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The San Jose Sharks had the worst record in the NHL last season. Even with solid seasons from young stars Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Will Smith, they were in the basement of the league. They kicked off the NHL offseason by taking center Michael Misa second overall and signing defenseman Dmitry Orlov in free agency. According to David Pagnotta, Orlov's signing has the Sharks looking to trade a defenseman this offseason.
“The Sharks, meanwhile, have also been trying to add a top-six winger to their roster but have come up empty, even with a willingness to overspend. They poked around on the bigger free agents, including Nikolaj Ehlers, but their current rebuild state isn’t overly attractive to them,” Pagnotta reported.
“The expectation is at least one defenceman will be moved out of San Jose after this week’s adds, with both Timothy Liljegren and Henry Thrun available, per sources,” Pagnotta continued. “Grier may try to move or package [Mario] Ferraro for some scoring depth up front, but the Sharks may wait until later in the season to prop up his value closer to the trade deadline.
The Sharks drafted Ferraro in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft. He has played 408 games over six seasons in San Jose, but according to Pagnotta, is looking to move on.
“Ferraro, 26, is in the final year of his contract and would be open to a change of scenery. His name has been floating around the rumour mill for the last two trade deadlines, and given the additions to the club’s defensive corps, he appears to be expendable.”
The Sharks have not drafted defensemen with their top-end picks in recent years. Outside of Orlov, they have no defenseman signed past the 2025-26 season. But they do need another veteran to run alongside the youngsters up front. Mike Grier still has work to do to make San Jose a contender.
