It sounds like the Sharks did a lot of window shopping, but they certainly didn’t do any buying at the NHL trade deadline.
Their only moves on Friday were trading Timothy Liljegren to the Washington Capitals for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick and re-signing pending UFA Alex Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract.
On Wednesday, the Sharks did re-sign pending UFA Kiefer Sherwood to a five-year contract. Sherwood, acquired on Jan. 19 for essentially a pair of second-round draft picks, ended up being their biggest purchase this season.
And that’s not a bad thing, really.
In general manager Mike Grier’s post-deadline availability, he sent a clear signal that the Sharks were turning the page from their rebuild, but with an accurate sense of where the franchise really is in their competitive cycle.
He’s also keeping his gunpowder dry, saving his best trade assets for a big swing this offseason.
Here are some of the highlights from his chat with the media.
Cautious Buyers?
The Sharks were looking to buy at the trade deadline. That’s a big deal, because that’s the first time they could say that since 2019, the last time that they made the playoffs.
Clearly, acquiring 30-year-old Sherwood for a couple second-rounders is an example of a more aggressive mentality than we’ve grown accustomed to. Usually, Team Teal is out of the playoff picture by Thanksgiving, if not earlier.
That said, San Jose knows that it’s not one player away from a Stanley Cup.
“We were in on a few things throughout the week, but I wasn’t really in the rental market,” Grier said. “We were more into poking around and involved in things with players who had some term.”
Grier revealed that at least the Edmonton Oilers’ 2026 first-round draft pick, acquired last year for Jake Walman, was in play.
“In an ideal world, it’s looking at guys in their 20’s who can keep growing with the group,” Grier said. “We were trying to have an open mind to everything, just not really interested in the rental market.”
Notable players went for first-rounders, but they were all 30-something rental types like John Carlsson and Jason Dickinson, or 30-somethings with term like Justin Faulk, Brayden Schenn, Nazem Kadri and 29-year-old Nicolas Roy.
The reported deal for Colton Parayko, 32, who declined a move to the Buffalo Sabres, also included a first-rounder.
All these players, especially the defensemen, could’ve helped the Sharks, for sure, but San Jose isn’t in a position to throw first-rounders away like candy.
Grier also confirmed his interest in 34-year-old star winger Artemi Panarin, which San Jose Hockey Now reported in January.
“We didn’t really get into it too far, but this was a place I think he would have been willing to come to,” Grier said of Panarin, who has an NMC. “Ultimately for us, I think we thought the assets might be better spent elsewhere.”
The Los Angeles Kings sent top prospect Liam Greentree and a conditional third-rounder to the New York Rangers for Panarin.
Grier also shot down a rumored William Eklund-for-Simon Nemec offer, which would’ve been a swap of a young winger for a young defenseman.
The San Jose Sharks dangled William Eklund to try and get Simon Nemec, but the New Jersey Devils said no in the end.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) March 6, 2026
“I think that was more Twitter stuff,” Grier said. “It’s something where you call and see if someone’s available and then see what the asking price is. That was really about the extent of it. There wasn’t any real getting into it too much.”
The point is, Grier recognizes the Sharks, led by superstar Macklin Celebrini, are in another phase of their quest to become contenders again.
Unlike past years, it wasn’t sell, sell, sell. But San Jose also isn’t yet in buy, buy, buy mode either.
Speaking of Celebrini, the 19-year-old superstar is eligible for an eight-year extension on July 1. This potential record-setting contract is being watched closely league-wide.
Grier revealed that negotiations haven’t started yet, joking, “I don’t want to think about the number.”
Anyway, I’d expect the Sharks to be more aggressive with improving the team this offseason.
In Sherwood, they’re already planning ahead by locking up the gritty scoring winger.
“We didn’t trade for him with the idea of him being a rental; we thought we’d be able to get something done,” Grier said.
There was some online consternation about the price tag and giving a 30-year-old winger such a lengthy extension.
An NHL executive, not with the Sharks, says a five-year, $28.75 million contract was about his prediction for Sherwood on the open market. He predicted Sherwood would get a five-year, $25 million contract, so San Jose was in that range.
Also, there aren’t many players around the league who combine both Sherwood’s skill, grit and leadership. In fact, Sherwood, Will Cuylle and Emil Heineman are the only players in the NHL right now with 15 goals, 100 shots, and 200 hits.
These attributes are craved league-wide.
Grier also tackled the question about Sherwood’s age and length of contract, in contrast with his bruising style of play.
“Not too concerned about it. I know the sports science staff in the gym, I think they’re really confident in the type of shape he keeps himself in, his body and everything,” Grier said. “On top of it, he’s a little bit of a late-bloomer; it’s not like he started playing in the league at 19, he’s been playing this way for ten years leading up to it.”
Obviously, the future isn’t written, but Grier isn’t writing off Sherwood’s durability like some fans have.
“While he plays hard and everything, injuries are a part of the game that can always happen,” Grier said. “We feel confident that he’ll be fine throughout the contract.”
Grier Wanted To Reward This Year’s Sharks
No one, not even Grier or head coach Ryan Warsofsky, would’ve predicted that the Sharks would be on the cusp of a playoff spot at the trade deadline. As of March 5, the Sharks are three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the West’s last wild card spot, but they’ve got two games in hand.
Grier admitted that the team’s pre-deadline three-game winning streak helped make his buy-or-sell decision easier.
“We had a tough road trip going into the break, and then you come out of the break, you lose to Calgary, it could have easily gone sideways if the next three games, they buckled … It definitely had a part in the decision we made over the last couple of days to not strip it away too much and give them an opportunity,” Grier said. “They’ve earned it. Not only these last three games, but really throughout the season—it’s a group that deserves to have a chance to see what they can do.”
This explains keeping pending UFA defenseman Mario Ferraro, who might have netted a second-round pick in a trade.
This also explains not dealing pending UFAs John Klingberg, Vincent Desharnais, Ryan Reaves, Pavol Regenda or Nedeljkovic, all of whom probably would’ve commanded less than Ferraro in a trade.
All this is to say, besides Ferraro, Grier wasn’t exactly walking away from a gold mine of draft picks or anything.
Meanwhile, trading Liljegren does open the door, potentially, for a Sharks prospect to get a look on the blueline, chiefly Luca Cagnoni or Nolan Allen.
Veteran Nick Leddy also is with the Cuda.
The Sharks currently have six healthy defensemen in Dmitry Orlov, Ferraro, Mukhamadullin, Klingberg, Desharnais and Sam Dickinson, and they’ll need a seventh on their upcoming road trip.
Between 5-foot-8 Cagnoni and 6-foot-2 Allan, both left-handers, it’s a contrast of styles.
The more offensive Cagnoni leads Barracuda defensemen with 33 points, on seven goals and 26 assists, in 51 games. That is a little off-pace from last year’s 16 goals and 52 points in 64 contests.
“I think Cags’ season’s been pretty good. I think he set the expectations probably too high [with] how he did last year,” Grier admitted. “He’s taken steps in defending, his rush reads and things like that.”
Allan, acquired this season from the Chicago Blackhawks, is a stay-at-home type.
“Nolan, I think, has been real solid for us,” Grier said. “His skating and his physicality is something that we don’t have a lot of in our group down there…His first pass ability and puck-moving is probably even a little bit better than we maybe initially gave him credit for.
“I’m sure they’ll, at some point, probably be some opportunity for those guys, up here, to get some games in and see how they do.”
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