2 More Sharks Made Available For Trade

The San Jose Sharks seem to be looking to make more significant changes to their defense as Timothy Liljegren and Henry Thrun have reportedly been made available for trade according to David Pagnotta.

There have already been rumors of the Sharks shopping Mario Ferraro ahead of the final year of his contract before becoming a UFA. San Jose isn't going to compete next season, and with the future defensemen coming in, there is a good reason to trade Ferraro, Thrun, and Liljegren.

Thrun was the Sharks' third pairing d-man last season, but is likely capable of more, whether that be on a different team or in San Jose. He logged 17:31 of ice time per game as a 23-year-old in his second partial season in the NHL. His ice time dropped by 2:30 and he finished the season with two goals and 12 points in 60 games. With Nick Leddy, Dmitry Orlov, and John Klingberg added to the defensive group, ice time will be even harder to come by.

Thrun has one year left on his deal at $1 million AAV before becoming a RFA next summer. Liljegren, being 26 years old, has one year left on his contract with a cap hit of $3 million AAV and will be a UFA next offseason. Thrun will be much easier to move because of his age, team control, and potential, but Liljegren will likely end up being a solid trade deadline pickup for a team with the Sharks retaining some cap.

I think that the reason the Sharks may be willing to move on from some of their young-ish defensemen is because Sam Dickinson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, and Jack Thompson, are all waiting to get their full-time roles on the team very soon. Mukhamadullin should be in the NHL in a full time role next season, so one of the Sharks' trade candidates does need to be dealt this offseason. We shall see if they can pull one off and not lose the trade. Mike Grier has done a good job so far.

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