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

[weastern bias]

The problem with Owen Power is that he isn't very good

The only thing he has going for him is draft pedigree and he's a product of one of those post-covid remote scouting draft classes, in a typical year under closer scrutiny he likely would have slid to a lower pick than 1st overall, I have no interest in paying premium assets to aquire him

 

[Hodge]

Seravalli mentioned on his podcast while discussing the whole Rantanen situation that the best offer on the table for Martin Necas last offseason was two 2nd round picks. We're talking about a player who's much bigger, way more skilled and higher pedigree than Zetterlund with a 70 point season under his belt and that's the best they could get for him.

Being an arbitration eligible RFA severely hurts a player's trade value because teams know they'll be a headache to sign and whether or not you actually go to a hearing the most likely outcome is a short term deal that walks the guy to UFA like the Hurricanes eventually settled on with Necas.

 

[sampler]

The problem with Owen Power is that he isn't very good

The only thing he has going for him is draft pedigree and he's a product of one of those post-covid remote scouting draft classes, in a typical year under closer scrutiny he likely would have slid to a lower pick than 1st overall, I have no interest in paying premium assets to aquire him

Not very good? really? I mean hes just 22.

Can you think of any other 23 or younger (we've established that 25 is way too old) potential top pair D that might be on the market? I fully expect Eklund will be moved by Summer '26 to add a top four D, as Grier wants size on the wings. The question, to me, is when and who? I suppose grier could wait until summer/TDL '26 to add that top 4 D, but it seems weird to me to wait until Ek is an RFA...

 

[Juxtaposer]

Funny quote from Grier in his mid-season availability in January, in retrospect:

Fabian Zetterlund​

The Sharks’ only significant pending restricted free agent (RFA), Zetterlund looks to be part of the team's future.

“I’m very happy with his development and his play," Grier said. "He’s been fairly consistent last year and this year. He’s someone who could definitely be a part of this team long-term because I think he’s got the right mentality as far as work. He’s a tough kid, he plays hurt, plays through things, blocks shots, plays hard.”

Grier said contract negotiations haven’t really started yet.

The length of Zetterlund’s new contract will be interesting, perhaps a tell of how much the Sharks really believe in the 25-year-old winger.

Grier addresses Celebrini's impressive start, future of Sharks

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier spoke to reporters for 45 minutes Tuesday night, covering a wide range of topics from his star rookies to what he expects from the team next season.

www.nbcsportsbayarea.com

 

[Cas]

Not very good? really? I mean hes just 22.

Can you think of any other 23 or younger (we've established that 25 is way too old) potential top pair D that might be on the market? I fully expect Eklund will be moved by Summer '26 to add a top four D, as Grier wants size on the wings. The question, to me, is when and who? I suppose grier could wait until summer/TDL '26 to add that top 4 D, but it seems weird to me to wait until Ek is an RFA...

I don't think we should in any way assume that Grier thinks that 25 is too old.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[Hodge]

Woof Zetts is on Ottawa's 4th line. Imagine going from playing with Macklin Celebrini to something called Matthew Highmore.

 

[weastern bias]

Not very good? really? I mean hes just 22.

Can you think of any other 23 or younger (we've established that 25 is way too old) potential top pair D that might be on the market? I fully expect Eklund will be moved by Summer '26 to add a top four D, as Grier wants size on the wings. The question, to me, is when and who? I suppose grier could wait until summer/TDL '26 to add that top 4 D, but it seems weird to me to wait until Ek is an RFA...

We haven't established that 25 is too old, we just know that Grier didn't want to pay one particular 25 year old what he was asking and decided to move on instead

I don't know a good option to look for, and we're in a hard spot, but that's what Grier's job is now, to find a distressed/undervalued asset to bolster our backend

I simply don't like Power as a target at all, he's huge but plays very small, his main strengths are his puck skills and skating ability but he doesn't put up huge point totals, he's one of the worst defensive players on the worst team in the Eastern Conference and he makes $8.35M on the cap until 2031, he's not a very attractive asset

Even Eklund has limited trade value, he's young and talented but he's an undersized winger who is scoring at a 60 pont pace right now while providing adequate but not elite defense, that player doesn't return a top-pair D in a trade without adding a massive plus to the deal, I'd much rather just keep him and trade a prospect instead since we actually know that Eklund is a good NHL player

This is the time where Grier really gets tested, he's shown he can maximize extracting value out of limited resources, now he has to consolidate some of his assets into tangle pieces that can begin improving the actual roster, this summer will be a crucial pivot-point in his tenure