San Jose Sharks REBUILD Hinges on Defensive UPGRADES | How Can They Fix The Defense?

For the Sharks to take the next step in their rebuild, they need to improve their defense. We look at how you’re locked on Sharks, your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Hello, welcome to Locked on Sharks, the premier hockey podcast covering your favorite team in the Bay Area. My name is JD Young, caretaker at the Reef, also the co-host of Locked on NHL. I want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen and proudly part of the Locked On Network. We’re the number one sports podcast network where we cover your team every day. If you want to be an everyday, all you have to do is just follow along wherever you get podcasts. And of course, you can watch on YouTube as well. And today, we’re going to be looking at some uh ways to start to improve the defense uh over the next year as the Sharks uh look to again try to take that next step in their rebuild. Uh so we’re going to be looking at internal candidates uh that can help improve the defense over the next year, potential free agents and trade candidates and why this might be a harder thanex expected exercise for San Jose. Uh so before we start to dig into all that, do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code lockdown NHL for $20 off your first purchase. So, a as the San Jose Sharks, right, uh we’re we’re kind of, you know, in this building phase of the Sharks and, you know, our fun frisky phase and, uh, we have good nights like the nights against the, you know, against Utah. Then we have bad nights like we had against the Caps. Um, but a a listener, uh, a longtime listener I know, uh, Alex uh, sent me a message and said, JD, how do we improve this defense over the next year? And I was like, this is a great question. So, Alex, uh, we’re going to, uh, figure out how to improve this defense, right? And especially because you look at the Sharks defense, uh right now they have uh two players who are uh under contract for next season that are currently on the roster. Uh that would be Dimmitri Orof who has a of course a no trade clause this year and then that uh goes into a 15 team uh trade list next year. And then you have Sam Dickinson who is of course in year one of his ELC. And we’re going to assume both these guys are going to be here next year. Um so you have therefore, you know, four other spots you have to fill um just to, you know, put out six plus, you know, some depth and backup, etc., etc. So, so the Sharks will will be have to be very very uh active in trying to revamp this blue line, right? And and with the Sharks, you know, looking at how they built this, this is very much so far a a patchwork group, uh, where you have guys that, you know, a lot of free agents or trades that you have made to try to fill holes. You know, you look at, um, you know, the basically the only guys who were drafted and developed by San Jose, uh, Mario Ferraro, who was, you know, what, the the 2017 draft, uh, for him. Uh and then you have uh yeah 2017 draft second round pick. You have Sam Dickinson who was drafted and developed uh here. Yes, Muk Mullan uh was we’ll give him the developed part of it as he was drafted by uh of course drafted by the Devils and part of the team of buyer trading has been developed but still not a lot of homegrown talent here. So, the Sharks are going to have to try to kind of continue to patchwork this thing up. And there’s, of course, you know, three main ways to acquire talent. You can draft and develop, which the Sharks have have been doing, especially in the forward group. Um, you can sign free agents, and then you can, of course, trade for players. Those are your ways to uh main ways to acquire talent. Uh, I would also put like I guess the free agents or trades I guess would you know if you want to claim waiverss. It’s kind of a a trade for future considerations type of thing. But anyway, uh, Nicolleti, I’m looking at you. So, um, for San Jose, like they’re assuming they don’t resign anybody and trade some of these players off and I’ll assume Mukuman gets resigned as an RFA. um like you’re still going to have a lot of spots to fill and looking at players who are in the Shark system that are going to be potential guys that you can, you know, count on next year and be like, this is a guy I think who who can be not only on the opening nights uh roster for the 2026 2027 season, but players that we can count on for the full season, right? And really the only guy on the barracuda right now that you feel like you can pencil in, you know, have an opportunity to pencil in for next year is Matias Havlett. Oh, not Matias Havlet, sorry. Luca Canoni, my bad. Uh, Luca Canyon, right? Who is had a great season last year in the AHL. uh is off to a really good start this year and feels like kind of the next guy who’s going to be ready to graduate from you know among the defense from the Sharks uh you know from the Barracuda to the Sharks. So there’s him and then of course you have Eric PCamp who was actually just named the NCAA like defender of the month this year uh this for November. um he is probably going to sign his ELC and be you know in the mix next year but again like you’re not you don’t know how he is going to respond right is he going to need like we’ve seen with Cam Lund and like we saw with Colin Graph is he going to need some time in the AHL uh to kind of get up to speed and to kind of finish off you know that that polishing school before he make becomes a full-time you know NHL player Maybe, maybe not. But I I think it’s hard to say like definitively camp or that that Eric Pole Camp can can come in and claim you that you can 100% count on PC camp being in the NHL next year. Like again, that that’s it’s hard to just kind of pencil him in, right? And especially because we don’t know how he makes the jump from, you know, college to professional. Like I believe in PC camp, but uh I I don’t think it would be a wise decision just to kind of pencil him in for a spot with no backup plan. And then looking at the draft, right, because that’s the other part of the draft and development. Um, where the Sharks are kind of currently heading, their current trajectory, even if they pick a a defenseman, you know, with with the whatever pick they get uh in the first round here, it’s hard to even imagine that player coming in and having an impact, right? Maybe they do. Maybe, you know, you get a Matthew Schaefer type of thing. But more likely than not, whatever you draft this year, whe they’re, you know, assuming, right, right, they’re kind of in that uh early teens, uh, you know, 10 through 14 range or whatever. If they continue to stick there, you’re going to get a guy like Daxon Rudolph or somebody like that where they’re probably need some more time. So, it it’s hard to really bank on that, right? Like having a an young guy coming in and winning a job, you know, straight out of the draft. It could happen, right? It could 100% happen, but again, it’s not one of those things where I think you can just kind of pencil it in and say, “Okay, I think, you know, Rudolph is going to play uh next year, for example. I think PCM is going to be in there, and I think Canon is going to be in the lineup.” Like that’s a lot of ifs I think there. So we can really out of all these guys who are kind of in the system and ready to to start making an impact. I think Luca Canon is the safest of them and he’ll probably get a nice taste of NHL action at some point here during the season. But um among these other guys, I just I don’t think any of them are quite ready or I’m not willing to bank on them coming in and 100% stealing a job. So could they? Yes. Is it likely? Probably not. So, the Sharks are going to have to look elsewhere um to continue to add quality pieces to this defense, which I think is needs an injection of quality pieces. So, what does the free agency market look like next year? And uh spoiler, it’s not looking great for San Jose if they want to try to add a quality defensive piece. Uh, so we’re going to look at some of the names in free agency that are potentially available and a list that’s going to continually dry up as players continue to resign. So, we’ll get to that here in just one second. The World Cup is coming back to North America for the first time since 1944. And with 48 teams for the first time ever, it’s going to be massive. Let’s be honest, getting tickets is usually the hardest part. That’s why the Game Time app is clutch. Finally, giving fans a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. With Game Time, you can track price drops in real time. 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All right, before we continue to look at the uh defense of free agents here, and it’s not great, guys. It is not great. Uh do want to of course thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen. If you haven’t yet, perfect time to subscribe as of course we’ll, you know, continue to work through this rebuild and and what the Sharks next step should be. Uh we have reactions to the Sharks uh games of course and of course Barracuda coverage and Sharks prospect coverage as well. Uh so make sure you’re following along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well. All right. Um so the the other right you can draft and develop you can sign free agents. Uh the unfortunate thing is the free agency pool for defenders is not great next year. Um looking at players who you know kind of like again with the Sharks having a a lot of money right uh as I’m pulling on cap friendly right now. Uh, the Sharks are projected to have uh, not Cap Friendly, RIP, Puck Pedia, sorry. Uh, the Sharks are currently projected to have 54 million in cap space, right? And they’re probably going to have to spend probably about 25 to 30 million just to hit the cap floor again. So, and yes, like Ekkan’s contract will kick in and Colin Graph will need a new contract and Muk Magdullan will need a new contract. Like, you know, of course, the Sharks will have to resign some of their own guys um uh next year, but nobody where you’re like breaking the bank. And even those contracts, the Cellini Smith contracts, those won’t even kick in uh until the 2728 season when the cap continues to go up. So, um, the Sharks will will definitely need to, you know, spend some money. Um, but the defense here, I don’t know if there’s really much that you look at and you’re like, let’s throw a ton of money at that guy. And the problem is, right, when when you have such a a spare pool, it’s going to drive the prices up because teams get desperate. So, looking at kind of players, you know, just uh the biggest cap hits that are coming off books. So, you have John Carlson who’s going to be who’s 35 is going to be coming off an eight-year deal at $8 million. You have Jacob Trouba who’s coming off a seven-year deal at $8 million with the Ducks. Ben Sherat, who’s coming off a $4.75$5 million uh with the Red Wings. Um, you have like Rasmus Anderson who like who’s 29. Maybe you could potentially talk me into that one and he’s probably going to get traded this year to somewhere and maybe he gets traded and they sign him to an extension which is definitely a possibility. You have Conor Murphy, you have Nick Jensen, you have Radco Gudis, um, you have Matt Dumba, Nick Ley, which we’re doing right now. Uh, you have Mario Ferraro who’s probably gonna get traded at this trade deadline. Carson Susi, like none of these names are like really kind of at least when it comes to like guys who are coming off big contracts and probably expected to sign uh big contracts again. None of these guys I think are really kind of floating in the boat, right? If you look at players who like at least come right now with point like kind of the free agent point leaders if that makes sense. Um John Carlson of course we just talked about and like even with Carlson I just assume he’s probably going back like probably just going to sign one-year deals with the Caps until he’s ready to retire it would be my guess, right? Uh especially because he’s still like such an impactful player for them. Um, but you have a guy like Darren Radish who’s an undrafted guy who’s kind of worked his way through the AHL. He’s having a really nice season with the Lightning. He’s got 16 points in 20 games. Uh, you have Sam Wolinsky uh, who’s got like 13 points in 26 games for so far this season for uh, the ABS and maybe they try to resign him. Uh, you have a guy like Nick Blankenber uh, who’s got like 11 points in 16 games for Nashville. um you know like Shay Ryan uh who’s got 10 points in 25 games like it gets really like really dry really quickly here. So, um, while the Sharks may want to go to free agency and look to sign one of these guys, is there anybody here that you like hear their name and you’re like, I’m ready to commit to this guy for a a long time uh or, you know, ready to throw a ton of money at this guy because we need some help on the blue line. And I I think that’s the problem, right? And especially with the way with this the salary cap, you know, escalating as quickly as it is, and we saw it last year during right before free agency, right? Uh we spent a bunch of time looking at potential free agents for the Sharks uh last uh offseason, right? Looking at like, you know, all the big names, you know, maybe the Sharks should get signed this guy, sign that guy, whatever. How many of them just decided, I’d rather not move my stuff and just stay home. And I think teams are quickly realizing that while the cap is is growing so quickly, the contracts really aren’t keeping up with the growth of the cap. And I think they’re realizing it’s easier and more like less expensive for me to just resign a guy than to go out there and compete in free agency for players because um with the scarcity, it’s driving up the prices of the players. And especially this like looking at this potential like crop, Rasmus Anderson’s probably the bell of the ball in this year’s free agency. At least like last year there was other guys you could potenti you know like Aaron Ecklad like you could put like okay that’s a first overall pick. Uh you could at least like kind of talk yourself into that. Um, I mean, no offense to Raasmus Anderson who’s having a a bounceback season and, you know, looks to kind of recapture his, you know, his game this year. And, uh, of course, as a guy who, you know, I think wants out or doesn’t want out or who knows with Raasmus Anderson, you know, this a second round pick guy who’s who’s really developed into a fine player, but Raasmus Anderson’s your best player potentially. Like are you are you willing to sign Rasmus Anderson to a seven-year deal at like 89 million maybe that because that’s if he gets to free agency like that’s going to be the deal right now because there’s nobody else. So, like while the Sharks may want to go out and try to find a long-term piece and find some some players to help with the the defense because again, you’re potentially losing, you know, how many players on defense, right? If you don’t resign, assuming they don’t resign Lety, assuming they don’t resign Clingberg, assuming Ferraro gets traded, and if Ligren’s potential gets traded, and they have Deornese, like even if you resign one of the between like Day and Lrid, you still need like those are six or seven defenseman, maybe a fourth defenseman and a guy like Ligin, you still need some other top end pieces. Um, but there’s just there’s just not a lot out there. I think that really kind of warrants these big contracts that they’re potentially going to get. So, that leaves trading for people. So, who are some players that the Sharks could potentially trade for between now and next off season? Um, so we’re going to look at that and why I think Quinn Hughes kind of holds everything up, uh, when it comes to the defensive trade market. So, uh, we’ll break that down here in just one second. The holidays are amazing, but they can also get overwhelming fast. Travel, gifts, parties, year, and expenses. 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For your second listen, check out the allnew Locked on NHL game night. Every game, every night until Stanley Cup champion crown, get local analysis on national scale. Find NHL game night on locked on NHL on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcast. All right, so we we looked at homegrown talent. We looked at free agents. It’s not great. How about trade candidates? And I think this is where the sharks are most likely going to have to kind of swim in uh pun intended. Uh if they want to try to get something done, right? Cuz we don’t want I I think right we don’t want to find just some guy who’s going to be here for like a year and then you’re back here the following year trying to figure something out. Like as the sharks are building, you want to start to kind of get some more of these long-term pieces, right? And I think this is where again like I think this is where the Sharks are probably going to have to go because right you you have the number one prospect pool. You’ve got plenty of picks like you have all the ammo in the world to do stuff right. So if Mike Greer wants to get aggressive in the trade market he can. Now am I saying like every trade you know every potential free agent or or trade player like trade candidate you should go grab? No. And like that’s going to be the the part for Greer is trying to find out like what pieces um do I need to part with to try to acquire a guy. So, you know, everybody’s going to have their price, but uh looking at so about a week ago, uh Daily Face Off kind of released their first maybe it’s about two weeks ago at this point, uh their first kind of names to watch on the the trade risks. And some of these guys we talked about like Rasmus Anderson who’s is the obvious candidate, right? Uh he’s 29, etc. You have guys like Brandon Shannon who’s 34, like no thanks, like that. We we Justin Faulk, too old, we don’t want guys like that, right? Uh you have a guy like Brandon Carlo who signed for two years and maybe for him it could just be a change of scenery type of where he just has not played well uh with Toronto and maybe Toronto who I know Toronto’s won three in a row now. Maybe they’re kind of pulling themselves out of it. They’ve got Pavl Mintikov from the Ducks, right? Young first round 10th overall pick in the 22 draft. Like that could be a potential target. Like this guy who’s already played 150 games in the NHL. Um the problem right of course is why would the Ducks trade him to the Sharks in your own division and then you have to see Mikov for the rest of his career. Uh, right. I mean, if anybody look at what the, you know, the Ducks did with Vegas and that worked out really poorly for the Ducks. So, maybe like a guy like Mikov, like that would be the the prime type of player, but again, why would the Ducks trade Mikov to the Sharks? Doesn’t make a lot of sense for them. Uh, especially like unless they wanted, you know, a more veteran. I can help you now type of player, but I just I don’t know if the Sharks have anything that they want right now. Um, you know, Emil Andre with the Flyers. Um, solid, you know, numbers, kind of, you know, analytical numbers, but, um, for some reason just kind of fallen out of favor with the Flyers. He’s 23 and, you know, is is on a cost controlled contract. So, this could be one of those like buy low, get him over here and see what he does type of players for the for San Jose. Um you look at you know some of the other potential uh defenseman like nobody you know Rasmus Ralinan who’s old slash hurt and maybe you let him kind of come in here and hope that this could be one of those projects where you have him come in play for a little bit and then maybe you flip them type of of scenarios. But again I think for the Sharks you should be more in the building stages instead of trying to kind of flip players. Um, of course, the big name, right, is Quinn Hughes and 100% the Shark should be in on the Quinn Hughes, uh, if Quinn Hughes is potentially available. But Hughes is going to have a lot of leverage, right? And he’s going to be able to kind of pick where he wants to go and if he wants to go to the Devils or, you know, I’ve heard I think the Red Wings are now the hot team potentially behind him. But like the Sharks have the assets, right? Like it would cost a lot picks, prospects, etc. It would cost a lot to acquire a guy like Quinn Hughes, but Quinn Hughes is a game-changing talent. Would take the Sharks defensive unit and really transform it and just the Sharks team and really kind of kick it into that next gear. But again, I think Hughes is going to have a lot of leverage in where he wants to go. And does he want to go from a team like the Canucks who are whatever to a team like the Sharks who are again on the rise? But I I think for a guy like Hughes, he probably wants to be in a much more kind of win now or getting ready to win scenario than the Sharks. So, um maybe maybe a guy like Quinn Hughes. You could also, you know, especially if Quint Hughes does go to the Devils, um maybe you can get some of the potential spare pieces from the Devils because, right, the Devils are have a a as we’ve talked about a bunch of times with the Devils, um they have a lot of guys on the their blue line, right? And I don’t think you’re getting like you’re not getting Simone Neich. think that time is over or he would be have like going back to the Canucks. You’re not getting Luke Hughes of course, but maybe a guy like Douggee Hamilton who does have like a 10 team no like trade clause is a little bit older at 32, but and and does have some some injury history of course, but uh is is a very very effective player and is signed for the next uh two years after this one where he can come in and be your top defensive especially offensive defenseman, right? And the if you’re looking like uh the Devils where you’re going to have to pay Quinn Hughes a ton of money for them getting $9 million off their books would make a ton of sense and the Sharks can easily absorb that contract. Um and then you know again would have to Hamilton would would have a lot of leverage in this and just kind of see where he would want to go. Um, but you could potentially, you know, like you get to be the guy here. Look how fun our team is, etc., etc. So, you could potentially do something like that. And I think for the the Devils, that kind of clears the way to have Quinn Hughes come in, be your number one defenseman. You have Luc Hughes, you have Simone Neich, like you have your, you know, like your kind of three uh main defenseman there. And then you have plenty of kind of more defensive defenseman to to partner and pair with with those guys. So maybe there’s something like that. Or you look at Buffalo, right? And kind of the same thing with with Buffalo where they have a lot of money on their blue line. Um, you know, of course you have Rasmus Stallene who they’re not going to like Jasmine is not going anywhere. Uh, of course, but you would wonder if maybe a guy like Owen Power, right? First former first overall pick. Uh, he’s 23. He has like no trade protections until like the 28 29 season. He’s on year like two of a massive Yeah. year two of seven of a massive contract here at 8.3 million. um and like hasn’t really lived up to the status as a number one overall pick with the Sabres. Um maybe you kick the tires on that, right? And you just you go with the like Buffalo rule of once guys leave the Sabres, they tend to have better careers, right? Because you can make a whole team of just like former Sabres guys uh who are having great careers after they left the Sabres. Uh, and you wonder if maybe for a guy like Power, uh, who does, you know, like there are some questions with this game, etc., etc., but just maybe getting out of Buffalo and and getting to a new place might be the best thing for him. Um, or maybe again, Bow and Byron, who they this team kind of kicked the can uh down the road by signing him to a two-year contract um at $6.25 $25 million like maybe you inquire about one of those guys if you’re Mike Greer and just say like what would it take and are you guys looking to move this and I know the Sabres have kind of gotten back on track here a little bit but the Atlantic is also but uh to be honest like it’s a really bad division that they’ve been able to kind of climb back into the race a little bit here but um those and like I think those are a couple guys that you could look at they would easily fit the Sharks timeline as two players who are, you know, 23 24 um and would provide, I think, a little bit of juice on this blue line as the Sharks try to kind of turn this thing over and revamp it. So, um it’s not going to be easy. like my kind of doing this exercise. This this isn’t going to be an easy overnight fix for San Jose uh to to try to kind of build up this blue line. Uh because again, you have a guy like Luka Canyone who I think is ready to play in the NHL, at least should be by next year. Um but a lot of the other guys are still a little bit away, right? You look at the free agency class is not a great free agency class. uh defensively and some of these guys are having good career or good years with their current teams, but again with the way the cap is going, it’s more and more likely that they’re just going to get resigned by their team. Uh so they don’t have to compete with the this this free agency group. So trademark’s probably where Mike Greer is going to have to get things done if he wants to try to improve this defense sooner rather than later. So, uh, we’ll see, guys. We’ll see what what what Greer’s got up his sleeve. Uh, you know, Greer likes to trade. It’s been a little while since he’s made a trade. I’m sure he’s itching to get, uh, back in there here soon. So, we’ll see. We’ll see what happens. But, that’s going to be it for me today. Uh, we’ll be back uh, tonight or Friday night for the Sharks uh, Stars game. Of course, we’ll have a preview for it as well uh, on YouTube only. So, make sure you guys are following along, of course, on YouTube. Uh, you can follow along wherever you get podcasts as well. Follow the show on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on Tik Tok at Lockdown Sharks. Follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole. Uh, until tomorrow. Bye, friends. [Music]

San Jose Sharks face a pivotal challenge: can they upgrade their blue line and accelerate their rebuild? With just Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson under contract for next season, the Sharks must address four open defensive spots. The limited pool of promising internal candidates, such as Luca Cagnoni and Eric Pohlkamp, raises questions about immediate impact. At the same time, the 2026 NHL free agency market offers few top-tier defenders, forcing management to get creative.

JD Young breaks down the Sharks’ options, spotlighting trade targets such as Rasmus Andersson, Dougie Hamilton, and Owen Power—plus the massive effect a potential Quinn Hughes move could have on the entire defense market. Cap space, asset flexibility, and the urgency for long-term solutions frame San Jose’s strategic dilemma. Can GM Mike Grier leverage the Sharks’ league-leading prospect pool to land a franchise-altering star? Dive into this analysis of San Jose’s defensive future.

Timestamps:
00:00 Locked On Sharks: Defense Rebuild
05:29 Sharks’ Defensive Prospects Update
07:45 Uncertainty in Rookie Lineup Choices
15:27 Free Agency Challenges for Sharks
16:54 Rasmus Anderson Tops Free Agency
20:54 Sharks’ Trade Market Strategy
26:15 Dougie Hamilton Trade Speculation
29:59 Sharks’ Defense Rebuild Challenges

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6 comments
  1. Dude I like your Sharks content, but I will try to give some constructive feedback. In my humble opinion, most of your videos could be cut down by about 50%. Just be more succinct. you make great points and are really on top of the state of affairs, but everything is drawn out much longer than I want to watch in a video. Brevity my brother. keep going

  2. d-men take time. Sharks are clearly behind Anaheim and way behind Chicago in getting the defense group right on rebuilding teams. Agree, we're in a new era when it comes to free agents. Teams will keep the guys they want because cap is not an issue and relatively few are going to hit the market. Andersson is NOT the answer!!

    It will take an "all of the above" approach. The Sharks defensive pipeline is modest, the roster isn't even that. Might as well get begin to get answers on Iorio. He probably won't be ready this season or even next. But at least get a good idea if he's got that potential. Warsofsky figures it takes 200 NHL games for a d-man to figure it out. Might as well get Iorio his first 50 games. Mukh needs around another 50 to get to 100. Dickinson gets in his first 70 or so games. If they're ready, Thompson and Cagnoni need their shots. Haoxi is a 2030 sort.

    The rest of the d-group, outside of another year for Orlov, is moveable.

    The good news, the Sharks don't need an elite d-group. Just guys competent enough to get the puck up to the very talented forwards. Me, I'm looking to find that one really good player and competence for the rest. Which brings up Rasmus Dahlin. I know you think Dahlin isn't going anywhere, but he's spent a lot of seasons there without a playoff game — there's gonna come a day when he gets tired of losing there.

    Isn't Quinn Hughes a 2 season rental? He goes to the Devils as soon as he can because that's where his brothers are. Not sure why the Sharks would part with meaningful talent for that.

    Can they trade Mario to a team needing an upgrade now for a pipeline sort? That'd be a way to get better, albeit not immediately. EJ Emery is the sort to consider. Alfons Freij and Jesse Pulkkinen are also 2024 picks who are a few years away, but at least they're on an NHL path.

    Otherwise, I'm hoping the Sharks get a break and get a high end d-man in the draft who won't take a lot of years to develop.

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