SIMULATED OFFSEASON: Who Stays, Goes, & Who Gets Paid? | How I Would Handle The Sharks’ Offseason

SIMULATED OFFSEASON: Who Stays, Goes, & Who Gets Paid? | How I Would Handle The Sharks’ Offseason

we kick off our simulated off season by taking care of some business at home 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 pocky 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 Lockdown Sharks your first listen proudly part of the Lockdown Network we cover your team every day if you want to be an everyday all you have to do is just follow along every You get podcast or you can watch on YouTube as well and today we start the simulated off season uh so I put on my best my career hat and I try to make realistic moves for the Sharks if kind of knowing what we know about my career what he likes in players and um and what how this team we do want this team to kind of take a bit of a step this year right so um the way this is going to be set up is it’s going to be kind of over the next four days here um today we’re going to be looking at kind of everything before the draft so you know taking care of your own guys like the resignings which players are going to be going to free agency um look at a couple trades that the Sharks I would make if I was Mike Greer kind of nothing super well there’s a there’s a good trade there at least but we’re going to be kind of looking at that and then uh just whatever business we need to take care of on the homestead so um so yeah we’ll be doing that today tuesday will be the draft so I will do a full simulated draft um all seven rounds with the picks that I that we have and moving up and down the board etc etc so that’s will be tomorrow wednesday will be free agency so all the free agents uh that I sign um in this year’s class and then Thursday will be kind of a wrap-up slashlook ahead to the future and kind of the health of the organization especially with a focus on the salary cap on Thursday um so um let’s get started by looking right now just at the Sharks roster currently um as it is you know before we kind of make any more signings so um we know the Sharks have 41.7 million in cap space uh we know they had to spend about 20 million or so just to get to comfortably get to the cap floor and uh spoiler it was really hard really hard uh to kind of get to the cap floor but anyway so let’s look at who’s on who’s actually under contract for the Sharks right now um you have Lone Gator uh who’s you know we know it will not be playing any more hockey he’s got two years left on his deal at $8 million uh his contract is just going to be on IR if the Sharks ever get close to the cap and feel like they need to they could always transition him to LTI to be able to get a little bit more cap flexibility there but um we know Cotor situation tower’s got three years left at $6 million does have a full no trade clause for the next two seasons alex Wenberg has one year left with a 15 team uh trade list with $5 million barkley Goodro has got uh two years left at 3.64 million um that also 15 team no trade clause for the next two seasons uh then Carl Gunstrom who is your one two three your fourth highest paid forward who is active on the roster at $1.8 million um one year left on his deal ty Dandra one year left at 1.3 million uh then you have Mlin Celebrrini and Will Smith both on two years left on their ELC’s uh both those guys are also waiverss exempt uh they’re not playing at the Barracuda you have Colin Graph uh who has one year left on his deal um he is also waiverss exempt i think his days with the Barracuda are long gone then you have William Equin entering the last year of his deal um on his ELC um so that leaves uh guys who are RFAS uh Noah Greger Clean Cen Nucle Kovalinko and Thomas Bordaloo uh and then defensively you have Vassic everybody on in the defense has one year left on their current contracts you have Vassic at 7 million Ferrar ligrin at three Vinnie Day with $2 million uh and then thrron and she kirmuk madullan uh both one-year $1 million uh Ruda and Jack Thompson uh so Rud is a UFA Jack Thompson is an RFA and then among the goalies uh Yaros Ascrov um two uh two years at $2 million also waiverss exempt again I think his days with the Barracuda are probably long gone uh Alexander Gorgi of UFA Mike Greer’s already said “Thank you for your services good luck out there uh then you have uh Georgie Romangh who is also a uh UFA sorry an RFA as well u and then among the Barracuda Scott Saburn we we’ll talk about some of the Barracuda guys but just like we’re not going to sign all the Barracuda guys but just wanted to just throw them out there so uh Saburn Colin White uh Bo and Pavle Reenda are all UFAS uh Alexander Shimalki Martin Cal Daniel Guian Brandon Co Mitchell Russell Nolan Burke and Carl Bergwin are all RFAS and then among the defenseman uh Jimmy Schultz is an UFA and Gabe Kerier is an RFA as well so that’s kind of where we stand with all the contracts so um let’s we’ll I’ll just start getting to the resignings here so again I don’t resign all the Barracuda guys like if they bring back you know like Scott Sabin or something like that like we we kind of know that guy’s going to be a Barracuda guy type of player but um guys who will be you know either vying for NHL jobs or potentially playing for NHL jobs um this off seasonason that I wanted to make sure to resign as RFAS um so Nikolai Kovalinko uh he’s actually the biggest contract among the RFAS i signed him to a one-year deal at uh $1.25 million um so that one like give him a another year especially because he came over halfway through the season had some ups and downs see how he does with one more season under his belt right um I resigned Jack Thompson to a two-year deal at 1.125 million um a little bit more I know than the like thrown in Shakir Muk Magdullan but since it is two years it’s a little bit more of a bump there and I think Thompson’s going to be in that bouncing back and forth between and with that contract you can bury it all in the NHL all in the AHL if you need to so and a guy who’s also still waiverss exempt for at least this year um the next biggest deal is resigned Daniel Guushin to a one-year deal at 925,000 um guy who you’re going to tell to come in and compete for a job right there’s going to be plenty of opportunities let him know like this is this is probably your last shot this with this franchise this year and you got to come and you have to produce right because Gushin like that’s how he’s going to be an NHL player is by producing and you can’t just score a bajillion points in the preseason and then not do anything in the uh regular season as we have seen unfortunately from Daniel Guushin um I did resign Jimmy Schultz to a one-year deal at 800,000 mostly to play the Barracuda but if you need him and a spot to play in the uh the Sharks you can do that as well uh Georgie Romangh one-year deal at 800,000 as well um that’s going to be your starting goalie in with the Barracuda uh and then Pavo Reenda and then Gabe Kerry i signed two uh one-year deals at 700 like Vetmin deals most likely do two-way deals get paid a little bit more with the the Barracuda but both those guys are going to be playing mostly with the Barracuda maybe Reenda gets a shot here and there but I really did like Reenda’s game with with the uh with the Barracuda i think he would be a really nice piece to keep around with that team um and if you want just you know Cyber whatever like you can they can figure that out those those type of things so that leaves who doesn’t get signed which I think is more interesting so um Noah Greger RFA thank you for your services clean Cen same thing thank you for your services uh Alexander Shimalki Martin Cal we know those guys are never coming back thomas Bordo doesn’t becomes a free agent uh in my off season so I think it’s pretty clear that the organization think they we know what the organization thinks of Thomas Bordello and if they thought he would be an NHL player they probably would have played him more NHL games last year so uh I think with Bordello uh who is also a RFA with arbitration rights I think they’re more than happy to you know let’s just call it what it is we tried good luck best of luck to you so uh Brandon Co um Mitchell Russell uh Nolan Burke like I think maybe Nolan Burke comes back you know as on an AHL type of deal but like and same thing with Carl Berglin like all those guys who are RFAS like I I I think it’s you know all like Brandon Co is definitely you know a guy who I think needs a fresh start somewhere else um and none of the other guys have really I think done enough to kind of warrant a a con a new NHL contract from uh from San Jose especially with all the pieces that are coming into the Barracuda um you high draft picks that are be coming into the Barracuda I think is you got to make some space for them and so those are the players that I have uh decided to move on from so uh we will get to some other moves as my career uh my as I put on my GM hat here so uh we’ll get to that here in just one second have you ever looked at your bank account and wonder where did all my money go between dining out online shopping entertainment it’s easy to lose track that’s where Monarch Money comes in your personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances monarch Money isn’t just a budgeting app it’s a complete financial command center you track all your accounts investments and spending in one place so you can stop just managing your money and start building wealth uh instead of juggling multiple apps you can use Monarch to check your finances track spending and even plan long-term goals managing money with your partner is smoother than ever you can track shared and personal accounts set goals and stay on the same page without the stress take control of your finances with Monarch Money use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year that’s monarchoney.com code locked on NHL for half off your first year uh Buster Posey probably going to need to use Monarch money now after uh trading for Raphael Diver uh de that’s go check out locking Giants i’m sure they have i’m sure Ben is over the moon uh with that so uh but when you’re done with Lock on Sharks or if you haven’t if this is your first time checking out Lock Sharks make sure you guys are following along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well like I said this week we’re doing simulated offseason all the moves that I would make if I was Mike Greer or the moves that I think Mike Greer would make if that makes sense so uh make sure you follow along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well all right um so some trades here and just a coupleish we know my career my career is very active in the trade market and these are some trades I think that I made uh to two of them bringing in players and one of them kind of relieving a little bit of the log jam in the the blue line to maybe go out and do some more stuff there so let’s start with that aspect of it of kind of relieving a little bit of the log jam right because we know the Sharks have um a lot of guys under contract with with San Jose right um you have six players under contract and then again I just gave Jack Thompson uh in my you know so seven players including Jack Thompson even though Jack Thompson’s going to spin but I fig you got to make some room right because between potentially Sam Dickinson playing in the NHL next year and whatever signings you go out and make this off season um you you got to you can’t just bring back the same group of guys and say “I hope the defense gets better right?” Um you you got to bring some people in and one player who I think has a little bit of trade value but I wanted to again be realistic about it is Henry Thut right and you think back to when Henry Thr decided to come uh you know to accept a trade to the Sharks right the Sharks when the Ducks they had a lot of options for Henry Thun he came to San Jose because David Quinn someone who you know has coached and he’s been around and stuff um where is David Quinn now an assistant head coach at in New York with the Rangers i feel very Dora the Explorer here so um so the Rangers we know they’re they’re in the midst of a change they have some cap space they’re they’re trying to figure things out but having a young cheap defenseman in Henry Thr at a million dollars I think would make a ton of sense and I don’t think it would be very expensive for the Rangers to acquire so I sent Henry Thr to the Rangers for a fifth round pick it reunites Than Then with David Quinn it just frees up the Sharks uh you know the the log jam especially on the left side there so um Henry thrown to the Rangers for a million dollars i also looked at the goalie market right and we know Jake Allen is the guy and spoiler I didn’t sign Jake Allen because I made this move instead um and right I just I think there’s going to be a lot of teams lining up for Jake Allen services and why would like yes the Sharks can way overpay Jake Allen and I I tinkered around with that but I kind of like this move instead because one I just I think it’s it’s something we’ve seen Mike Greer do already so I traded for Lauren Brasis from the Chicago Blackhawks um the Blackhawks who have two defense two goalies on their roster already that they they definitely want to kind of invest time and and resources in and let these guys who are young you know uh players who’ve shown flashes of being very good um between Spencer Knight and Arvid Solder Bloom Solder Bloom who’s an RFA Spencer Knight who’s you going entering the last year of his contract at 4.5 million Lauren Bruis who’s got one year at 3.3 million of course didn’t play at all last year with a knee injury and who knows if he could have come back or not who knows but didn’t play at all i sent a seventh round pick for him right and we saw Mike Greer make a very similar move for Mackenzie Blackwood where they traded a sixth round pick for Mackenzie Blackwood so I sent the Devils seventh round pick from this year to the Chicago Blackhawks um to get Lauren Brisma from them and for them it clears a contract off their books and yes I know they have plenty of cap space as well but it clears up their log jam of of goalies and it gives the Sharks a guy who has been a very good healthy backup goalie and I think would be a great partner for Ascrov bruis would probably get a chance to play more hockey than he’s played in a long time uh especially compared to last year and he’s on a one-year deal so if it doesn’t work out cool man it doesn’t work out so um so that’s those are two moves I did there smaller moves but two moves the big quote unquote trade I traded for Mason Marshm and I just think it makes too much sense for San Jose and again we we know Mason Marchment does have uh I think it’s a 19 no trade clause so we are assuming he either the Sharks are either you know available to trade or he would uh wave the trade uh or wave you know to be able to be traded to we know Dallas is looking to shed cap space and Mason Marchman is probably their most realistic trade piece um you know of the players that they have right and we know Jason Robertson’s name is floating out there and stuff but I I just I find it hard to believe the stars would be willing to trade a multi-30 goal multi you know scorer um and a guy who’s like in his prime right now for a team that yes it’s going to be a weird year this year but I still think a team that has aspirations to try to win a cup so I traded Mason Marshmittment for the 2025 third round pick from the Oilers who is probably going to be right this either the last or second to last pick in the that round plus I sweeten the deal a little bit by trading uh the 20 the fourth round uh Jets pick so two picks for Mason Marchman feel like if you look at other dra like other kind of players of the same kind of caliber um and contract like that’s a very reasonable trade piece for for those and again Dallas who is also trying to shed cap space to resign other players and stuff um that’s the move I made there so I three trades I made before the draft uh not including the draft but um so righty Mason Marchman his $4.5 million contract which is big you also got Lauren Brisahis in his $3.3 million you did you know lose a million dollars in contract space with Henry Then but it opens you up to go out and sign um you know other defenseman and I think not have as much competition uh along the blue line because the Sharks need to sign other defenseman um and and add some more talent and some more pieces uh to the blue line so um those are kind of the moves that I have made right now but that isn’t the end of my off season and we take care of some big business here in just one second all right uh before we continue I do of course want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen again proudly part of the Locked Onet uh when you’re done checking out this episode you need to go check out uh the allnew locked on NHL game night um yes I know the cup is almost over but still uh they got you covered every game every night until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned so go check out that uh go check out Locked on NHL game night wherever you listen to podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well all right um there’s one more really big big piece of business that the Sharks need to take care of um this off season and that’s the William Equin extension and no matter what like that cannot like they can agree to it and everything like that it cannot come out until July 1st because whenever uh you have extensions they have to be in the last year of their deal like the Sharks can’t go out and just like sign Cabbrini to an extension right now right like they had to been the last year of their deal july 1st is the beginning of the new league year so the William Akon extension and this is you know I I we’ve talked about it before but I do think it’s very important for Mike Greer who has said right we need to start building something we need to start looking ahead we need to start being you know showing results and I think right we we I think it’s fair to say William is the first kind of foundational piece in this rebuild um you know I know he was Doug Wilson’s guy and and part of a different regime but um you know he spent most of his time here with under Mike Greer and we I think whatever Mike Greer has asked and the Sharks have asked from Equin he has been a good soldier about it he has done you know spent an entire year in the AHL when you know again at the time we were I was very much like he needs to play NHL games and stuff um William’s a better player for playing a whole season in the AHL that season right and um we’ve seen him become you know more prolific you know playmaker we’ve seen him come become better behind along the boards and right like he is definitely looks to be a foundational piece right first full season 45 points last year just missed the 60 point mark i think if he doesn’t get a concussion he’s well over a 60point player and probably vying for the Sharks lead in points um like he is a a player who you feel like you want to hitch your wagon to so um I am offering William Ecklan or I’m signing William Ek in my my off seasonason i’m signing William Eklan and again the other thing do not I hate bridge deals i hate bridge deals uh I get it from the player and I get it from the team perspective but with a young player like this who feels like he should be part of your long-term core pieces of your franchise for a team that has a lot of cap space over the next couple years right um just because yes the Sharks have $40 million in cap space this year uh we just went through you know the whole roster and how much caps they they have projected and how few players they have signed next year the Sharks have six players under contract six players under contract uh and about $77 million of capes for the 2627 season before we do any sort of signings etc etc but you have plenty of cap space don’t mess around with this deal don’t do a bridge deal i’m not doing a bridge deal we’re signing Equin to eight years at $8.5 million AAB and I know that number feels like it’s going to be very high especially if you look at like Wyatt Johnson who just signed a five-year deal at 8.4 i think 8.5 is a very fair compensation for Eklan over the next couple seasons um especially as this cap goes up and especially as his peers continue to also get new contracts um I think eight years at $8.5 million is a contract that’s going to work very well for both and it’s probably going to be a steal for the Sharks in a couple years uh as other contracts continue to come and go and um you start to see other young players get signed to their new deals i feel like eight and a half F is is very I think that’s market value for a guy like William Equin who you know I expect next year to be a 70 point player right basically a 60point player this year you know and I think from here on out Equin should be you know flirting with a point per game type of performances and you know the hope is now we start to see those 20 to 25 goal seasons uh from him and you know 20 to 25 goal seasons and 50 assists um playing top six minutes and a guy who’s going to play in all situations for you like I I think and yes I know he’s not a center right and centers have more value etc etc but Eko has a lot of value to the Sharks and this deal right like one it helps you with your cap space the next couple season getting to that cap for next couple seasons two it sends a message that we’re not we’re done like we’re we’re done with this like full tear down mode and we are ready to build things and Mike Greer has been very vocal about that like we need to start building and playing one of paying one of your young star players uh I think a yes eight years is a long time he’s going to be 23 so it goes through his age 31 contract you’re getting Ekin through his entire prime um I again it just sends a message we’re ready to build we’re going we in San Jose We know the sharks they they take care it’s been a long part of the Sharks tradition to take care of their guys you’re taking care of one of your young guys who has done everything you’ve asked of him and more um and you’re you can send that message to the organization we’re not like yes they’re still going to you know there’s still going to be trades that they make this off season and and stuff but I think it sends a message that we’re the the dark days are over and we are build we’re going forward right and these are the guys that we have and Ekkan and Celibbrini and Smith and whoever they draft for the second pick and you know like all these other players that that they’ve been gathering and stuff and now you’re starting to kind of see it ekan’s the first piece of it i think it makes sense to sign him and he can you know kind of be the first guy to be rewarded because he deserves it right he has performed very well in his time in San Jose um and I I think it’s it’s time to move forward so take care of Ekkan right so just to recap so we resigned William Ecklan eight years $8.5 million uh contract so that would uh according to my thing uh he would be locked up through it’s a long time it’s great uh you could if that happens you could safely send uh send him to you could safely order that Eklan jersey so uh so yeah that would sign him through was that the age is that the 30 the 20 33 season I guess uh as we’re 2033 2034 somewhere around there is how long he’d be signed for uh with that contract so um fine with me fine with me with with that so um and he’d be one of the one of the few players under contract in the 28 29 season like uh with him so um all right so that’s that’s big thing we did right we took care of Equin um we took care of some of the guys that uh we took care of of course we took care of uh uh Nikolai Kovalinko brought him back for one more season jack Thompson got him signed for two more years at a very reasonable cost that can be also buried in the uh minors if we need to um Daniel Gushian one-year deal like this is it buddy uh you have Regenda in the AHL you have uh Romanov and Kerier and Jimmy Schultz all in the AHL as well uh traded for Mason Marchmond for a third round pick and a fourth round pick um and then you traded for Lauren Brisahis for a seventh round pick for uh from Chicago and you sent Henry Thrron to the Rangers for a fifth and you got a fifth round pick back so um so yeah very active nothing crazy i don’t think any of those deals I mean the Thrron one might might be a little might be a little bit shocking but none of these deals I think are are out there and I I think they there’s reasoning behind all of them so uh yeah I I feel pretty good at setting the table on kind of where the Sharks would be at with with cap space and going into free agency so uh but yeah first thing first though we got to take care of the draft uh so that’s what we’ll be doing tomorrow we’ll have a full seven round mock draft uh where I make all the picks I move up and down the board all that fun stuff uh so make sure you guys are following along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at Lon Sharks follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole till tomorrow bye friends

What if the San Jose Sharks’ GM had a crystal ball for the offseason? In this episode, we simulate a whirlwind of roster moves, trades, and contract negotiations that could reshape the Sharks’ future. From RFA decisions to blockbuster trades, we explore every angle of a hypothetical Sharks offseason. Will Henry Thrun be on the move? Could Laurent Brossoit shore up the goaltending situation? And what about Mason Marchment’s potential impact on the forward lines?

The spotlight shines brightest on William Eklund’s contract extension. We break down the pros and cons of a long-term deal for the young star and its implications for the Sharks’ rebuild. Plus, we analyze how these moves set the stage for the upcoming draft and free agency period. Our simulation covers all aspects of the offseason, giving listeners a comprehensive look at the potential strategies and decisions facing the Sharks’ front office.

Dive into this in-depth simulation to see how the Sharks might navigate the choppy waters of the NHL offseason. We examine the ripple effects of each move, considering salary cap implications, team chemistry, and long-term organizational goals. Will these bold moves pay off or leave San Jose treading water? Join us as we dissect this hypothetical offseason and discuss what it could mean for the Sharks’ future in the NHL.

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