Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[Patty Ice]

Kunin on pace for 17G 30P despite playing less than 15 minutes per game and no PP time. I thought he sucked and there was no way recovery from his ACL surgery hampered his performance last season?

If he keeps this up we're getting a decent pick for him at the deadline. I hope we extend him though.

I don't often share my unpopular opinions on the board because, at the end of the day, I'm not going to spend moments of my day defending Luke Kunin or any player in general so I live vicariously through you and toss you likes.

PS I predicted he'd hit 20 goals on the season. Kunin for PP. Free Luke!

 

[mogambomoroo]

With the news involving trades around the league, If I were MG I would actually go aggressively on Jiricek first and then Kreider.

Jiricek would obviously help the RD depth a ton and give a chance for the Sharks to give him a long look. Worst case scenario I could see him become a perfect 2RD.
But I could really see him 1RD in a way that he doesn't have to be the 1D of the team, with Dickinson splitting responsibilities. Dickinson and Jiricek could be 1a and 1b in defence of the future.

Kreider would really help solidify that 2LW/veteran spot until there is someone better coming. His contract ends the same time as Celebrini/Smith ELC's, so it's a perfect transition period for the prospects to marinate and him to have an impact on the development.
It's not going to be easy to acquire him, he probably wants to win asap... so it's a long shot.

Acquiring player trades:
Jiricek for Mukhamadullin, Bordeleau, Ceci and '26 2nd round pick (could be Thompson instead of Ceci if the price is higher)
Kreider for Sturm, Gushchin and '26 4th round pick
(cap dump for NYR, get more center depth + young winger)

TDL or before TDL:
Blackwood to Colorado for 2nd and 6th round pick
Granlund to Winnipeg for 1st round pick '25 (top 10 protected) and Alex Iafallo (cap dump, UFA)

Others:
Kunin, Rutta and Vanecek, no idea what to do. Maybe get some AHL help for the Barracuda, since a lot of depth left at Jiricek trade.

After TDL:
Not a winning team by any means, but I could still see a similar compete to what they have now, with getting assets from the UFA's at TDL and add couple of veterans for the kids.

Eklund - Celebrini - Zetterlund
Kreider - Smith - Toffoli
Iafallo - Wennberg - Dellandrea
Grundstrom - Goodrow - Cardwell
Graf (I wish he plays the full year in AHL and they go for the playoffs)

Walman - Liljegren
Ferraro - Jiricek
Vlasic - Thompson
Thrun

Askarov
Vanecek

EDIT:
IN: Jiricek, Kreider, Iafallo, '25 1st round pick WPG , '25 2nd round pick COL, '25 6th round pick + whatever others UFA get or don't get.
OUT: Granlund, Sturm, Mukhamadullin, Bordeleau, Gushchin, Ceci (or Thompson), '26 2nd round pick and '26 4th round pick.

 

[Herschel]

We really aren't

We've beaten one playoff team and it took an own goal in a 44 save shutout to do so

We are comfortably among the worst teams in hockey, arguable the single worst, McDavid would make this a better team but he wouldn't lift us out of the basement by himself

Adding McDavid to this roster and I bet they would play at an above a 90 point pace.

 

[one2gamble]

Jiricek hasnt really done much more than Muk has and is kind of trending towards bust.....If you can get him for basically scraps, sure but I would be hesitant to give much quality there.

 

[Patty Ice]

Jiricek hasnt really done much more than Muk has and is kind of trending towards bust.

Wouldn't Mukh be trending even worse then using the same logic being two years older?

I like Mukh and think he is going to be a player but there's more to like about Jiricek. Value favors Jiricek but not substantially. I think a generous add would make a competitive offer. It sounds like the Jackets are wanting a 1 for 1 deal as opposed to an offer of stacking assets.

 

[weastern bias]

Adding McDavid to this roster and I bet they would play at an above a 90 point pace.

The nice thing about that is that it isn't going to happen so it will remain a thought experiment

 

[weastern bias]

Kunin on pace for 17G 30P despite playing less than 15 minutes per game and no PP time. I thought he sucked and there was no way recovery from his ACL surgery hampered his performance last season?

If he keeps this up we're getting a decent pick for him at the deadline. I hope we extend him though.

30 points in today's league is basically nothing, if you don't also provide anything on the defensive end, which Kunin doesn't, there are much better options for bottom-6 forwards than a player with 30 point upside who has no other positives to his game

Now, I actually think Kunin has performed above my expectations since they put him at 4th line center, but it's still inaccurate to describe him as a useful NHL regular, he's a replacement level player on his best day