SAN JOSE – Had the San Jose Sharks entered Friday in a slump, instead of on a three-game winning streak, general manager Mike Grier’s approach to the NHL trade deadline probably would have been different.
As it is, instead of a significant selloff, Grier mostly kept his roster intact, saying he wanted to reward the team for still being in the playoff picture with six weeks left to go in the regular season.
“They’ve kind of earned it,” Grier said Friday afternoon before the Sharks hosted the St. Louis Blues. “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.”
The Sharks went 0-3-1 in their last four games before the break, then lost 4-1 to the non-playoff-contending Calgary Flames in their first game back on Feb. 26. But the Sharks responded with wins over the Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Montreal Canadiens to stay in the mix.
The Sharks entered Friday three points behind the Seattle Kraken for the Western Conference’s second wild card spot, with two games in hand.
“It could have easily gone sideways the next three games, if the guys kind of buckled,” Grier said. “But they dug in and played hard and played for each other and found a way to win those games. It was definitely a part of the decision we made over the last couple of days to not strip it away too much, giving them an opportunity.”
The Sharks made one trade on Friday, sending pending unrestricted free agent defensemen Timothy Liljegren to the Washington Capitals for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. Another free agent to be, Alex Nedeljkovic, signed a two-year, $6 million extension, keeping the Sharks’ goaltending tandem, with Yaroslav Askarov, in place for the time being.
But the Sharks’ six other pending UFAs – including defensemen Mario Ferraro and John Klingberg — remained on the roster, and no players were acquired as Grier, keeping an eye on the long term, mostly kept his powder dry without any major acquisitions.
Now it’s a sprint to the finish, with the Sharks, starting Saturday, playing 22 games in 41 days, and Grier is eager to see how his cadre of younger players responds to an environment where every game matters.
“t’s a very valuable experience for these guys to go through and to kind of learn what it takes to play with pressure, to handle the ups and downs of a game,” Grier said. “All these guys can get a little bit of taste of the pressure of having to perform, but still having fun and enjoying the game, and in doing those things, I think it’s an important part of their growth.”
What we learned after Friday’s trade deadline
SHARKS KEEP BIGGEST UFA’S: Grier said he got calls on Ferraro and Klingberg in recent weeks and in the last couple of days. Neither was the biggest trade target, but Ferraro, especially, could have been on his way out had the Sharks been further out of the playoff picture.
Now it’s a matter of how the Sharks fill out their defense corps for the 2026-27 season. Besides Ferraro and Klingberg, right-shot defenseman Vincent Desharnais is also in a contract year. Grier said he’s open to keeping his defensemen past this season. The Sharks have only two defensemen, Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson, signed beyond this season.
“If I could have added someone on (defense) or up front that had term and was the right age, then we would have looked at it,” Grier said. “It’s not just the (defense), it’s all part of roster building and the long term. If someone fits and had term, whether they’re up front or in the back, and I think we were looking at it.”
FIRST ROUNDER IN PLAY?
The Sharks have two first-round picks this year: their own and one acquired from Edmonton last year in the trade that sent defenseman Jake Walman to the Oilers.
Grier said he’s not against trading that second first-round pick under the right circumstances.
“It’s a pick that we’ll be open to moving, but it’s got to be someone that kind of fits our group,” Grier said, “and can be probably someone we would hope would be part of our core and could grow with.”
After the Liljegren trade, the Sharks have eight picks in this year’s draft, with no third rounders but two fourth rounders, and one pick in the second, fifth, sixth, and seventh rounds.
PANARIN A SHARK?
Before Artemi Panarin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings in early February, Grier said he “kicked tires” on the winger but ultimately felt that the assets needed to acquire him would be best spent elsewhere.
The Kings acquired Panarin, 34, from the Rangers for prospect forward Liam Greentree, and conditional draft picks in 2026 (third round) and 2028 (fourth round). Panarin dictated where he wanted to go as his contract carries a no-movement clause.
“We talked a little bit. We didn’t really get into it too far,” Grier said. “But I think this was a place I think he would have been willing to come to.”
DOUBTS ABOUT SHERWOOD DEAL?
The Sharks this week signed forward Kiefer Sherwood to a five-year, $28.75 million contract. Grier was asked whether there ever a question that the deal would get done.
“There was probably a point where some doubt crept in,” he said. “I don’t know if it ever got to a point where I was, ‘Ah, this isn’t getting done.’ But there was probably a moment to where there’s maybe a little bit of doubt that this is maybe not going as quickly or as smoothly as you hope, that you’re going to have to really buckle down on both sides and get it done.
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WHAT ABOUT NEMEC?
The New Jersey Devils are reportedly open to trading 22-year-old defenseman Simon Nemec, the second overall selection in the 2022 draft. The asking price was, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, a young, impactful top-six forward.
Asked if the Sharks had serious interest, Grier said, “I think that was more kind of Twitter stuff. You kind of call and see if someone is available, and then see what the asking price is, and that was really about the extent of it.”
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