Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[TheBeard]

Well now we have to draft Viktor if he's out here talking about losing a "literal" (look it up Willy) family member.

Lol imagine drafting him and then trading William a week later?

 

[timorous me]

Well now we have to draft Viktor if he's out here talking about losing a "literal" (look it up Willy) family member.

Just to teach him a lesson about the meaning of the word "literal" (after we then trade his brother away)?

 

[coooldude]

I love me some Ekky, and I think he's resilient and can bounce back from this. I hope he's seen as a core piece and I hope he levels up from this.

That said -- you don't have to wonder why guys who deal with deaths in the family, etc. go high in the draft. That's real adversity - Misa, Schaefer both went through this. If you can get through those things, you absolutely will do better at handling a losing season or the trade of a close friend.

I don't want to belittle how hard this trade was for Eklund, but if that's one of the hardest days of his life, he hasn't had a ton of adversity in life yet. Life will absolutely throw harder at you, and this isn't that bad, all things considered.

EDIT: Thankfully, he seems to have the self awareness about this, so I'm optimistic:

Eklund, on never experiencing anything like this on previous teams:

For sure. But I’m not gonna say I have it tough. We have a lot of other things in the world that’s tougher than this.

But this was one of the toughest moments for me, personally. Losing a family member, you feel like, just for a little while, until the summer. It’s tough, but gotta move on here and get better for tomorrow.

And he's clear that he, and "some other guys", don't want this to be a long rebuild timeline. So I would assume that if Grier still has us in the McKenna sweepstakes next year, we'll see Eklund moved.

You gotta be, I’m not going to swear, but ready to go. You gotta be ready every night, and you gotta be able…we want to win here. We’re not going to go here and go out and just be like we’ve done in the past. We’re gonna go win now, it’s time for that.

 

[sharski]

Huh.

that seems like... a ridiculously harsh penalty

seriously, what would someone have to do on the ice to get 20 games? i feel like i see scumbag moves all the time that get like 2 games

 

[Juxtaposer]

I love me some Ekky, and I think he's resilient and can bounce back from this. I hope he's seen as a core piece and I hope he levels up from this.

That said -- you don't have to wonder why guys who deal with deaths in the family, etc. go high in the draft. That's real adversity - Misa, Schaefer both went through this. If you can get through those things, you absolutely will do better at handling a losing season or the trade of a close friend.

I don't want to belittle how hard this trade was for Eklund, but if that's one of the hardest days of his life, he hasn't had a ton of adversity in life yet. Life will absolutely throw harder at you, and this isn't that bad, all things considered.

He mentions multiple times that the fact that this is one of the worst days of his life is a privilege. So at least he's self-aware.

I think Eklund will get past this, but I also understand giving him some space while he works through it. Wish more people had a middle-ground response than the two extremes I'm seeing ("Eklund's relationship with the Sharks is broken and he will never forgive Grier"/"Get over it and stop crying").

 

[coooldude]

He mentions multiple times that the fact that this is one of the worst days of his life is a privilege. So at least he's self-aware.

I think Eklund will get past this, but I also understand giving him some space while he works through it. Wish more people had a middle-ground response than the two extremes I'm seeing ("Eklund's relationship with the Sharks is broken and he will never forgive Grier"/"Get over it and stop crying").

I was editing that exact thought! I'm optimistic.

 

[Timo Time]

I find it funny when players parade their recovery and playing through massive injuries especially in time for playoffs, then fans and media clutch their pearls that players get caught using PEDs. Like brother, I don't think anyone can say it's normal to play through broken bones and torn ligaments naturally.

Anyway, hopefully this doesn't result in a Nate Schmidt arc for Ekblad because it's seems like Schmidt has been pretty bad since his case. Wouldn't mind taking a run at Ekblad this summer.

 

[TheBeard]

I think Ek will get over it, but i do think this reality check will influence negotiations when it's time.

 

[Hodge]

I think Ek will get over it, but i do think this reality check will influence negotiations when it's time.

Maybe but the Sharks have the hammer. Eklund won't have arbitration rights and we obviously have more than enough cap space to match any offer sheet so it's unlikely another team would bother with that.

 

[Skeksis25]

I mean, surely he doesn't think the Sharks are the only organization that will trade people when needed. He is not going to find some magic team that will guarantee his friends will always be around.

Of course, his mentality could be that if I'm dealing with this part of the business, I'd rather do so somewhere I can also win. And that would be a rational thought that Grier and the org need to be aware of. Not just with Eklund, but later with Smith and Mack too. You can't just keep chasing the #1 pick. If we are competing for last overall next year again, I think its going to cause some issues.

Gonna be a critical offseason for GMMG.

 

[TheBeard]

Maybe but the Sharks have the hammer. Eklund won't have arbitration rights and we obviously have more than enough cap space to match any offer sheet so it's unlikely another team would bother with that.

Perhaps, although Grier may like the idea of three firsts for his rights.

 

[Kcoyote3]

that seems like... a ridiculously harsh penalty

seriously, what would someone have to do on the ice to get 20 games? i feel like i see scumbag moves all the time that get like 2 games

The NHL does this a lot with things that affect the integrity of the game. They go hard. 20 games is not bad.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Perhaps, although Grier may like the idea of three firsts for his rights.

I don't think anyone is going to pay that price for Eklund. And I'm sure we'd trade him at a price well below that.

 

[TheBeard]

I don't think anyone is going to pay that price for Eklund. And I'm sure we'd trade him at a price well below that.

I can see someone offersheeting him 9.15 which is just below the threshold for 2 firsts and a second.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I can see someone offersheeting him 9.15 which is just below the threshold for 2 firsts and a second.

I doubt it would get that far. There shouldn't be a lot of resistance with Eklund's contract demands. If he wants to go because of this then moving him is also plenty fine. He's not irreplaceable.