What is the Sharks’ trade deadline plan after Wennberg extension?
The San Jose Sharks got a key piece of business done over the weekend when they signed veteran center Alex Wennberg to a three-year contract extension that will pay him an average of $6 million per year over the course of the deal.
The newly-minted Swedish Olympian has been a key offensive producer for an upstart Sharks team this season, as he’s racked up 26 points in 41 games played.
With the rebuilding Sharks firmly in the thick of the wild card race in a tightly-packed Western Conference playoff picture, could the time be now for general manager Mike Grier to start to cash in some of his chips to get the team ready for a playoff run?
On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and NHL insider David Pagnotta discussed where the Sharks could focus their attention next now that Wennberg’s contract situation is resolved.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about another piece of news from the weekend… the Alexander Wennberg contract extension which, hell of a week for him. He gets the six-million dollar AAV on a three-year deal. He makes the Olympic team as well. In San Jose, that’s one pending UFA off the board for them… They still have eight other pending unrestricted free agents on their roster. What’s the approach here in the next six to eight weeks for GM Mike Grier?
David Pagnotta: I think it’s going to be two-fold. I think it’s him entering both the buyers’ and the sellers’ market because of how thin the sellers’ market is. They have five pending UFA’s on the blue line. I’m not expecting them to move all of them, but one or two, maximize a return there, I think it’s a definite possibility. Going into this season, Mario Ferraro’s name has been tied to the trade market for the last two years… He’s only 27, maybe he’s a part of the solution here moving forward… At the same, time, they’ve got Timothy Liljegren who’s also mobile. They’ve got Nick Leddy and Vinnie Desharnais, John Klingberg as well… The other thing is from a buyers’ side, they want to bring in defensemen that fit their core and that they can build around on that blue line moving forward, and at the same time they’re also looking for some veteran presence up front.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…