, too. He won't return much of anything, but that opens a slot.

Easier said than done (that's basically been my thinking this offseason, sadly, in terms of revamping the defense this summer). Rutta is a decent veteran but really is showing his wear and tear these days; his value lies most with playoff teams, but are there going to be any out there this summer that are willing to take on a $2.75 million cap hit?

He strikes me as more of a deadline move. Benning? The problem there is the injury he's coming off of--I presume managers out there will want to see how he looks before they'd consider trading for him. Burroughs is the easiest to bury in theory, except that I feel like any new head coach is going to want him around for his grittiness and leadership.

And then there was Pickles...

 

[Hodge]

Flexibility on defense depends on how aggressive we’re willing to get.

Don’t qualify Addison or Emberson, buy out Vlasic, start the season with waiver-exempt Thrun and Shak on the Cuda, bury Burroughs along with them.

Then you’re looking at Ferraro, Rutta and Benning as your only NHL defensemen and even Benning’s status is in question.

 

[timorous me]

Flexibility on defense depends on how aggressive we’re willing to get.

Don’t qualify Addison or Emberson, buy out Vlasic, start the season with waiver-exempt Thrun and Shak on the Cuda, bury Burroughs along with them.

Then you’re looking at Ferraro, Rutta and Benning as your only NHL defensemen and even Benning’s status is in question.

Emberson? What did he do wrong other than suffering a couple of unfortunate injuries? Before that he was out best defenseman according to a lot of metrics. I don't know if he can maintain that but he definitely deserves a chance to show he can.

 

[Hodge]

Emberson? What did he do wrong other than suffering a couple of unfortunate injuries? Before that he was out best defenseman according to a lot of metrics. I don't know if he can maintain that but he definitely deserves a chance to show he can.

I’m not suggesting we make any of those moves. Just pointing out that it would be pretty easy to clear up roster spots on defense without even having to trade anyone.

Personally I would keep Emberson and start Thrun on the Sharks while buying out Vlasic, waiving Burroughs and starting Shak in the AHL. That would allow us to add 3-4 new defensemen depending on Benning’s status.

 

[RussianShark]

lets get Goodrow back

 

[OrrNumber4]

lets get Goodrow back

I wouldn't be opposed to this. However, I'm not sure that the plan that the Sharks could get him for a first, or that the Rangers would buy him out has much merit. Sure, he's overpaid, but he's having a great playoffs (wouldn't have guessed he barely had 10 points in the regular season!), and that matters a lot for teams.

 

[RussianShark]

Barclay Goodrow's presence will revitalize his old bestie Logan Couture so it will essentially be a 2 for 1 deal

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Barclay Goodrow's presence will revitalize his old bestie Logan Couture so it will essentially be a 2 for 1 deal

Gonna work his groin, eh

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I’m not suggesting we make any of those moves. Just pointing out that it would be pretty easy to clear up roster spots on defense without even having to trade anyone.

Personally I would keep Emberson and start Thrun on the Sharks while buying out Vlasic, waiving Burroughs and starting Shak in the AHL. That would allow us to add 3-4 new defensemen depending on Benning’s status.

I think if you're already considering burying Burroughs, you might as well buy him out. 366k for four years isn't anything to worry about if they can't find a way to dump him. I had talked to Vancouver fans about taking him back as part of getting paid to take on Mikheyev with a 3rd round pick.

 

[timorous me]

I think if you're already considering burying Burroughs, you might as well buy him out. 366k for four years isn't anything to worry about if they can't find a way to dump him. I had talked to Vancouver fans about taking him back as part of getting paid to take on Mikheyev with a 3rd round pick.

It could actually be a decent thing to have him as a guy who could bounce between the Barracuda and the Sharks; like if Cagnoni does make the Barracuda roster this year, having Burroughs, a somewhat physical guy with NHL experience, as his defense partner would be a pretty good situation for the kid.

And obviously the added cap hit is of no concern for the Sharks this year.

 

[DG93]

I think if you're already considering burying Burroughs, you might as well buy him out. 366k for four years isn't anything to worry about if they can't find a way to dump him. I had talked to Vancouver fans about taking him back as part of getting paid to take on Mikheyev with a 3rd round pick.

It's more because of a logjam in terms of spots available...The Sharks just have too many bottom-pairing defensemen between Rutta, Benning, Emberson if re-signed, Ferraro (#4 if he bounces back but bottom pair for now), and Thrun (likely re-signed), don't want to throw Mukh into a high-leverage role right away, already have a guy who can sit in the pressbox most nights in Vlasic, and need to add at least 1 if not 2 top-4 defensemen in free-agency/via trade. Burroughs is still fine as #8/#9 guy that bounces around between AHL/NHL and coaches love him for better or worse, so I don't see the point of buying him out. He can be the new Jacob MacDonald.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

It could actually be a decent thing to have him as a guy who could bounce between the Barracuda and the Sharks; like if Cagnoni does make the Barracuda roster this year, having Burroughs, a somewhat physical guy with NHL experience, as his defense partner would be a pretty good situation for the kid.

And obviously the added cap hit is of no concern for the Sharks this year.

I think Benning could fill that role adequately enough. Since I don't expect he'll be healthy during the buyout window and a hip injury probably kills any trade market for him, they're probably stuck with him. A hip injury also should mean that his place on the NHL roster may be in jeopardy as well with a potential physical decline of abilities.

So then with that, I'd like to re-sign Emberson so if we want to make significant improvements we probably should look to move both Burroughs and Rutta. Rutta probably has some trade market for him. Can probably do a hockey trade where we get some winger to take a shot on. Burroughs seems less likely to have a trade market and his buyout is cheap. If they can't do something where he's a dump the other way, they should buy him out since better is out there for them.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

It's more because of a logjam in terms of spots available...The Sharks just have too many bottom-pairing defensemen between Rutta, Benning, Emberson if re-signed, Ferraro (#4 if he bounces back but bottom pair for now), and Thrun (likely re-signed), don't want to throw Mukh into a high-leverage role right away, already have a guy who can sit in the pressbox most nights in Vlasic, and need to add at least 1 if not 2 top-4 defensemen in free-agency/via trade. Burroughs is still fine as #8/#9 guy that bounces around between AHL/NHL and coaches love him for better or worse, so I don't see the point of buying him out. He can be the new Jacob MacDonald.

And I think they should look to get rid of most of them to try and bring in better players. The Sharks should be looking to improve the blue line through free agency as much as possible and if that means buying some guys out or burying them or whatever then that's cool to me. I just want to see the best top pairing we can put together with Thrun and Muk on their own depth pairings. It's aggressive but I think getting Celebrini needs the team needs to push things where possible.

 

[DG93]

And I think they should look to get rid of most of them to try and bring in better players. The Sharks should be looking to improve the blue line through free agency as much as possible and if that means buying some guys out or burying them or whatever then that's cool to me. I just want to see the best top pairing we can put together with Thrun and Muk on their own depth pairings. It's aggressive but I think getting Celebrini needs the team needs to push things where possible.

Oh yeah, I agree. I would just advocate for keeping Burroughs buried in the minors as a potential call-up in case of injuries rather than buying him out. Would also support buying out Vlasic if needed + having one of Rutta/Benning in the pressbox most nights. Adding one top-4 defenseman (and 2 if Mukh is AHL bound for the year) is a must.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Oh yeah, I agree. I would just advocate for keeping Burroughs buried in the minors as a potential call-up in case of injuries rather than buying him out. Would also support buying out Vlasic if needed + having one of Rutta/Benning in the pressbox most nights. Adding one top-4 defenseman (and 2 if Mukh is AHL bound for the year) is a must.

I mean, if we're okay with burying people then bury them all unless you need the cap space. Bury Vlasic and Burroughs if you don't want to eat the buyout.

 

[DG93]

I mean, if we're okay with burying people then bury them all unless you need the cap space. Bury Vlasic and Burroughs if you don't want to eat the buyout.

Vlasic is also a whiner who has been checked out since the 2019 run. Burroughs seems to be liked by coaches for his work ethic and whatnot. He'd actually be valuable in a leadership role on the Cuda blueline whereas Vlasic would just pout. I'd buy Vlasic out but bury Burroughs.

 

[mogambomoroo]

I'm interested in making a deal with Islanders, they seem to be in a bit of a cap problem and they want to get rid of some players for cap reasons.

As long as Lou is GM, I don't know how would this work out but I would go for that #1 Tampa pick (20), Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee for some our cheaper contracts and b-level prospects etc. I could see Islanders being open to having 12 mil of cap space free.

There is some mock trades that have Sharks getting JGP and two 2nd round picks for future considerations, which is more than fine.

Having Lee and JGP in this roster would help the young players a ton, even if they are not a playoff team. Use free agency to grab a defencemen or two. Use that #20 pick with pick #14 to trade up or draft with those picks.

 

[Hodge]

If he makes it through waivers I think Burroughs would be an excellent #1 defenseman for the Cuda.

Mukhamadullin-Burroughs and Knyzhov-Thompson is a strong AHL top 4 on paper.

 

[Hodge]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1794704507575959759

5th round pick for a KHLer. Another fleece job by Grier.

 

[Juxtaposer]

I'm interested in making a deal with Islanders, they seem to be in a bit of a cap problem and they want to get rid of some players for cap reasons.

As long as Lou is GM, I don't know how would this work out but I would go for that #1 Tampa pick (20), Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee for some our cheaper contracts and b-level prospects etc. I could see Islanders being open to having 12 mil of cap space free.

There is some mock trades that have Sharks getting JGP and two 2nd round picks for future considerations, which is more than fine.

Having Lee and JGP in this roster would help the young players a ton, even if they are not a playoff team. Use free agency to grab a defencemen or two. Use that #20 pick with pick #14 to trade up or draft with those picks.

I don’t know if the Isles can afford to move a 1st round pick given the dire state of their prospect pool, but I also think they would be a good target for helping them out cap-wise. I would love the deal you mention because I’ve always liked Lee, but I have a hard time seeing them move their captain as a cap dump.

Probably something like JGP+61st overall for a 5th or something is reasonable.

 

[Sheng Peng]

IDK if @Sheng Peng is super active here, but I refuse to participate in Elon’s dystopian experiment in “free speech”, so I’ll ask here: your suggested roster includes Zadina, would you wager Grier will attempt to re-sign him? Will he embrace a bottom six role?

My guess is they do try to re-sign him.

I don't know if he'll embrace a bottom-six role, but he has, I think, an NHL future if he does. He showed some progress in that last year, but he's far from a finished product in that regard. I like him though because there are no questions about his effort and there's a 15-goal third-line forechecking winger in there somewhere.

And as I'll say a lot this summer, beggars can't be choosers!

 

[DG93]

I'm interested in making a deal with Islanders, they seem to be in a bit of a cap problem and they want to get rid of some players for cap reasons.

As long as Lou is GM, I don't know how would this work out but I would go for that #1 Tampa pick (20), Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Anders Lee for some our cheaper contracts and b-level prospects etc. I could see Islanders being open to having 12 mil of cap space free.

There is some mock trades that have Sharks getting JGP and two 2nd round picks for future considerations, which is more than fine.

Having Lee and JGP in this roster would help the young players a ton, even if they are not a playoff team. Use free agency to grab a defencemen or two. Use that #20 pick with pick #14 to trade up or draft with those picks.

I'd love that trade. Eklund-Granlund-Zetterlund, Lee-Celebrini-Smith, Graf-Couture-Kostin, Zadina-Sturm-Kunin would be a fun lineup. Use picks 33 and 42 to try and move up as needed from 14 and 20 to get guys you want.

 

[TealManV]

I'd love that trade. Eklund-Granlund-Zetterlund, Lee-Celebrini-Smith, Graf-Couture-Kostin, Zadina-Sturm-Kunin would be a fun lineup. Use picks 33 and 42 to try and move up as needed from 14 and 20 to get guys you want.

I’m right there with you, DG93. That was one of my trade ideas from a few weeks back (prior to the NYI-CHI pick swap).

If I was Grier I’d throw that idea out to Lou Lou. Worst case he says no and you end up with a horse’s head in your bed.

With your projected lines you forgot JGP. I’m also hoping that Graf starts with Cuda to keep rounding out his game and frame. I’m also tempted to leave out Logan until we know for sure he’s good to go. I’d like Grier to proceed like he isn’t available.

Maybe something like this?

Eklund-Granlund-Zetterlund
Lee-Celebrini-FA signing/Trade
Zadina-JGP-W. Smith
Kostin-Sturm-Kunin