Confirmed with Link: Zetterlund, Robins, 4th to Ottawa for 2025 2nd, Zack Ostapchuk, Noah Gregor

[LadyStanley]

 

[Hodge]

Hindsight is 50/50. Obviously we know now that none of those players was all that good, but at the time it was widely prognosticated that that would be an elite, Cup-winning starting lineup.

We already have evidence that Celebrini is going to be much better than any of those guys. Schaefer also seems like he's in another stratosphere compared to the Oilers examples (obvs no guarantee we get him).

But yeah it's definitely possible Smith, Dickinson and Askarov fall short of their ceilings. Which is partly why I don't see the downside in slow-playing the rebuild to gather an additional season of information on how the kids are trending and add another top 3 pick as bust insurance.

 

[Cas]

And who are we going to get on defense? We apparently aren't willing to give out big contracts in free agency. The majority of good players with term have some form of no-trade clauses.

I went through every team's cap sheet trying to identify top-4 defensemen that had no trade protection, more than one year on their existing contracts, and weren't on ELCs/core guys that won't get moved for any reason. The list is like, Niko Mikkola, Jordan Spence, Alexandre Carrier, Alex Romanov, Nick Jensen, JJ Moser, Sean Durzi, Michael Kesselring, Filip Hronek, Zach Whitecloud, Kaeden Korczak, Trevor Van Reimsdyk, and Dylan DeMelo. And I really stretched the definition of "top-4 D" on some of these guys.

There are several interesting RFAs, but most of them have arbitration rights and would have plenty of leverage to avoid becoming Sharks long-term.

So what are we even supposed to do, especially if we don't land Schaefer? Like, this is f***ing dire.

I'm swinging back to the idea of getting someone like Dobson, Bryam, Miller, or someone established like McAvoy.

Just because Grier wasn't willing to pay Zetterlund big money (and presumably believes he's not a good fit come 26-27 and that he can be more easily replaced; after all, he was kind of a throw-in and I think Grier is confident he can find a new Zetterlund), doesn't mean he's not willing to pay other guys big money. I think that's what he's going for.

...

In any case, I certainly don't think that not having Zetterlund (and instead having a lot of pick ammunition) is "dire." I do think Zetterlund was traded below market value.

 

[sharks_dynasty]

I'm swinging back to the idea of getting someone like Dobson, Bryam, Miller, or someone established like McAvoy.

Just because Grier wasn't willing to pay Zetterlund big money (and presumably believes he's not a good fit come 26-27 and that he can be more easily replaced; after all, he was kind of a throw-in and I think Grier is confident he can find a new Zetterlund), doesn't mean he's not willing to pay other guys big money. I think that's what he's going for.

...

In any case, I certainly don't think that not having Zetterlund (and instead having a lot of pick ammunition) is "dire." I do think Zetterlund was traded below market value.

My assumption is that we are going to learn how this trade impacts us over the summer when Grier goes shopping with all his picks to improve the roster. Till then, we have incomplete information.

 

[Juxtaposer]

We already have evidence that Celebrini is going to be much better than any of those guys. Schaefer also seems like he's in another stratosphere compared to the Oilers examples (obvs no guarantee we get him).

But yeah it's definitely possible Smith, Dickinson and Askarov fall short of their ceilings. Which is partly why I don't see the downside in slow-playing the rebuild to gather an additional season of information on how the kids are trending and add another top 3 pick as bust insurance.

What happened to the Sharks being competitive on Celebrini's ELC? What happened to praising the Kings' rebuild? You've done a total 180 on these opinions and I'm genuinely confused what's going on.

I'm swinging back to the idea of getting someone like Dobson, Bryam, Miller, or someone established like McAvoy.

Just because Grier wasn't willing to pay Zetterlund big money (and presumably believes he's not a good fit come 26-27 and that he can be more easily replaced; after all, he was kind of a throw-in and I think Grier is confident he can find a new Zetterlund), doesn't mean he's not willing to pay other guys big money. I think that's what he's going for.

McAvoy has a full NMC and there is zero shot that he waives it for the Sharks.

Byram and Miller aren't good (I had thought Byram had turned a corner but it turns out he was just playing on a pair with Dahlin). Dobson is one year away from UFA and can easily just sign his QO or elect arbitration to walk himself straight to UFA. None of them are solutions.

...

In any case, I certainly don't think that not having Zetterlund (and instead having a lot of pick ammunition) is "dire." I do think Zetterlund was traded below market value.

The greater problem is that teams don't seem to be valuing futures very much right now. There are almost zero teams actively dismantling their NHL rosters right now. Why would Buffalo, NYR, or NYI even trade those player for futures? Zetterlund had value in the sense that he is a win-now-and-future type of player that those organizations would covet.

 

[fasterthanlight]

Man grier LOVES Ostapchuk, sees him as a future 3C, I don't get it at all, hope I am wrong.

 

[Hodge]

What happened to the Sharks being competitive on Celebrini's ELC? What happened to praising the Kings' rebuild? You've done a total 180 on these opinions and I'm genuinely confused what's going on.

To be honest, Celebrini looking this good this early has shifted my perspective. I have no doubt he's going to develop into a Cup-caliber 1C which is the hardest and most important position to fill. I think this incentivizes us to build a bit more methodically and construct a core of similarly aged players who all peak simultaneously even if it comes at the cost of maximizing his ELC. The cap being set to explode also makes the surplus ELC value less important IMO.

LA did not have our lottery luck so I give Blake a lot of credit for recognizing that and pivoting to spend some of their rebuild assets on bringing in established stars. They also have structural advantages over us by being more of a destination. I would still much rather be in our position but that's because of ping pong balls and not Grier being a better GM than Blake.

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

I still don't know why we need yet another 4th liner in a sea of 4th liners

 

[CanadienShark]

Came here to say "yuck."

Two valueless contracts & a 2nd round pick for Zetts. Garbage.

 

[coooldude]

Here's what I'll say: Grier has been targeting the big, physical, good skating 3C since he took the job, starting with Bystedt, Lund, Edstrom, now Ostapchuk. Maybe they believe this guy has the best chance of being the dude based on his development post draft.

We had 4 top 40 picks going into last year's draft and that turned out alright. We need to see what Grier does with all the assets. I will say that having shipped out Ceci, Walman, and Granlund, when we already needed 2 top 4 D and 1-2 actual NHL top 6 wingers today (not in the future), he has a huge amount of work to do to get to a roster that isn't just treading water. If we're looking like the same kind of team next season, then okay, we accept Grier has at least one more season of tanking in the plan, but that pushes out wildcard competition to 2028 at earliest and we're talking about 9-10 years of no playoffs and one of the deepest darkest rebuilds of the cap era.

 

[Juxtaposer]

To be honest, Celebrini looking this good this early has shifted my perspective. I have no doubt he's going to develop into a Cup-caliber 1C which is the hardest and most important position to fill. I think this incentivizes us to build a bit more methodically and construct a core of similarly aged players who all peak simultaneously even if it comes at the cost of maximizing his ELC. The cap being set to explode also makes the surplus ELC value less important IMO.

Fair enough, I guess.

LA did not have our lottery luck so I give Blake a lot of credit for recognizing that and pivoting to spend some of their rebuild assets on bringing in established stars. They also have structural advantages over us by being more of a destination. I would still much rather be in our position but that's because of ping pong balls and not Grier being a better GM than Blake.

LA not having "lottery luck" is a bad excuse. They had the second best odds in 2019 and fell to 5th, sure, but the only way they come out looking any better is if they'd got the 13% chance of Jack Hughes. Kakko, Dach, and Byram were all terrible pieces. Seider went right behind the Kings pick, and guys like Zegras, Boldy, Cozens, and Broberg would have had better luck.

In 2020, they drafted Byfield 2nd, and passed on three guys (Stutzle, Raymond, Sanderson) who are unequivocally better than both Byfield and Lafreniere.

The Kings won't sniff a Cup for the next dozen years at least, and it's mostly self-inflicted. By your logic, shouldn't they have continued to tank instead of trying to exit the rebuild as a contingency for Turcotte and Byfield busting?

 

[timorous me]

I still don't know why we need yet another 4th liner in a sea of 4th liners

I mean, he's a 21-year-old who has already played 50 NHL games. They may not have been good NHL games, but getting that kind of experience already shows that he's well-thought of in some corners and he has time to improve and develop into the 3rd liner Grier is hoping for.

He's got size, good skating, supposedly a very high hockey IQ, is seen as a future good penalty killer, and is overall just a great character. There's no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water just because we don't like losing Zetterlund.

 

[CanadienShark]

....while playing for Montreal

I would be so emotionally conflicted.

Closest I ever came to that was in 2010 when the final 4 were MTL, SJ, CHI, PHI... And of course neither MTL nor SJ make it.

 

[Hodge]

Everyone looks good on a highlight reel but he definitely has wheels and good hands in tight.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

We could have just gotten Ostapchuk and kept Zetterlund

 

[sharks_dynasty]

Everyone looks good on a highlight reel but he definitely has wheels and good hands in tight.

I can see why the scouting department likes him. Let’s hope his skills translate into the NHL.

 

[Hodge]

I can see why the scouting department likes him. Let’s hope his skills translate into the NHL.

He also KO'd Matt Rempe in the WHL.

 

[timorous me]

I can see why the scouting department likes him. Let’s hope his skills translate into the NHL.

The funny thing is that if I'm looking at things correctly, he played his most minutes in the NHL this year with...Noah Gregor.

It seems like playing with not-Noah Gregor will help him, judging from the numbers. Maybe next year!

Seriously, though: Ostapchuk's Fenwick numbers with Gregor? 44%. Without? Nearly 55%. Get him away from that man, already.

 

[Bizz]

>"You can't just have all Macklin Celebrinis and Will Smiths"

The hell you can't.

See Dallas. And Florida. And Colorado. And Tampa.

 

[Bizz]

We could have just gotten Ostapchuk and kept Zetterlund

That would require a GM that knows what the f*** he's doing.

 

[sharks_dynasty]

Listening to the presser, it’s obvious the GM and scouts targeted Zac. They wanted the player and were willing to let go of Zetterlund to get him. If they like him that much, then I can see why they made the trade. He seems good in his highlights. Kind of the anti-Gushchin and anti-Bordeleau. Big, strong, center that can score. Grier sees him as a center behind Celebrini (likely a Weinberg replacement) and mentions we have plenty of wings coming up in the pipeline that can score, but we don’t have the skills that Zac brings. I like the thought process and hope it works out. Otherwise losing Zetterlund stings.

 

[tiburon12]

some of us woke up at 315 am to go to the bathroom, saw the trade come in live, and then somehow had to fall back asleep hoping it was a Blob McKenzie posting it.....

Not a fan

 

[Jargon]

We could have just gotten Ostapchuk and kept Zetterlund

That is my feeling too but weirdly it APPEARS as if both teams are actually high on this kid? It’s all a little confusing. I mean I want to see what he can do before totally hating on the move, but yeah, it’s like…. We couldn’t trade Kunin and a 3rd or something for him? God, give a 2nd if you love him so much, but why Zetterlund?!

 

[Pinkfloyd]

And who are we going to get on defense? We apparently aren't willing to give out big contracts in free agency. The majority of good players with term have some form of no-trade clauses.

I went through every team's cap sheet trying to identify top-4 defensemen that had no trade protection, more than one year on their existing contracts, and weren't on ELCs/core guys that won't get moved for any reason. The list is like, Niko Mikkola, Jordan Spence, Alexandre Carrier, Alex Romanov, Nick Jensen, JJ Moser, Sean Durzi, Michael Kesselring, Filip Hronek, Zach Whitecloud, Kaeden Korczak, Trevor Van Reimsdyk, and Dylan DeMelo. And I really stretched the definition of "top-4 D" on some of these guys.

There are several interesting RFAs, but most of them have arbitration rights and would have plenty of leverage to avoid becoming Sharks long-term.

So what are we even supposed to do, especially if we don't land Schaefer? Like, this is f***ing dire.

I hope Grier has an answer for you this offseason because I largely agree with the concern. I don't think Zetterlund is too difficult to replace with what we have but missing on Schaefer can be very problematic. My guess is if they miss Schaefer, they're going to hope that Dickinson is what they think he is and see as early as next year. I really don't know what the moves are.

 

[fasterthanlight]

I mean, he's a 21-year-old who has already played 50 NHL games. They may not have been good NHL games, but getting that kind of experience already shows that he's well-thought of in some corners and he has time to improve and develop into the 3rd liner Grier is hoping for.

He's got size, good skating, supposedly a very high hockey IQ, is seen as a future good penalty killer, and is overall just a great character. There's no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water just because we don't like losing Zetterlund.

This is all great to hear, and especially happy to hear he does not play fortnite