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

[Bowie22]

bro look's like he's on the brink of tears in that caption

 

[TheBeard]

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.

You can see the big picture and still weigh the pros and cons from a human/fan perspective. Not everything done has to be purely a “business decision”. I don’t watch sports because of the business aspect. I watch because I get emotionally invested in the team, the organization and the players. I’m sorry if that aspect doesn’t resonate with you but at the same time I’m slightly envious.

 

[Melek Taus]

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.

James Reimer still loves us.

 

[TheBeard]

James Reimer still loves us.

I expect he’ll be back for a third tour before long.

 

[Pavelski2112]

You can see the big picture and still weigh the pros and cons from a human/fan perspective. Not everything done has to be purely a “business decision”. I don’t watch sports because of the business aspect. I watch because I get emotionally invested in the team, the organization and the players. I’m sorry if that aspect doesn’t resonate with you but at the same time I’m slightly envious.

This is my view on it at the moment.

I entirely understand that, purely as a cold business move, this is a good trade. The value is there, it rips the band-aid off and helps set up the Sharks long-term that much more.

That said, this is like watching your girlfriend leave you for the jock bro everyone hated in high school.

 

[TheBeard]

This is my view on it at the moment.

I entirely understand that, purely as a cold business move, this is a good trade. The value is there, it rips the band-aid off and helps set up the Sharks long-term that much more.

That said, this is like watching your girlfriend leave you for the jock bro everyone hated in high school.

And then your mom telling you you were too good for them anyways.

The reality is the trade is good for SJ long term, however I do not believe the trade dramatically alters the trajectory of the team’s future. The team’s chances down the road were never going to be contingent on Hertl’s contract nor will it be contingent on the production of Edstrom and whomever we draft. If Hertl's contract is an issue in, say, 2027 then that means everything else has gone according to plan, which is great, but still not a certainty. Frankly, between the retention slot and trading to Vegas and the emotional aspect, there were too many negative factors in the deal to get behind. But, alas, nothing to be done about it now but look forward.

 

[Hodge]

That said, this is like watching your girlfriend leave you for the jock bro everyone hated in high school.

It's more like getting an amicable divorce 12 years into a marriage that no longer works for either party.

 

[jMoneyBrah]

It's more like getting an amicable divorce 12 years into a marriage that no longer works for either party.

Lol. This is like neither of these things. This is a professional moving shop, y’all might want to have a think about how much emotional investment you put into parasocial relationships.

I’m a huge fan of Hertl, and will continue to be post Sharks. He had me at “fun must be always”, and I loved that he’s never shied away from an interview even though his English was a work in progress. May he never take a breath between words or sentences for the remainder of his days.

I hope he gets a Cup with Vegas or otherwise; I’d be so happy for him, it sure as shit wasn’t gonna happen in San Jose.

 

[Pavelski2112]

Lol. This is like neither of these things. This is a professional moving shop, y’all might want to have a think about how much emotional investment you put into parasocial relationships.

I’m a huge fan of Hertl, and will continue to be post Sharks. He had me at “fun must be always”, and I loved that he’s never shied away from an interview even though his English was a work in progress. May he never take a breath between words or sentences for the remainder of his day.

I hope he gets a Cup with Vegas or otherwise; I’d be so happy for him, it sure as shit wasn’t gonna happen in San Jose.

Look, I'm playing it up to a degree; I don't actually feel like my girlfriend just left me. It's an analogy and sometimes exaggeration just helps put things into perspective or explain how it feels in a way that's otherwise hard to do.

Hockey is still escapism to me, but there is a level of emotion that goes into that, or else why would I even bother? There are still stories and loyalties and characters and all of these things that go into rooting for a team or a player that matter.

 

[DG93]

Look, I'm playing it up to a degree; I don't actually feel like my girlfriend just left me. It's an analogy and sometimes exaggeration just helps put things into perspective or explain how it feels in a way that's otherwise hard to do.

Hockey is still escapism to me, but there is a level of emotion that goes into that, or else why would I even bother? There are still stories and loyalties and characters and all of these things that go into rooting for a team or a player that matter.

All of this makes sense, but it's also an acute emotional wound. Wound heals over time, and this trade wasn't a short-term thing but rather a long-term outlook. It's good for Hertl (who clearly wanted to be there given his NMC) and it improves the Sharks long-term outlook from both a draft pick and cap sheet perspective.

If Hertl wanted to play for Vegas despite the huge rivalry (you would think players would feel it even more than the fans), why should Grier turn down a solid return (especially if it gives Hertl a chance to win, ie doing right by the player as Grier did for Burns and Karlsson)? Clearly Hertl doesn't give a shit about the rivalry, so Grier shouldn't turn it down as a destination because of fans feeling hurt by it in the short-term. With time, the emotional wound will heal for us all too. I do feel bad for Beard because he has to live there though...

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[Grinner]

Do you want objective analysis or do you just want someone to agree with your emotional fan oriented take?

Damn it Spock! We can't all be Vulcans

 

[Pinkfloyd]

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.

I’m sensitive to the emotional aspect as Hertl is one of the best Sharks of all time. I just think it’s over the top for a reaction to Grier. I get having an issue with the retention and sending the 3rd round picks and it being Vegas but we shouldn’t risk keeping Hertl through a rebuild if he wants to compete and him green-lighting the trade tells me he’s ready to go. His value won’t improve and he’s earned chances to compete that we can’t realistically provide for him anytime soon.

I also take issue with assuming Bystedt being 3C down the line means another center prospect can’t be of value to us at that level. If all we expect out of Bystedt and Edstrom is 3C, we can’t be certain either actually makes it. Having depth to hedge your bets because high hope centers could end up like Bordeleau where he’s not looking like an NHL player yet. These guys still have a high bust rate to worry about when rebuilding.

 

[timorous me]

Having depth to hedge your bets because high hope centers could end up like Bordeleau where he’s not looking like an NHL player yet actually more of a goal-scoring winger in the NHL.

FTFY

 

[karltonian]

I'd say if anything the issue is there's no guarantee this helps us long term. It's pretty damn hard to get a 1st liner in the NHL, especially a homegrown late 1st rounder. Scorched earth has no history of helping more than strategic/lucky tanking and any successful team needs some good veterans.

It's possible to be terrible indefinitely if you don't do things right or get lucky at some point. Sucking out loud means you'll pay top dollar for FAs if you can get them at all.

 

[Celly4Celebrini]

I also take issue with assuming Bystedt being 3C down the line means another center prospect can’t be of value to us at that level. If all we expect out of Bystedt and Edstrom is 3C, we can’t be certain either actually makes it.

Also a 3rd line of xxx-Enstrom-Bystedt sounds good. Big, defensively responsible with the ability to score as well. Centers can always move to wings if needed.

 

[Zarzh]

I’m sensitive to the emotional aspect as Hertl is one of the best Sharks of all time. I just think it’s over the top for a reaction to Grier. I get having an issue with the retention and sending the 3rd round picks and it being Vegas but we shouldn’t risk keeping Hertl through a rebuild if he wants to compete and him green-lighting the trade tells me he’s ready to go. His value won’t improve and he’s earned chances to compete that we can’t realistically provide for him anytime soon.

I also take issue with assuming Bystedt being 3C down the line means another center prospect can’t be of value to us at that level. If all we expect out of Bystedt and Edstrom is 3C, we can’t be certain either actually makes it. Having depth to hedge your bets because high hope centers could end up like Bordeleau where he’s not looking like an NHL player yet. These guys still have a high bust rate to worry about when rebuilding.

I don't get why people don't want as many Edstroms as you can get.

 

[hohosaregood]

i think it's easy to forget but a legit NHL 3C is a very good player. like they're not going to be a perennial 50 point scorer but they can be guys who are like >53% xGF kinda guys that you can put anywhere in the top 9.

 

[Jargon]

i think it's easy to forget but a legit NHL 3C is a very good player. like they're not going to be a perennial 50 point scorer but they can be guys who are like >53% xGF kinda guys that you can put anywhere in the top 9.

lol Hfboards is so atrocious I’ve written this message 3 times.

I have really realized the importance of high end 3rd line type players. Bonino-in-his-prime guys. They win you cups. If Bystedt and Edstrom both work out as high end 3rd liners, and we win Celebrini somehow, our offense starts looking like:

Eklund - Celebrini - ??
Musty - Smith - ??
Bystedt - Edstrom - Zetterlund

That’s a pretty great start to a high end team, I think. If everyone pans out etc etc

 

[DG93]

lol Hfboards is so atrocious I’ve written this message 3 times.

I have really realized the importance of high end 3rd line type players. Bonino-in-his-prime guys. They win you cups. If Bystedt and Edstrom both work out as high end 3rd liners, and we win Celebrini somehow, our offense starts looking like:

Eklund - Celebrini - ??
Musty - Smith - ??
Bystedt - Edstrom - Zetterlund

That’s a pretty great start to a high end team, I think. If everyone pans out etc etc

Definitely agree, then you have a big project to work on in terms of fixing the defense.

 

[Jargon]

Definitely agree, then you have a big project to work on in terms of fixing the defense.

Yeah, if we get Celebrini, we need to take swings at D every chance we get afterward. If the Penguins pick gets kicked to next year, I’d even consider trading our NJ 2nd and next year’s Vegas 1st for a high 1st this year to get one of the defensemen available.

 

[OrrNumber4]

If anything, young 3Cs can be packaged for top-half-of-the-lineup talent, or at the least, keep costs down so cap space can be spent elsewhere.

 

[cheechoo]

lol Hfboards is so atrocious I’ve written this message 3 times.

I have really realized the importance of high end 3rd line type players. Bonino-in-his-prime guys. They win you cups. If Bystedt and Edstrom both work out as high end 3rd liners, and we win Celebrini somehow, our offense starts looking like:

Eklund - Celebrini - ??
Musty - Smith - ??
Bystedt - Edstrom - Zetterlund

That’s a pretty great start to a high end team, I think. If everyone pans out etc etc

Yep. Dave Bolland, Chris Kelly, Jarret Stoll, Antoine Vermette types. Invaluable. They're the players that shift the margins between very good teams and immortalized champions.

 

[timorous me]

One more bit of analysis on this trade, from The Athletic's Shayna Goldman:

The Sharks get out from under a contract that maybe shouldn’t have been signed in the first place, because it conflicted with what the long-term vision should have been. But they make out well with David Edstrom (the Golden Knights’ top prospect) and a 2025 first-rounder, which should help this team push its rebuild along. This is the caliber of trade the Sharks have really needed in this process. Being without now two of their retention slots until 2027 hurts a rebuilding team’s ability to leverage their cap, but it would have been impossible to trade Hertl without that.

I find commentary like this, from impartial observers (especially ones like Goldman who's often quite astute in her analytically-based takes), to be a bit of salve on the open emotional wound that won't help but linger for a while after this trade.

 

[DG93]

One more bit of analysis on this trade, from The Athletic's Shayna Goldman:

I find commentary like this, from impartial observers (especially ones like Goldman who's often quite astute in her analytically-based takes), to be a bit of salve on the open emotional wound that won't help but linger for a while after this trade.

Yep, definitely agree