What’s Sharks’ Off-Season Direction? We React to Grier’s Exit Interview

The San Jose Hockey Now Podcast is sponsored by Bring Hockey Back!

Mike Grier knows that the San Jose Sharks have to be better next year.

We discuss Grier’s end-of-season availability, and the direction of the Sharks this off-season (3:12).

If the San Jose Sharks get the No. 1 pick in the Draft Lottery, could they trade it? Grier revealed on Friday that he got massive offers for the 2024 first-overall that became Macklin Celebrini. We also made up huge offers from the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes last year…would you have taken them?

What’s next for Sharks free agents? (36:18) We discuss why Alexandar Georgiev didn’t work, besides the obvious, and what free agent goalies could make sense to pair with Yaroslav Askarov? Keegan had a good one.

What do we think about the Nikolai Kovalenko situation? (57:00)

What do we think of Grier being in no hurry to name a captain for the San Jose Sharks?

Does moving Will Smith back to center preclude the Sharks from signing a center in free agency? Sheng doesn’t think so. (1:15:08)

Speaking of, did Grier take the Sharks out of the Mitch Marner sweepstakes by saying that he’s not excited to offer seven or eight-year contracts to a free agent? (1:20:30)

19 comments

  2. I can’t wrap my head around people who would complain podcast length. Why would you want LESS content about your favorite team? Especially since they have less coverage than a lot of NHL teams already. Grateful for yall.

  3. Youtube speed-up does not change the pitch of the voices like old-school tape speed changing. I often listen at 1.25x if people are speaking slowly. Some channels are such slow talkers I listen at 2x. This channel I find best at 1.25. It isn’t about the length but about the pace of talking. It isn’t really a complaint, but a fact that different people prefer listening to different talking speeds

  5. I am a philosophy professor at a Canadian university and use podcasts online for all of my classes, and my students speed up my voice on recordings to reduce time or attention to the course materials. It is a phenomenon studied by Todd Gitlin in a book about modern media's influence through mechanisms on us, we get used to a "torrent" of speeded up assembly line of knowledge (machine fed brains are like overfeeding geese to harvest their livers for foie gras) in our modern media.` Check out his book Media Unlimited: How the Torrent of Images and Sounds Overwhelms Our Lives (2002), as Todd Gitlin argued it is progressively dehumanizing the generations and changing how we communicate (speeded up communication is more shallow by design). You have to read philosophy slowly or it will make no sense at all, and so the whole method of speeding up the information flow defeats the prupose of listening for greater understanding. Regarding Mike Grier's performance as GM, I think he has been slow to adapt to the challenges of the job but has really improved quickly and made better decisions in last year than in previous. I don't think he can blame his coach or his luck in trades, but I wonder if he will be fair to smaller size (height and weight) players in the prospect pool or on the team. He has taken his sweet time and maybe needs more pressure on him to win sooner rather than later. Drafting a team of winners is a 10 year process and he must win in 5 years so UFAs must be brought in wisely and he must find the right role players, not necessarily hulks.

  6. Kovalenko should 100% have been playing over 3-4 different guys last season.
    Why’d we trade for him if we weren’t going to explore his potential?
    The Avs fans were pissed they had to give him up in the Blackwood trade.
    And now Sharks fans are pissed he didn’t play more last year.

    And btw, that would be pretty brilliant of GMMG to trade Granlund for a 1st rd pick, and then sign him right back a mere few months later. Granlund would be a perfect bridge to a Will Smith 2C in the future.

  12. Just about every goalie the Sharks have brought in this decade has been via trade, not free agency: Makaniemi, Kakkonen, Blackwood, Cooley, Vanacek, Georgiev, and of course Askarov.

    Bringing in an overpaid goalie handcuffed to a draft asset would be a good way for the Sharks to get cap compliant: Merzlikins, Grubauer, Jarry, the list goes on. Maybe there’s someone that Speer and Nabokov don’t hate.

    I take Grier at his word that he doesn’t want to give out term to UFAs and he’s right. Older players with shorter term still make the most sense. If Toronto can re-sign Marner, Tavares would be the perfect target. I hope Grier stays light years from Ekblad and can be patient to acquire a younger and smarter #1 RHD via trade.

  15. Really hope they can get Ekblad and at least one more quality vet Dman in free agency. Maybe bring back Granlund as well??

    Still tho not like Sharks can go all in next year as need room for prospects to come in and get experience (musty, Chernyshov, Dickinson, pending top 3 pick). That’s 4 roster spots than need to remain flexible for the next couple years.

  16. 23:42 We, sharks fans, love Celebrini right now but if Chicago offered at the time (especially not knowing what Celebrini would become) all their 2024 draft picks for the first overall. I think you need to accept that offer. It is literally to move down 1 spot (scenario that could have very well happen at lottery day anyway) and you receive 2 additional first round and more. I may not do the trade today but back then probably do.

  17. It's not obvious to me that the Sharks can easily improve their defensive group going into next season relative to this one. We will feel the absence of Walman, and there is no easy answer to replace that production. He obviously had some flaws, but paying a free agent or acquiring a D via trade will not be cheap.

    We certainly could make strides via addition by subtraction. Giving Rutta's and Thrun's minutes to players of average quality would be a substantial step up. I don't see much future for Thrun without a substantial improvement this offseason. Otherwise, he appears to be tracking towards a role as a 7D/organizational depth piece.

    Even if we don't acquire a player who is a true top pair D, it's requisite we find someone who can at least imitate a player of that caliber. Walman successfully filled that role and played above his talent. Others like Ferraro and Liljegren have struggled in that position.

  19. Great podcast, first time listener. The Sharks definitely need some serious upgrades to the roster. It would be awesome if they luck out at get the 1st pick in the draft. This will help, but Sharks need a top defensive pairing, two top six forwards and a 3rd line C. I hope the sharks keep building.

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