Sharks Have Interesting Trade Strategy This Season

The San Jose Sharks have had a quick rise from when Macklin Celebrini was drafted until now. The team went from dead last and only 20 wins last season to 23 wins in 45 games and sitting in a playoff spot. Plenty of young talent on top of Celebrini are making their mark, but this is a group that is going to be very good soon.

The Sharks are in an interesting spot as the trade deadline approaches. The team sits in the first wildcard spot and have had moments in the top-3 as they are four games above .500 in a weak wildcard race in the West. But there are also plenty of players that won't be on the team for the long haul and can be moved.

David Pagnotta said, "San Jose's in a buy and sell mode. They've got pieces they're willing to sell off, but they're also trying to insulate that roster and give them a good shot at making the playoffs." The better chance in getting out of the first round if the Sharks do make the playoffs is if they finish in the first wildcard spot or as a top-3 team in the division. That way they can avoid the Colorado Avalanche, who are likely going to get even better by the trade deadline.

The Sharks could really use a boost in their bottom-6, especially considering two of their top-9 forwards are currently injured (Will Smith and Philipp Kurashev). There have been players that have stepped in and done a surprisingly good job, including Pavol Regenda and Yegor Chernyshov, while players like Colin Graf and Adam Gaudette are helping out too. More is needed on that front, while the defense can be cleaned up a bit.

Nolan Allan was just acquired as part of the Laurent Brossoit trade, and he has NHL experience where he played a solid defensive game. Now take Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson in the AHL as well, and there's young talent pushing for NHL jobs.

There won't be any room though because there are pending UFAs in Timothy Liljegren, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Mario Ferraro, and an injured Vincent Desharnais. And there is Dmitry Olrov, Sam Dickinson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin (injured), and Vincent Iorio who should all be staying. Something has to give on defense, so adding up front and subtracting on the back-end seems like the most logical and likely scenario as the season goes on for the Sharks.