Time for SJ to look at future
Sharks coach David Quinn had a simple message for his group recently after Jaycob Megna became the second veteran in two weeks, following Matt Nieto, to be traded to a playoff contender.
“It's that time of year, it's the hard part of pro sports, two guys that have had good years for us and are wellrespected and well-liked in the locker room,” Quinn said. “Fortunately for us, most of our guys have been through trades — losing guys that they like a lot and respect as teammates.”
The next two months, particularly the next three weeks before the March 3 NHL trade deadline, will likely be a transformative time for the Sharks organization. More veterans might get shipped out, while others might need to prove they can be a part of the long-term solution.
After their 4-1 loss over the Florida Panthers, the Sharks entered Friday in 28th place in the NHL with a 16-26-11 record and 29 games left to play.
Here are three questions the Sharks need to answer between now and the end of the regular season.
1. CAN THEY MAXIMIZE A RETURN FOR MEIER? >> Where will Timo Meier, a pending restricted free agent, finish the season? Rumored destinations include New Jersey, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary, Carolina and even Las Vegas. Don't rule out somewhere else entirely, or even staying in San Jose if no team meets general manager Mike Grier's asking price.
Meier, 26, now has 30 goals and 51 points in 53 games.
If a trade happens on or before March 3, Grier has to maximize his return. This is perhaps a one-time opportunity to reshape the Sharks and set the team up for longterm success. An underwhelming return could be a setback for the franchise.
Grier will reportedly allow teams to talk with Meier and his agent, Claude Lemieux, about an extension before a trade is officially consummated. That will help.
While pending unrestricted free agents James Reimer and Nick Bonino are also obvious candidates to get moved (Bonino has a five-team no-trade list, per CapFriendly), we'll see how aggressive Grier chooses to be with some other players who are signed through next season.
2. SHOULD THE SHARKS TRADE KARLSSON? >> Every NHL team would love to have Erik Karlsson, but how many have enough room to fit the two-time Norris Trophy winner under their respective salary cap? And how many of those teams would Karlsson, armed with a full nomovement clause, want to play for right now?
That figures to be a pretty small list without some serious cap gymnastics before March 3.
What's in the Sharks' best interest if they want to trade him? It's probably to hold onto Karlsson at least until the offseason when more suitors might be in the mix for his services and therefore bring a potentially better return. 3. WHAT DOES LABANC'S FUTURE HOLD? >> Thursday marked the seventh time in the last nine games that Kevin Labanc has been a healthy scratch — something that has never happened to him before in his pro career. Maybe ever.
Labanc sat for four straight games from Jan. 16 to 22, returned to the lineup for two games, only to be scratched again for the Sharks' Jan. 28 game in Pittsburgh.
That's not ideal for a player with a $4.725 million cap hit for this season and next. The following few weeks will say a lot more about whether it makes sense for the Sharks to keep Labanc for the 20232024 season, deal him elsewhere, or even buy out the final year of his contract.