SIMULATED OFFSEASON: How Does Mike Grier Add Talent In Free Agency While Maintaining Flexibility?

SIMULATED OFFSEASON: How Does Mike Grier Add Talent In Free Agency While Maintaining Flexibility?

we continue our simulated off season by spending some of that sweet sweet cap money on free agents 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 want to thank you for making Lockdown Sharks your first listen proudly part of the Lockdown Network we cover your team every day and if you want to be an everyday all you have to do is just follow along wherever you get podcast or you can watch on YouTube as well and today we’re getting to spend some of that sweet sweet fake money uh as we continue our off season uh simulated off seasonason here so Monday right we we took care of our own guys made some trades tuesday we did a full seven round mock draft and then today because July 1 comes after the draft uh we get to spend some of the free agents so we’ve done a lot of homework here looked at all these players um see who kind of I think makes a lot of sense for the Sharks plus my uh initial 23man roster so before we get to all that do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel right now new FanDuel customers can get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins all right um so just as a reminder simulator off season here not uh this my my combination of what I think Mike Greer would do or if I was Mike Greer what I would do uh knowing what we know about my career and what we want to do and we’re my my whole goal is for this kind of you know exercise here especially with free agency is um just kind of raise the level of talent but also keeping in flexibility of uh knowing players are going to start to graduate here soon so that that was kind of what I was thinking about throughout the whole time is just try to add some some NHL caliber players um and I think we we’ve done that with some of the moves that we’ve made right uh including trading for Mason Marchment which we did on Monday’s episode for a third round at a fourth round pick um you know and he’s going to slot in at at the second line uh wing for us um and you know like get just trading for Brris who’s I think a NHL good NHL backup goalie gives Ascarov some you know like it gives Ascarov the runway and if uh to be the guy and if Brrisad needs to step in for a couple games and stuff um like Brris can definitely handle that so um let’s start with with the forward group because this is the area where I think you have to be the most careful with right of the adding players but not kind of boxing yourself in especially with you know guys like Quinton Musty and Igor Shernov and you know eventually Michael Misa hopefully like like you you want to add players who can kind of play up a little bit but long term you feel can slide down when some of these younger guys uh can can come in or in a specific case maybe adding a guy who fits right now and could fit long term so let’s start with that part of it is I pulled out the offer sheet and this is a guy as we we did the offer sheet episode a few weeks ago and as I’ve thought about it more and more I think this one makes a lot of sense and with the offer sheet um there the Sharks have a window that we we kind of explored but I’ll just kind of bring it up again so um you want to if you’re the San Jose Sharks right you don’t want to spend basically it’s like 4.8 million AAV per se or 4.6 I I believe is the number so anything over that per AAV you have to give up your 2026 first round pick unprotected i don’t know about you but uh and especially what’s supposed to be a pretty sick draft class I’m not giving up that that that 2026 first round pick and even with the Sharks expected to be better that’s still one of the best assets the San Jose Sharks have right like projected top 10 pick and what’s going to be a sick class in the 2026 class so um don’t want so I wanted to to find a guy who I thought would fit what the Sharks are trying to do here fit the timeline add some more scoring punch and I started with Jack Quinn uh so Jack Quinn former first round pick of the Buffalo Sabres is a UFA he’s 23 turns 24 in September um last season 74 games 15 goals 24 assists 39 points um guy who though was coming off a major injury the year before we only played 27 games so um he scored 40 goals and basically 180 NHL games but again like before he got hurt he was a like he looked like he was turning into a dude like he had nine goals in 27 games before his injury in the in the 23 24 season um 24-25 like I said kind of coming back from the injury so you feel like he’s ready to kind of return to form here so um he’s projected he was projected when I you know kind of doing this uh exercise again he was projected to sign a 2-year deal at 3.2 so I went a little over again you got to entice him so I offered him a two-year deal at $4 million a year boom assume again assuming the Sabres don’t match that right we know the Sabres are kind of going through a weird phase right now and who knows what the Sabres are doing but two years $4 million the Sharks have a ton of cap space gives him a chance to kind of come in he’s still an RFA after that uh you control his rights and you’re getting a first round pick uh guy who can come in and is going to get an opportunity to play uh play top six minutes for you and I think could be a legitimate 20 goal scorer for you and at $4 million I think again the Sharks the Sharks biggest asset they have this off seasonason is cap space and it’s only for two years so if it doesn’t work out watch your hands of it he holds down a spot while you wait for guys like Sherneshoff to become kind of full-time NHL players or Quinton Musty or whomever else to be like he a two-year deal from him doesn’t prohibit you from doing anything else or letting your young guys come in so um that’s the first move I made July 1st offer sheet Jack Hughes the second uh forward so the actual forward I signed um if is Pew Sudter so the center um he of course is a a known for his defensive acumen and a guy who I’ I’ve been a fan of for a long time um and I really wanted to one of my big goals this off seasonason is to really kind of revamp that third line and I think Pew Sudter would be a huge huge asset in that and again like he’s a player who if you need him to play fourth line minutes he would be amazing playing fourth line center uh if you need him to come up and play second line center for a little bit he can do like he’s a guy who can kind of move up and down your roster um and and be able to contribute for you um guy coming off 25 goals right 21 assists in 81 games last year for 46 points playing with the Conucks uh while playing eight you know 17 and a half minutes a night um he can play he’s very good defensively he can play you know big minutes for you um play in all situations he’s going to help the PK out a lot as well um all right so he was a guy who was projected at four years at 4.3 and again I’m adding the like bad team text you got to overpay a little bit so I went four 4.5 same ballpark right um with him so um so those are the two forwards I added so you also added Mason Marchman on Monday you added Pew Sudter and then you added Jack Quinn so you added some definite toughness um in in Mason Marchment you added a guy who can you know definitely help the defensive aspect among the forward group and Pew Sudter and you added an a definite kind of upside of player um in Jack Quinn who’s on a very lowrisk high reward type of of play like I think he’s a lowrisk high reward type of player so um again we’ll go through the the full uh 23man roster but those were the the additions and again like I wanted to to make sure there’s still flexibility so young players will have opportunities i didn’t want to try to lock anybody in and I think my career is going to continue to take this kind of medium-term approach just to try to again just raise the talent level and I think all three of these guys would definitely raise the talent level of of the San Jose Sharks for this season so we’re going to switch to the back end here in a minute and look at some of the additions I made uh back there uh so we’ll we’ll get to that in just one second the NBA playoffs are in full swing and every night delivers highlight worthy performances major momentum shifts and can’t miss moments whether it’s a game-winning shot or a breakout player there’s never been a better time to get in on the action FanDuel makes it easy to stay in the game before tip off and live with player props performance trends and same game parlays fans have more ways than ever to play smart and win big um it looks like Hallebertton might be done so maybe OKC ends this thing in game six if they do I have a feeling SGA is going to have a very nice night um so if you’re new to FanDuel it’s a perfect time to sign up head to fandal.com and place your first $5 bet if it wins you’ll get $200 in bonus bets make every moment more with FanDuel the official sports betting partner of the NBA all right before we continue do of course want to thank you for making Locked on Sharks your first listen if you haven’t yet perfect time to subscribe uh even though we’re finishing up our offse uh simulated offseason here uh we still got plenty of content right we’re going to be focusing on the draft uh especially next week we’re gonna have the Michael Misa big profile any next week is usually a huge huge transactional week as teams gear up for the draft so we’ll get have you covered uh no matter what happens of course uh we have the draft that’s so uh we got the draft coming up so um plenty of fun stuff make sure you follow along where every you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well all right so let’s shift to the back end um added two defenseman and I did sign uh a a a another goalie so let’s start with that so right we we resigned two of our own guys in Georgie Romangh and um like you know so between Georgie Romangh and um Gabe Kerier we we added two guys to the Barracuda but just wanted to add another kind of I always call it the the Aaron Dell role that like third goalie where if you need him to come up and play NHL games in a pinch it’s not going to be the end of the world he can start in the AHL he’s been a veteran like um so the I I just signed Chris Reer who’s a guy who has played again played a lot of NHL games played a lot of AHL games if he comes up and has to play you know for a couple weeks in the NHL he’s not going to embarrass you like it’s not going to be the end of the world type of of situations so and I think he’s as a veteran like he you know I think he this it would be a good spot for him to help some of the younger guys in Romangh and Gabe Kerier and then if if again if you need him to play in the NHL for a little bit if Bruis tweaks his knee um or you know if Ascrov gets hurt or anything like that he he can hold down the fort for you so we signed him gives you a little bit of insurance right so that way you have five five goalies under contract NHL contract um he would have to go through waiverss but you know we’ll we’ll figure that out then so um but so there that’s goalie situation i feel I feel good about where the goalies are still that flexibility is that key term um you gives Ascrov from runway and I think there’s a strong veteran presence um between both uh Chris Reer and between Brrisam I think having two guys kind of been there done it with with um perfect perfect guys to have around so all right let’s switch over to the defenseman so uh full transparency like Dante Fabro was one of the first signings I I tried to make right but with the news that he it sounds like they’re working towards a contract extension and we don’t know right like teams are always working towards stuff and always trying to work you know and sometimes it’ll fall through and sometimes it work goes that they work it out but um I took him off my board right now with the news that it’s you know it sounds like they’re working towards something so because if he was available would definitely try to sign him but keeping in the same you know that flexibility not trying to big game hunt you know like EPlad and you know some of the other big names like I don’t think Greer is going to be doing that for some of those type of players right now so again trying to just raise the level of NHL caliber talent I guess as we were trying to call it um the first player I I signed was Matt Grizzlick so uh Grizzlick uh is a player who is projected to sign at three years at three and a half million um I signed him for three years uh at 3.75 million so again having a little bit of an overpay not much but a little bit of an overpay the uh you have to pay because you’re a bad team and you’re going to be playing on a bad team tax right but we want you to come here and help kind of establish the culture all that fun stuff so um Grizzlick coming off the one-year deal at 2.75 million not the greatest season with the Penguins last year um but did have 40 points which the Sharks could definitely use some more points and his puck moving uh ability and stuff but you know if he can continue that point output and then you know I think uh maybe some more of the the puck moving and defensive metrics that we saw from him and you know kind of the 21 22 23 uh 21 through 23 seasons with with the Boston Bruins i think this could be a really nice signing for the Sharks is again you’re trying to just find some puck moving defenseman and some guys who can help just uh raise the level of of defensive ability on on the the blue line and I think uh Grez would would 100% do that for them so um the other move I made is I signed the analytics whiz himself and Nick Pervix uh so Pervix was expected to sign a deal um it’s pretty similar deal so he was expected to sign a deal at uh four years though at 3.3 million is a little bit younger right at age 27 um so I signed him to a uh again four-year deal 3.5 I I think he’s going to be a player that’s probably highly sought after um bec and yes I know maybe not not the most like doesn’t use the size as much as you’d like for a player as big as he is but again right we’re we’re trying to find some help here um so Nick Perix is the two so two guys who you know I think those contracts like three years for for Gres yes he’ll be you know 34 35 by the time that contract expires but I think his services in the next two years like I think two of those three years should be really solid and even if he kind of slides down a little bit you know uh by the third year I don’t think it’s going to age super super poorly and Perix I think a four-year deal like that’s going to get him right through his age 31 32 season and maybe he can be that kind of again bridge uh uh kind of bridge defenseman especially you know going to get some power play opportunity um and while you wait for some of your younger guys or uh you wait to make some bigger moves or whatever else the Sharks have planned to kind of really revamp but I think it’s the a solid way to inject some more talent into this defensive roster um that definitely needs it uh so those are those are the two moves I made defensively for for San Jose is um Grizzlick and Pervix and then of course we signed Chris Triger uh to be the third goalie AHL goalie um and if you kind of the first call up if you need some uh if you need some help in in net um on the NHL team so um where does that leave us who’s on the roster so um here I will show my 23man roster uh kind of talk you through it how I I have all the lines etc etc we’ll talk through it here in just one second all right do want to thank you of course for making a locked on Sharks your first listen today for your second listen check out the Locked on NHL G uh podcast there’s no offse we bring you daily leaguewide stories that matter the most but local coverage you love from Locked On find Locked on NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast all right um 23man roster so I have 13 forwards eight defensemen two goalies on my uh kind of simulated opening night roster uh if you’re watching on YouTube here it is um William Min Celebr Marchment Will Smith uh Jack Quinn your third line alex Winberg Pew Sudter Colin Graph as your third line um Barkley Goodro Tidy Linger Nikolai Kovalinko your fourth with Carl Grundstrom as your extra and of course Logan Coutur’s $8 million contract hanging out in IR defensively couldn’t get the left right so but we have Muka Madulan and Greslick as your top pairing ferraro Pervix as your second pair good old Sam Dickinson Timothy Ldrian on your third pair with Vastic and Dehornese as your extras with Ascarov and Bruis in net uh this right here would get you at 78.485 million with a projected cap space of 17 million $17 million uh with a roster of 23 and 23 so we’re we’re clear over the cap floor we have plenty of cap space if to be flexible if something happens uh if the Sharks want to take on a kind right they they can be a middleman whatever like it gives you plenty of flexibility um you have Sam Dickinson so let’s start with Dickinson right so um I think Dickinson gets a shot at least to start the season um and if Dickinson plays well cool he makes stays up for the rest of the season if he doesn’t and you send it back to the OL and say “Go cook those children for another year we’ll see you know we’ll see you soon.” Um then you still have you still have Deornese who can both you know come in um you can also bring up Jack Thompson uh or Luca Canyone like you have plenty of of guys who are going to be ready to kind of fill that slot or you can bring up another forward and go 14 forwards and seven defenseman uh so etc etc i think with this roster it gives you some flexib like flexibility where nobody is kind of I don’t want to say secure in their position but like it gives you support in places so if Will Smith maybe Will Smith we try him out at center not a great fit right now okay cool you can put Will Smith back on the wing you can put Wenberg back at center uh if you want to have Wenberg as your 2C you Sudter as your 3C or if you want Sudter at 2C uh Wenberg at 3C it gives you some options there um you have Mason Marchmond who can play second line center you can play third line or second line winger he play third line um you have the same thing with Colin Graph like if Graph’s been playing well you can move him up uh Jack Quinn’s not working out you can kind of move like or Cam Lun’s playing really well in the AHL we want to get him up in there like you have options and you know Kolinko is not working out okay cool carl Grundstrom’s not playing well whatever like Title Energy any of those guys in the bottom um like it’s not going to be the end of the world if you have to move them down or move them out of the lineup and you have I think you have enough players who can kind of fit different roles where you know like again that flexibility in your roster of okay I need if I want to bring up Cam Lun or Ashern or Quint Musty gets catches on fire or whatever you want or Phil B said deserves a call up you haveent plenty of flexibility with with your roster here um so I feel I feel like this team again it’s it’s it’s not going to be the the sexiest offseason and and maybe Mike Greer’s got way more aggressive stuff up his sleeve right i was trying to be a little bit more conservative of what I think from what we’ve heard from Greer right of I don’t want to spend big right i don’t want to do all that stuff i we we just want to start building i think this follows that pattern of we’re building here and you still have right you still have next year’s first you still have the Oilers first yes you you you lost your second round pick but you know you have players who are going to be on expiring contracts so if you want to uh I don’t think they’re going to be the aggressive burn it all down uh type of of scenario but you know if someone asks for Ferraro or Lil Jagrin or Wenberg or even Mason Marchman like um all those players or even like a tie to Landrea like all those players are potential you know realistic trade pieces where if the Sharks wanted to trade them at the trade deadline um because you know we we expect this team to again kind of be in the bottom 10 all those guys I think can get you some sort of assets uh you know I know March uh Marshmitt’s got it some trade protections we know Wenberg has some trade protections but like all those guys would get you solid assets where you can maybe help replenish that second round pick you lost in the Jack Quinn and I think Jack Quinn provides a lot of upside for you and yes I know he’s coming off an injury but now a full season away from the injury been able to kind of work you know have a normal off season this off season and how often do we see guys leave Buffalo and then explode and I think Jack Quinn like I think Jack Quinn would be a great great great great opportunity uh for the Sharks if they could potentially pull that one off so um yeah like again this team isn’t going to like this i don’t think this is a playoff team right but I feel better like especially lines one two and three i feel like there’s some scoring pop i feel like there’s some opportunity like I I don’t feel like it’s going to be a oneline team like we saw last year like a one and a half line team i feel like there’s uh all three I feel like the top nine definitely give you some opportunity to uh to score some more goals this year defensively right you would hope that you see some growth from continue to see some growth from Muka Madulan um and then just having a guy like Grizzlick um you know kind of come in and stabilize things uh you hope Pervix’s his skills translate his puck moving translates um and then like I said if Sam Dickinson sticks Sam Dickinson sticks that’s awesome um if not I think the Sharks have some options and you know they they’ve insulated themselves um in case there’s some injuries you’ve got plenty of guys who are going to you know going to deserve an opportunity who are with the Barracuda and I just think the goal the biggest thing the goalending is just going to be a lot better especially post Blackwood from what we saw right um and I I I think with Ask Ravvenet and I like Bruis and I think Chris Reger is a solid third option if you need to bring him up because of an injury um and then even Georgie Romangh who’s played you know got a handful of NHL games here and there um there there’s some options for you so I think this is if you want to kind of take take some step take a step next season not be the absolute worst team in the NHL i think this roster would would head you in the right direction while still giving you long-term flexibility and allowing your stars to grow into their roles and that’s that’s what I think we’re focusing on right letting Seller Breeny grow into his role as a number one seed letting Will Smith grow into his role as a 2C or um you know a first line whatever you need want to do with Will Smith right uh especially with Michael Misa um Sherna Musty there’s there’s definitely opportunities for them to come in and claim a job camel an opportunity for him to eventually kind of come in and claim a job um like there there’s room for you know and even defensively right Luca Kenyon takes continues the way he’s going if Dickinson that just continues to do what Dickens like there’s opport like none of these guys in front of them are holding some of these young guys from from taking a job so um so yeah that’s the first that’s kind of the meat and potatoes so we’ll be back tomorrow uh where we’re going to kind of just again nice review and then we’re going to kind of project ahead and look at where the shark kind of what the sharks would need to to to focus on in the future spoiler defense still um how much cap flexibility they’ll still have with all the projected moves I made and um yeah so plenty of great stuff still coming along so make sure you’re following along wherever you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at Lockdown Sharks follow me on Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole till tomorrow bye friends

The San Jose Sharks’ simulated off-season is heating up, with the team poised to make significant moves in free agency. JD Young breaks down potential signings, including former Buffalo Sabres first-round pick Jack Quinn and veteran forward Pius Suter. These additions aim to boost the Sharks’ overall talent level while maintaining roster flexibility for emerging prospects. On the defensive front, Young discusses key acquisitions like Matt Grzelcyk and Nick Perbix, designed to strengthen the blue line and provide much-needed stability.

Goaltending strategy takes center stage as the episode explores the addition of Chris Driedger as a third option. This move not only provides depth but also offers crucial support for the team’s young netminders. Young then presents a comprehensive projected 23-man roster, offering listeners a detailed analysis of forward lines, defensive pairings, and the resulting salary cap implications.

While the simulated moves may not immediately propel the Sharks into playoff contention, they promise to inject some much-needed scoring punch and defensive solidity into the lineup. Young’s insights provide a fascinating glimpse into how San Jose might reshape its roster and lay the groundwork for future success. This episode offers fans an in-depth look at the strategic decisions facing the Sharks’ management as they navigate the complexities of NHL free agency and roster construction.

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