Sharks have options after adding more draft capital

What is Mike Grier up to now? If the San Jose Sharks’ proactive general manager has something else in store with the NHL Draft right around the corner … well, we can’t wait.

Having already addressed his subpar defense by acquiring Michael Kesselring and then adding first-round draft capital by parting with winger William Eklund on a buzzy trade-filled Tuesday, Grier could be out to light some fireworks on Friday’s draft night. Maybe even before, given how he and his GM brethren have been acting this week.

The trade of Eklund to the Ottawa Senators for the No. 9 selection gives the Sharks more ammunition to go with their own No. 2 pick after a shocking leap from their ninth position in the draft lottery. And though they traded down in sending the No. 20 pick — which was Edmonton’s that San Jose possessed thanks to the Jake Walman deal — to the Buffalo Sabres, they still managed to keep a third pick for Friday with the No. 27 choice as part of the return with the 26-year-old Kesselring.

To trade Eklund, a 23-year-old left wing who’s been a top-six fixture for three years, for a draft pick rather than an established NHL player doesn’t make much sense in a vacuum. But if that opens the door for the Sharks to draft high-ceiling Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg with the No. 2 pick and possibly use the other two first-round selections for another immediate upgrade on the blue line, then Grier has a good game of chess going.

Will he win or lose that game in the end? Who knows, but he has created even greater anticipation for his next move.

“It’s just all about trying to make the team better,” Grier said. “If we do something, it’s all with that in mind, to just trying to improve the roster, make the team better not only for this year but for down the road, too. That’s always the job here. Make the team better now but also keep an eye on the future. We’ll be aggressive if something kind of fits those two timelines and can make us better now but also in the future.”

The options at Grier’s disposal expanded when the lottery delivered the Sharks a top-two selection for the third consecutive year, a luxury considering they have a burgeoning superstar, Macklin Celebrini, as the face of the franchise and Michael Misa as the second-line center with a lot of upside behind him. Now Grier has the means to improve a Sharks team that was in a playoff race until the final couple of weeks, set it up for the future or do both.

Let’s take that No. 2 selection. On the surface, it sure looks like sending out Eklund — and the Kesselring acquisition on defense before that — is a sign they’ve targeted Stenberg, a left wing who had one of the best seasons by a draft-eligible player in the Swedish Hockey League. The 18-year-old followed that up with a showy performance at the World Championship and might be the most NHL-ready player in this draft.

With Igor Chernyshov showing to be a top-six talent capable of playing with Celebrini and Will Smith on San Jose’s top line, Stenberg’s addition as another high-end offensive player with defensive chops can make surrendering Eklund feel like less of a big loss. And if the Toronto Maple Leafs were to pull a shocker and take Stenberg instead of Gavin McKenna, that could mean another left wing and the player most have tabbed to go No. 1 falling into the Sharks’ lap.

Another choice at No. 2 could be Chase Reid, a right-shot defenseman largely considered the draft’s best at his position, but Grier said, “Like I’ve kind of said all along, I don’t believe in drafting for need when you’re at the top of the draft.”

“I think it’s a dangerous game to play to leave talent on the table,” he continued. “So, our pick will strictly come down to who we think is the best player and who will be the best NHL player down the road.”

That is, if the Sharks proceed with that pick. Having already signaled he might consider putting No. 2 in play for someone who could make the team better right now, Grier said Tuesday roughly five teams “have been very consistently serious” about inquiring what it would take for them to part with it.

“We’ve received a couple of legitimate offers that we’ve had to really think through and have conversations about, and I expect that’ll continue over the next three days here,” he added.

The No. 9 pick that originally belonged to Florida before the Panthers shipped it to Ottawa in the Brady Tkachuk deal could allow Grier to make his own selection (let’s say Stenberg, for example) after the first player is off the board and go after one of the remaining defensemen who hasn’t been snatched up in a draft expected to be heavy on blueliners at the top. Or it could be used to pursue a current NHL defenseman to join Kesselring in the Sharks’ top four for next season.

With their holding the No. 27 selection, the Sharks could also use that in a package. One possibility evaporated Tuesday when the Chicago Blackhawks sent the No. 4 choice as part of a package to the Sabres for Bowen Byram. But Byram fits a profile Grier is seeking — an impact player, notably a defenseman — in his early-to-mid 20s. “Whether that’s 22-23 to 27-28, somewhere in there, I think it’s probably somewhere in that range,” Grier said.

“If the player fits and makes us better and is in the right age group, then I think we’d be in on him for sure,” he added. “It’s all about the fit and the age. And so, if those guys become available, for sure. It’s something we’re not afraid to do and try to get in on.

“I think we’re at the right spot in our path here to possibly add a big piece if they became available.”

The defense has been a front-burner issue for Grier this offseason. Powered by Celebrini’s wondrous 115-point season that made him a fourth-place finisher in the Hart Trophy voting, San Jose jumped from an NHL-low 52 points in 2024-25 to 86 last season despite allowing the third-most goals in the league. Currently, the Sharks have only Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson signed for their back end.

Mario Ferraro’s time with the Sharks is likely over, as he is expected to hit the free-agent market. Grier said he has talked to the agents for Vincent Desharnais (unrestricted) and Shakir Mukhamadullin (restricted) to see whether he can get deals done. But the move for Kesselring was just the start of his blue-line reworking.

They’ll need to sign the 6-foot-5 Kesselring, who is set to be an RFA on July 1 but is coming off a rough, injury-plagued lone season with the Sabres. But the 26-year-old had a breakout season with the then-named Utah Hockey Club the year before and will be looked upon to fill a big role on the right side of San Jose’s defense. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky had him for Team USA in its gold medal-winning effort at the 2025 IIHF World Championship.

“Michael is someone we’ve liked here for a few years, and our analytics guys, Charlie Townsend and A.J. Bernstein, have really liked him going back to his Bakersfield days,” Grier said. “To be able to get him and stay in the first round was big for us, and his age and upside, we still think there’s room for his game to grow and develop, and we’ll give them that opportunity here. It checked a lot of boxes, and we’re excited.”

If Grier has his way, that won’t be the only defense-focused move. He confirmed Tuesday that Darren Raddysh was a target of theirs if he made it to free agency. Subtracting Eklund’s $5.6 million cap hit for 2026-27 leaves the Sharks with more than $56 million of cap space, but the Maple Leafs beat them and other interested teams to the punch by trading for the cannon-shot Raddysh, who would sign an eight-year, $8.5 million AAV deal.

“He was someone on our list if he was going to make it to July 1, but obviously, he didn’t,” Grier said. “So, we didn’t get into it at all.”

There is the matter of getting Collin Graf, a key young two-way forward, signed and then addressing the next contracts for Celebrini and Smith, which could take a massive bite out of that vast cap space in 2027-28 and beyond. A contract extension is possible for Warsofsky, perhaps as the hockey calendar moves toward training camp.

First things first. It feels like Grier has more up his sleeve as he tries to build a contender. He has plenty of draft picks and prospects at his disposal to make something else happen. This week and next are what he called “an exciting time and a challenging time” different from what he has already experienced in his four years running the Sharks.

“It’s a time that we haven’t really been in this situation before to really try and push it forward and really make the team a lot better,” Grier said. “So yeah, I would probably agree that it’s probably the most interesting summer so far.”