Confirmed with Link: Sharks acquire Cody Ceci and 2025 3rd for Ty Emberson

[Hodge]

If Ceci had been a UFA July 1 and willing to sign with us on a 1 year deal for $3.25M - hell, even $5M - that would have been a no-brainer. He clearly fills a need, by all accounts is a great leader off the ice and will fetch a return at the deadline even if we're forced to route him through another team for salary retention. There is zero risk in a 1 year deal for a team that has as much cap space as we do.

Getting a 3rd for a waiver claim in Emberson is also objectively good asset management especially given his pending Group VI UFA status.

So once again the criticism of a Grier trade comes down to fans convincing themselves, and trying to convince others, that they have a better grasp on the NHL trade market than the teams do. We "should" have gotten more for taking Ceci because...well we just should have, okay? Even though Walman, a worse and less established left-handed defenseman making more money and signed for an additional year, only cost a late 2nd to move.

 

[STL Shark]

Ceci can be moved at the deadline then for literally anything. Turning a waiver claim into 2 good assets is a huge win. Ceci has more experience than Emberson, that's vauable to young teams like us. Hence why we acquired Goodrow.

Moved for a 4th or 5th rounder isn't a good asset though. It also is ignoring that cap space costs assets as well (as much as Hodge banged the drum that teams don't pay for cap relief anymore for weeks).

This also isn't the forward group where we lacked physical play and had 2 high profile teenagers needing to learn the ropes. Ceci makes sense if you don't already have Rutta, Benning, Vlasic, and Ferraro with 7, 8, 18, and 5 years of NHL experience, respectively. Add in Walman who has played a good deal of NHL hockey and the need to mentor isn't there like it is in the forward group.

If Ceci had been a UFA July 1 and willing to sign with us on a 1 year deal for $3.25M - hell, even $5M - that would have been a no-brainer. He clearly fills a need, by all accounts is a great leader off the ice and will fetch a return at the deadline even if we're forced to route him through another team for salary retention. There is zero risk in a 1 year deal for a team that has as much cap space as we do.

Getting a 3rd for a waiver claim in Emberson is also objectively good asset management especially given his pending Group VI UFA status.

So once again the criticism of a Grier trade comes down to fans convincing themselves, and trying to convince others, that they have a better grasp on the NHL trade market than the teams do. We "should" have gotten more for taking Ceci because...well we just should have, okay? Even though Walman, a worse and less established left-handed defenseman making more money and signed for an additional year, only cost a late 2nd to move.

Teams don't pay for cap relief now that the cap increased though.

 

[LadyStanley]

Teams don't pay for cap relief now that the cap increased though

As much

 

[Hodge]

Teams don't pay for cap relief now that the cap increased though.

Precisely. Another reason why expecting the Oilers to have to attach a 2nd or 1st (lol) to move 1 year of Ceci was always delusional.

Like I said in the post, even the 3rd is not really for dumping Ceci at least not exclusively. Emberson has value.

 

[TheBeard]

Ceci makes sense if you don't already have Rutta, Benning, Vlasic, and Ferraro with 7, 8, 18, and 5 years of NHL experience, respectively.

I have zero faith Rutta, Benning and Ferraro can stay healthy this season and Vlasic is 38. The last thing the team needs to help develop the forwards is constant turnover and change on the blue line. Ceci is durable, missing only I believe, 5 games in the last three years.

 

[Timo Time]

It really feels like Emberson is massively over rated here

 

[Cas]

Rutta, Benning, and Vlasic may have a combined 33 years of NHL experience, but they collectively deserve zero future years of NHL experience. I'd happily waive any of them.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Moved for a 4th or 5th rounder isn't a good asset though. It also is ignoring that cap space costs assets as well (as much as Hodge banged the drum that teams don't pay for cap relief anymore for weeks).

This also isn't the forward group where we lacked physical play and had 2 high profile teenagers needing to learn the ropes. Ceci makes sense if you don't already have Rutta, Benning, Vlasic, and Ferraro with 7, 8, 18, and 5 years of NHL experience, respectively. Add in Walman who has played a good deal of NHL hockey and the need to mentor isn't there like it is in the forward group.

Ceci should return more than a 4th or 5th. I originally thought you were overrating Emberson but now you're underrating Ceci. Yes we have Rutta, Benning, Vlasic, etc. but Ceci is better than each of those guys. Even if that's not saying much, Grier improved the blue line while also getting a 3rd, and then having the ability to flip Ceci at the deadline for something else.

 

[Juxtaposer]

Not for nothing, but Ceci is supposedly a beloved locker room guy. That doesn't mean nothing for the Sharks right now.

 

[ottawah]

Side note: Ceci played 20 mins/gm and had 25 points with ZERO PP time. That’s pretty damn good. In that time, he was +12 (3rd among oiler D) and took only 7 minor penalties all year.

I haven’t watched him that close but his numbers are pretty solid. I’m not sure there wasn’t a market for him (hence low return) and I’m not sure that on the sharks, with some pp time and 22nd/gm, he could see his value rise.

Imagine a season of 22mins, 35+ pts. If he has a good year (like granlund last year) he’s have solid deadline value.

I don’t mind this deal.

Edmonton fan (and from Ottawa so seen a lot of Ceci.)

His value really is in his PK and defensive play. While he is not a defensive monster, he can be part of a very strong defensive shutdown pairing if his partner is competent. Generally he plays the toughest minutes on his team, and has a really good GA/60 number. One interesting tidbit from Toronto (generally though of his worse year), every other D man on the team when paired with him had a higher quality of competition, and a lower GA/60. He also does not turn the puck over very much, generally being the lowest turnovers on his D corp, last year he had 1/2 the turnovers as the next lowest D man on the oilers. He also was generally a defensive beast in the playoffs when away from Nurse. Through the first 3 rounds his GA/60 was 1.1 away from Nurse, 4 (Kulak had double the GA/60 with nurse, Deshairnais had triple, so that says all you need to know about nurse).

My concern defensively is the Sharks are just not a good team and he will try and do too much. He does not think the game fast enough to be that player.

He has a good shot and some offensive instincts, which have generally been muted because of his deployment, but I'd still think on this Sharks team 35 points would be a stretch. This is likely the first time he will ever be used offensively, so maybe there is more there, but from years of playing behind Karlsson, Letang and Bouchard its hard to say.

But overall its one year, well below average cap hit, a position thats hard to fill in the NHL, and plays great D. No reason that cannot be turned into a decent pick at deadline, I'd think at least a second. Sucks for Edmonton, but this is the worst time of the year to be trying and trading established players. SJ got good value here I'd think.

 

[Selachimorpha]

Feels like this years version of the Duclair trade. Let's ceci if we can market him well for the TDL.

 

[tiburon12]

Not for nothing, but Ceci is supposedly a beloved locker room guy. That doesn't mean nothing for the Sharks right now.

Another upgrade over emberson

 

[TheBeard]

Oilers fans already convincing themselves that the twice-traded, once waived Emberson is the answer to all their defensive woes.

 

[OiledUp]

I’ve barely seen Ceci play, what’s the general vibe? From what I’ve seen, he’s likely the Sharks best defenseman now (not saying much), but curious to hear from an Oilers fan.

He's been heavily criticized as an Oiler for a while now and definitely at least to some extent on merit but he's also been forced to punch above his weight class(and pay check) with a partner who's a bad fit stylistically. He's an actual NHL D, mostly solid and defends well. Strong on the PK and in-zone defense. Struggles with puckmoving and starts making defensive mistakes when the pace goes up. Not very physical for a defensive D. As I mentioned in the above post he can play big minutes without his play tailing off too much which I think will have value for you guys. He needs to play with a strong puckmover or you'll see some serious tire fires trying to get out of the zone

 

[coooldude]

Feels like this years version of the Duclair trade. Let's ceci if we can market him well for the TDL.

Nailed it!

 

[sampler]

I remember when Granlund came in the EK deal as a cap dump. 5M per for two years at the time. Fans saw this is, correctly at the time, as a cap dump to lubricate the EK move, and figured granlund himself was a throw in.

Now, a year later, Grandlund was your #1 C (at least this past year), put up 60 pts, was a great leader, and looks like a potential 1st rounder at the deadline with another year last like year.

Ceci could go the same route. 30 is not old. 3.25M (or under 1M at the deadline) is pretty cheap. 20+ mins/gm is a fair amount, and perhaps he puts up 30-40 pts. He could be good for a 1st or 2nd at the deadline too depending on how he plays.

You never know what will happen. He will almost surely get more ice time this year than in edmonton, unless Mukh and Thrun just dominate. He will also likely get some PP time to boost his point total. What happens if ceci plays 22 mins/gm and puts up 7g,33a for 40 pts? How much can we get at the deadline for that profile?

We will revisit this deal in 6 months and be very pleased. I wish he got more as my initial reaction was disappointment at getting just a 3rd rounder and giving up a 24 year old potential NHler, but as I reflect more, I see this as having far less downside and far more upside than I initially thought.

The only downside is that emberson magically becomes a legit top 4 defenseman. Given that he was likely behind Walman, Ferraro, Ruuta, Mukh, Thrun, and Benning, Emberson was looking at a #7/8 Dman (with pickles) position going into the season. You never know what might have happened, but this is true for anyone and fairly unlikely with him in that position.

The potential upsides are many!
- Ceci plays well, provides 22 mins of solid defensive effort, and the sharks are actually an NHL team.
- Ceci plays well enough to land a solid 2nd or 3rd at the deadline. two 3rd rounders for emberson? sure. a 2nd and 3rd, even better.
- Ceci plays extremely well at both ends, and lands a 1st at the deadline along with granlund. This is my dream scenario of course, but its not impossible. Granlund woulda been worth a 1st at the deadline last year (if not for his 5m saalry this year), and Ceci might see his value rise with more opportunity as a top pairing player in SJ.

The upsides to the this deal for this upcoming season and beyond are definitely significant. The downside (missing out on emberson becoming a legit NHL Dman) is not likely.

All in all, it's a good deal, although everything should be put into perspective of scale. Its a TINY deal of depth players and depth picks, so any reaction, good or bad, should be tempered with a sigh of irrelevance.

 

[sampler]

lastly, it's impossible to argue that Ceci is worse than Emberson or Addison, at least right now.

This means that the team got better, and I want to see fun hockey, not just another lost season waiting for hagens or whoever. I want to see a competitive product, even if they wont make the PO's.

As someone earlier posted, this trade likely completes a real roster upgrade, even if not a wholly dramatic one.

Hertl out, Celebrini in (downgrade for this upcoming season most likely, but we'll see)
Declair out, Toffoli in in (++)
Hoffman out, Smith in (++, never know with rooks, but very likely much better)
Zadina out, Wennberg in (++)
Bailey out, Goodrow in (slight +)
Carpenter, Lebanc, Barabonov out, Grundlund and dyllandrea in (Likely +)
Further developed Eklund and Zetterlund (+)

The forwards are almost surely well improved (assuming Smith and Celly can have respectable 40-50 pt seasons).

Borroughs out, Walman in (+)
Addison out, Ceci in (+)
Emberson out, Mukh in (?, likely +)
Another year of development for Thrun (+)

In other words, the D is almost surely well improved.

Aside from goaltending, the sharks upgraded at least 8 roster spots, and should get development from another 3. On paper, this is a much better team, a much deeper team, and Ceci is a significant part of that upgade.

Also, since ceci is in his UFA year, you can assume that he will be extra motivated as he needs to earn his next, and possibly final, contract.

 

[Sendhelplease]

It really feels like Emberson is massively over rated here

I agree that we overhyped him and considering that he was a waiver claim we brought in with zero expectations we probably graded far more generously compared to other players on the team. Emberson could continue to improve or at least stay at his current level and wind up an solid bottom pairing defenseman but he could also go down the Jacob Peterson route and wind up to be a flash in the pan who shined because everyone else on the roster was dull.

 

[Saskatoon]

I agree that we overhyped him and considering that he was a waiver claim we brought in with zero expectations we probably graded far more generously compared to other players on the team. Emberson could continue to improve or at least stay at his current level and wind up an solid bottom pairing defenseman but he could also go down the Jacob Peterson route and wind up to be a flash in the pan who shined because everyone else on the roster was dull.

Yea - honestly the most likely outcome is Emberson washes out of the league within a few years.

He did play better than expected last year and I think there is some fear he turns into a good player.

 

[LadyStanley]

Rutta, Benning, and Vlasic may have a combined 33 years of NHL experience, but they collectively deserve zero future years of NHL experience. I'd happily waive any of them.

Vlasic's NMC is now a modified NTC so he could be waived.

But I don't know how many would take his $7m AAV ($4.5m salary assuming $2.5m SB has been paid this year).

 

[Cas]

Vlasic's NMC is now a modified NTC so he could be waived.

But I don't know how many would take his $7m AAV ($4.5m salary assuming $2.5m SB has been paid this year).

No GM in the right mind would take Vlasic - I just mean I'd be happy to send him home and let him eat Cheetos all day.

 

[Lebanezer]

No GM in the right mind would take Vlasic - I just mean I'd be happy to send him home and let him eat Cheetos all day.

He prefers Milk Bones.

 

[DoubleOT]

I like this deal quite a bit.

Ceci is a National Hockey League defenseman. Those are in short supply on the roster of this alleged National Hockey League franchise.

I agree with others who stress that he's a vet, (supposedly) good locker room guy, etc. Some offensive game. Watching him in the playoffs, he had some bad moments, but you can't say he's not an upgrade.

Emberson is easily replaceable. It's unclear how much upside he has. Ceci is a vet that will bring some stability now, and there's a little more breathing room in the #5/6/7 D slot for some other kid to step into. He's a battle-tested cheap vet defenseman who can play in his own end and bags 15-25 pts/yr, which oughta make him worth something at the deadline if he doesn't fit into the plans for the next couple years. Not a huge deal, but I put this in the W column.

 

[ChompChomp]

Here are the players who were drafted in the first round that might be everyday players for the Sharks this season:

Couture
Celebrini
Smith
Eklund
Granlund
Kostin
Kunin
Dellandrea
Wennberg
Muk
and now Ceci

That's a total of 11, 9 if you take out Couture and Muk.

 

[Star Platinum]

Just like the Hertl trade, Grier gets so much hate for no reason from people who just don't understand trade values.

Emberson is nothing special. He was a waiver claim, and we just got a third for him. That alone is a win, just like trading Eyssimont a couple years back. Ceci can be flipped at the deadline for another 3rd (or whatever) while also being someone who (although getting a ton of hate) has been to the playoffs multiple times on good teams, and can play with our young guys/stop gap for another year. He's not going to win the Norris trophy, but he knows much more about being an NHL player than Ty Emberson. We're going to have a ton of rookies coming in and out of the lineup this year, we need guys who know about playing an 82 game NHL schedule, travelling around the country, eating on the road, etc. to comfort them.

It's like some people want us to just play U25 players and play even worse than last year. No...we need progress. Even if we still come 32nd in the NHL, the team needs to show compete and the potential of being good in the future. Adding Ceci does not make us a playoff team, but factoring that in with adding Walman, Toffoli, Wennberg, etc. shows that management atleast wants to improve to some extent.

The objective of the season is not how many games we win. The objective is to develop Celebrini and Smith as much as possible. If this trade helps create a stabilizing group of veterans that provide an environment that is conducive to helping those two guys become better players faster, that's a win. The sooner those kids become players that free agents actively want to come and play with, the sooner this rebuild will be over.

Hopefully the trade helped move our blueline further down the road from awful to competent.