San Jose Sharks Officially Trade Mikael Granlund, per Source
The San Jose Sharks have a deal in place to trade center Mikael Granlund to the Dallas Stars as per NHL Insider Kevin Weekes.
On Saturday afternoon it was announced that the Dallas Stars had a deal in place to acquire Mikael Granlund from the San Jose Sharks.
The deal was initially announced by NHL Insider Kevin Weekes on X.
Though nothing is confirmed yet in regards to an official deal or any pieces going back to the Sharks, it's certainly a deal that will no doubt strengthen Dallas' depth as they hope to have a strong playoff push.
Granlund was the subject of a lot of trade talk this season, as the pending free agent was a solid two-way contributor and is enjoying another great season for the rebuilding Sharks.
Granlund has 15 goals and 30 assists while playing in all 52 games thus far, and while he is a minus-8, a lot of that had to do with a weak Sharks defense and goaltending as opposed to his defensive skills, and he offers a good amount of physicality as well.
The 32-year old has made a respectable career for himself as an under the radar player who often gets glanced over but offers great numbers.
In 871 games he has 172 goals and 417 assists with 29 game winners, and nearly has a 50% faceoff win clip for his career.
Drafted 9th overall by Minnesota in 2010, his best season came in 2016-17 where he had 26 goals and 43 assists.
He comes at a $5M cap hit for the Stars and as previously mentioned is a free agent at season's end. He will most likely line up with their third line of Evgeni Dadonov and Logan Stankoven while Sam Steel can move to the fourth line over Oskar Back.
San Jose is clearly undergoing a rebuild and this might not be the only deal they do. Luke Kunin, Colin White, Cody Ceci and Mario Ferraro are all potential trade candidates as well, whether it be age or expiring contracts.
We will keep you updated on the pieces headed back to San Jose, and if this is just the first domino to fall as team's look to solidify their roster before the 4 Nations Face-Off.
***UPDATE***
NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has confirmed the trade is going to be happening, and that potentially defenseman Cody Ceci is involved in the deal as well.
There is no word yet on what San Jose is going to receive in return.
Adding Ceci also gives Dallas a lot of insurance considering that defenseman Miro Heiskanen is expected to miss some time, and Ceci is a proven veteran who can slide in and contribute.
***UPDATE***
We now have news about what the return is to San Jose for the package involving Granlund and Ceci. It looks like San Jose is accelerating their rebuild as they receive a first and fourth round pick (conditional pick that can turn into a third rounder; conditions unknown at this current time)
The news was relayed by NHL Insider Darren Dreger on X.
Pierre LeBrun also explained a bit more of the deal as well:
It's a savvy move from GM Mike Grier as he tries to ensure his future has enough pieces to work with and come draft time, will have eight selections including two first-round picks and a deep Stanley Cup run can only benefit both sides of the deal.
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