Winners And Losers From Nolan Allan & Laurent Brossoit Trade

San Jose Sharks General Manager Mike Grier made a surprising move on Thursday when he acquired goalie Laurent Brossoit and defenseman Nolan Allan from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sharks sent Jake Furlong, Ryan Ellis (mainly his contract), and a 2028 4th-round pick for Brossoit, Allan, and a 2028 7th-round pick.

With Brossoit and Allan heading to the San Jose Barracuda, it does change how the Sharks and Barracuda view their depth chart. Who is feeling better and who is feeling worse after the trade?

Winner: John McCarthy

Despite losing Yaroslav Askarov to the NHL and AHL MVP Andrew Poturalski to the KHL, this young Barracuda team has been excellent. They are currently tied for third in the Pacific Division and continue to be one of the best teams in the AHL when it comes to shots on goal per game. While Jakob Skarek and Gabe Carriere have been solid in net, Laurent Brossoit should bring the netminding to another level.

Brossoit is coming off a knee injury that cost him the entire 2024-25 season, but before that, he put up a .927 save% in 23 games with the Winnipeg Jets. While Brossoit doesn't have the Askarov heights, he is an improvement over what the Barracuda currently have. The Barracuda have legitimate playoff aspirations and the potential pieces to make a deep run, with Brossoit in net, which makes that run more realistic.

Loser: Gabe Carriere

While Carriere has played more than Skarek, Skarek was seen as the third goalie in the San Jose Sharks organization. He was the one who was recalled when Askarov was sick. If Brossoit takes the bulk of the starts and Skarek takes the back-to-back games, that means Carriere is most likely to be sent to the ECHL to get games with the Wichita Thunder.

Winner: Nolan Allan

Nolan Allan is a former first-round pick who fell down the pecking order in the Blackhawks' system. The Blackhawks didn't have a realistic path for him to play in the NHL. While the Sharks feel like they have a logjam of defenseman in front of him, there are realistic opportunities as Grier will be revamping the defense over the next few months.

While there are a lot of names in the way, only Sam Dickinson and Dmitry Orlov are under contract for next season. With rumors of Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, and others as potential trade pieces despite the Sharks currently being in a playoff spot, Allan should be one of the first pieces called up. While Luca Cagnoni is the most likely replacement in a Klingberg trade, Allan could potentially slide in for Ferraro, Nick Leddy, or Vincent Iorio if one of them gets traded.

Allan most likely will not live up to his first-round draft status, but he doesn't have to with the San Jose Sharks. Now, he joins a group with many long-term questions, and Allan has a chance to be the answer.