Confirmed with Link: Tomas Hertl 17% retained, 2025 3rd, 2027 3rd to Vegas for C David Edstrom, 2025 1st

[nabbyfan]

Thing i dont understand about all the hate to Grier....hes doing his job. He wasnt hired for a retool or a refresh, he was hired to tear it the F down and start over. Theres almost nobody left in the organization from when he was hired!

I think people aren't properly understanding the level of mess that DW and DW Jr left him. Grier inherited an absolute F'ing mess. A bad team, somehow at the Salary Cap, with a bunch of old players signed to long term deals with NMC who were all underperforming, and one of the worst prospect pools in the NHL.

I honestly think a big part of the reason Grier got this job is because it was so unappealing to alot of NHL executives. We can all love and respect Doug Wilson for the great 15 year run we had....but he left a complete Shitshow behind.

This was always going to be how this went. A complete tear down and build it back up with free'd up cap space and new prospects. Props to Hertl for signing the extension here, but clearly he wasnt aware of just how bad this was going to get. I dont blame him for wanting out, and dont blame Grier for getting what he could to get out of the contract that we were never going to compete with. Is it going to suck watching Tomas play meaningful games for Vegas? Absolutely. But we are going to be absolutely terrible for 2-3 more years.....I think most people would also agree it would suck to watch the life get sucked out of Tomas coming in 30-32nd in the NHL playing in front of an empty arena for the rest of his contract.

Lets just hope Grier and Co can actually get this ship turned around in the next few years.

 

[cheechoo]

Watching Grier talking about the trade deadline, he talks about Edstrom. This kid sounds great. Listen to it, it’ll open your eyes.

I wouldn't be surprised if giving the thirds away were in part of the negotiation struggle to obtain Edstrom rather than another player. He's a serious talent.

 

[Alaskanice]

I wouldn't be surprised if giving the thirds away were in part of the negotiation struggle to obtain Edstrom rather than another player. He's a serious talent.

Thanks for those. Starting to get exciting!! It sounds as if those draft picks were part of Vegas taking on the contract. It’s nearly 7 million a year.

 

[DarrylshutzSydor]

Two 1sts for a #2 center.........should have kept the 3rd round picks though.....

 

[landshark]

Not directly about the Hertl part. He did have a NTC though, so he had them on his 3 team list or waived for them.

Hertl had a full NMC. Not M-NTC,NMC until year after next. Hertl opted for Vegas.

(late to this party, but had to say something about this if it's already been covered then sorry, I'm still catching up)

 

[Cas]

I disagree. Most projections see him as a 3rd line center, some see more upside. His transition to play against men has been successful.

While there is a chance he could bust, your selling him too low with those numbers (imho).

Barclay Goodrow peaked as a 3C.

Most prospects bust, including prospects who perform as well or better than Edstrom. Even just calling it an even chance that he winds up playing 200 games in the NHL, in any role, is probably overrating his chances.

If he succeeds, he probably tops out as a 3C. The odds that he even succeeds are less than 50%. The odds that he turns into Eriksson Ek are probably less than 1%.

Trying this once or maybe twice but to keep bringing in players that underachieved in other organizations is not a winning culture. Many of these players don't perform for a reason.

We will build a winning culture when we have players (plural) who belong in the NHL.

A "winning culture" just means that you have a good and talented team that can win.

 

[Sysreq]

I am okay with the trade. 6 years @ 1.3 million is a bit stiff but manageable - especially with the looming cap increase. David Edstrom adds to our prospect depth at center and had a decent showing with Sweden at this year's WJC. GMMG is clearly trying to fill out the Center and Defense first, which is good. We get 1OA this year and I think we'll be closer to contention than people think.

 

[LadyStanley]

Awful sports town

YMMV

Welcome from the Greatest Arena on Earth (tm).

NFL and just hosted SuperBowl. WNBA back-to-back champs just sold out of STH (1st in league to EVER do so). NLL. IFL. MiLB. USL (and MLS?). F1 and NASCAR (and off road and dragster and other motor sports). NFR and PBR. Tennis tourneys. NBA summer league (and rumored NBA expansion), G League. PVF.

And NHL, AHL, NCAA hockey.

MG has fixed the cap situation in 2 years. The next test is what he does with the space

Could even do some swapping at draft with $4m in cap space this season.

Has about $38m in space next season. 16 expiring contracts. Needs to sign $20+m or so to get to floor.

 

[Hodge]

Getting Goodrow is probably his 50% outcome - the odds are that half of all outcomes for Edstrom wind up worse than Goodrow. Probably more than half, quite frankly - most prospects bust.

Goodrow was a useful contributor on two championship teams. I'll take a 50% shot at ending up with someone like that.

 

[Saskatoon]

Does this mean we need to cheer for Vegas this year?

Vegas winning the cup means their players are more tired. More injuries. Free agents can ask for a better salary.

Is Vegas worse next year if they do better this year?

 

[Eggdoh]

Does this mean we need to cheer for Vegas this year?

Vegas winning the cup means their players are more tired. More injuries. Free agents can ask for a better salary.

Is Vegas worse next year if they do better this year?

It would also have the added benefit of meaning Hertl wins a cup.

 

[TheBeard]

Does this mean we need to cheer for Vegas this year?

Vegas winning the cup means their players are more tired. More injuries. Free agents can ask for a better salary.

Is Vegas worse next year if they do better this year?

Depends, are you a sharks fan or a Hertl fan?

I’ll never under any circumstances root for Vegas to win.

 

[TheWayToRefJose]

Depends, are you a sharks fan or a Hertl fan?

I’ll never under any circumstances root for Vegas to win.

That’s why you don’t root for Vegas to win, but Hertl to win. f*** everyone else on that team. Especially that rat f*** marchessault.

Plus, they already won one, so it doesn’t matter anymore.

 

[LadyStanley]

REACTION: Sharks trade Tomas Hertl to Vegas Golden Knights



Brodie's take

 

[tahoesharksfan]

We get 1OA this year and I think we'll be closer to contention than people think.

So then, since we're not Chicago, we won't be any closer....

 

[LilLeeroy]

So then, since we're not Chicago, we won't be any closer....

Demidov is looking like a really good consolation prize.

 

[coooldude]

Barclay Goodrow peaked as a 3C.

Most prospects bust, including prospects who perform as well or better than Edstrom. Even just calling it an even chance that he winds up playing 200 games in the NHL, in any role, is probably overrating his chances.

If he succeeds, he probably tops out as a 3C. The odds that he even succeeds are less than 50%. The odds that he turns into Eriksson Ek are probably less than 1%.


We will build a winning culture when we have players (plural) who belong in the NHL.

A "winning culture" just means that you have a good and talented team that can win.

I'm generally with you but a minor point. 200 games is the exact average expectation for him at his draft position, not overrating his chances. Also it was a deeper draft year so maybe bump that average expected outcome just a slight bit.

https://morehockeystats.com/drafts/pickstats

I'm with you on culture. "losing culture" is not a thing. Bad organizations and bad management are a thing. Losing for years and years didn't hurt the Avs, kings, Pens, or hawks during their rebuilds.

 

[TheBeard]

That’s why you don’t root for Vegas to win, but Hertl to win. f*** everyone else on that team. Especially that rat f*** marchessault.

Plus, they already won one, so it doesn’t matter anymore.

There’s no separation. Sorry, Thomas but as long as you’re in Vegas I hope you never win.

Demidov is looking like a really good consolation prize.

We seem to be stocking up on consolation prizes.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[LilLeeroy]

There’s no separation. Sorry, Thomas but as long as you’re in Vegas I hope you never win.


We seem to be stocking up on consolation prizes.

What does this even mean? Personally think we're looking better than ever after Wilson and Son did their best to destroy the team.

 

[TheBeard]

What does this even mean? Personally think we're looking better than ever after Wilson and Son did their best to destroy the team.

We're certainly looking better, but let's be honest. Will Smith was a consolation prize in the draft, the return we got from NJ and not being able to get a Mercer or even a Nemec, I guess Musty and Shakir are good consolation prizes. If we don't get first overall despite the season, Demidov would be a good consolation prize...

 

[TheBeard]

Not sure if it was posted, but this pretty much sums up the emotional aspect of the trade. So you can take all your "But our cap in 2027...." rationale all you want.

 

[Shark in Hockeytown]

After plowing through the thread, some reactions on the economics of the deal. With Hertl, the Sharks are a bad team; without him, they are a bad team. In either case, attendance is tanking and will for the near future. 10K was the announced attendance for both games this week. Attendance depends on season tickets and casual fans who respond to the overall record of the team, not individual players. Attendance looks grim until the team is competitive again with or without the trade.

Salary, not cap hit, matters when you're tanking. The Sharks owed Hertl about $48M for the next six years of his contract; they now owe him a bit over $8M. Plattner saves close to $40M, which makes it easier to put up with tanking because it limits losses. Yes, this is a cold way to look at.

This trade shows that Grier thinks the Sharks are at a minimum three to five years away from being competitive. That strikes me as right because the team has few young proven NHL players right now (not including prospects) to serve as a foundation. Building that foundation takes time, as many draft picks and prospects as you can get, and some luck. But the trade should be evaluated in terms of the value of these players five years from now. Would you rather have a 35-year old Hertl or Edstrom and whoever the draft pick is five years from now? The expectation of the latter has to be higher.

Some have expressed the fear that the crash in attendance will lead to the team moving. A simple question: why are the Panthers still in Florida? They were terrible for two decades with abysmal attendance, yet they never moved. Part of the value of owning these teams is that you also get the arena management contract which is worth a lot. Move the team and you lose that contract. This is why NHL teams are reluctant to share an arena with an NBA team (except when both are owned by the same people). Even if attendance averages 10K/game for several years, moving the team to Houston or Kansas City would not make sense in the long run.

None of this removes the pain of this trade. A beloved player traded to a team I loathe. But it is the right move for rebuilding the team and as a business decision.

 

[Boy Hedican]

Not sure if it was posted, but this pretty much sums up the emotional aspect of the trade. So you can take all your "But our cap in 2027...." rationale all you want.

idk. I got 2 1/2 min in and his emotions about it make it clear to me this individual doesn't see big picture visions. This trade won't move the needle? We have no idea what will happen now, vs what would have happened if we kept Hertl. We have no clue what other proposals, if any, were out there. GMs collect cards. While we just gave away two 3rds, we got a potential middle C asset to add to our deck of middle Cs (and we have a number of them). Edstrom has a good overall game. He could be a decent #2 C. And we have the unknown of a 1st in 25 which could end up being a middle pick. Who knows. We could also package up and move down in 24. Who knows. If this were a player for player trade id'd be easier to determine what moves the needle. But there are far too many unknowns. Maybe I'll listen to him cry more later but I got some crypto trades to make.

 

[LadyStanley]

Sniff