Winners and Losers From The San Jose Sharks Draft and Free Agency

With every move the General Manager Mike Grier makes, some players will benefit from the moves, and players will have to fight for their jobs. Who are some of the biggest winners and losers from the offseason?

William Eklund (Winner)

Last season, William Eklund spent the most time at even strength with Luke Kunin and Filip Zadina. Zadina is no longer on the team and is still looking for a job. Kunin, who re-signed at one year for $2.75 million, is more of a bottom-six energy forward with the occasional scoring pop.

With Tomas Hertl's injury and later trade and Logan Couture missing all but six games, the Sharks didn't have a quality center for Eklund to play with. Eklund even got a taste of center himself but struggled in the role and was eventually moved back to the wing in favor of Kunin at the pivot.

Eklund's play improved at the end of the season when paired with Michael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund. Those three had a 45.4 corsi for%, scored eight goals while giving up nine, and were the Sharks' driving force at the end of the season. Having a skilled, defensively responsible center in Granlund allowed Eklund to thrive and be a creator and distributor on the line with Zetterlund as a scoring threat/Swedish meatball.

Enter the 2024-25 season and the projected players who can/have played center in the past:

Michael Granlund
Macklin Celebrini
Will Smith
Alex Wennberg
Logan Couture (pending return from injury)

William Eklund will have much more skill around him in the top six, allowing him to thrive. With the increase in top-end talent, Eklund will have much more insulation to play with other highly skilled players if injuries start to pick apart the team. Eklund should be looking to hit the 70-point plateau this year with this insulation.

Thomas Bordeleau (Loser)

With the increase in skill, there comes more competition for those highly coveted top six jobs. While Bordeleau played third-line minutes with San Jose last season, he saw most of his scoring production on the power play with the Lund line. While Bordeleau played much better in the NHL than in the AHL, it still is hard to nail down what type of player he is.

Bordeleau's path to a top-six role is almost nonexistent with the additions of Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, Will Smith, and Macklin Celebrini. Add in the trades of Ty Dellandrea and Carl Grundström, and Bordeleau playing as a third-line winger doesn't fit into Mike Grier's team-building vision. Bordeleau will need a monster training camp to make the Sharks opening night roster.

Ty Emberson (Winner)

Ty Emberson played well in his limited time after being picked off the waiver wire last season from the New York Rangers. Thanks to injuries, he only played 30 games but was very solid in those 30 games in his first NHL action.

Despite playing top pairing minutes at even strength on the 2023-24 San Jose Sharks, Emberson put up very good defensive metrics and showed why he was one of the best defensive defensemen in the AHL. With Kyle Burroughs being traded, Emberson and Matt Benning are the only remaining right-handed defensemen on the team. Grier swapped out Burroughs for Jake Walman this offseason and has yet to add any other competition on the blue line.

For Emberson, he will be a top-four defenseman who could set himself up to play huge minutes and take the vacated title of the best defensive defenseman on the Sharks.

Givani Smith (Loser)

While Mike Grier was coupon shopping in last year's free agent class, he signed Givani Smith to a two-year deal for $800k a season. Smith was supposed to fill a bottom-line role and provide an edge for the Sharks. He missed two months because of a hit from Matt Dumba and was never really able to establish himself in his projected role.

Fast forward to this offseason, where Grier went out of his way to acquire Dellandrea and Grundström, who both fill the same role and are getting paid double what Smith is getting paid. It could mean a one-way ticket to the San Jose Barracuda to protect Filip Bystedt, Danil Gushchin, and Ethan Cardwell.

Shakir Mukhamadullin (Winner)

The lack of moves to bolster the defense also allows Shakir Mukhamadullin to push for an NHL roster spot out of camp. Mukhamadullin showed why he was considered one of the big pieces in the Timo Meier trade last year with the Barracuda. He scored seven goals, added 27 assists in 55 games on the Cuda, and was named to the AHL All-Star game.

With Jake Walman as the only other puck-moving defenseman on the roster, Mukhamadullin has a clear path to becoming a full-time NHLer. If Walman takes the presumed role as the PP1 QB, Mukhamadullin could run the second unit. This would be a great spot to land in on an improved second unit.

While Grier and Ryan Warsofsky will not give out jobs, they will want to see Mukhamadullin play in the NHL sooner rather than later.

Nico Sturm (Loser)

Nico Sturm enters the season in the last year of his three-year deal. He also might have been replaced by Barclay Goodrow. Sturm has been one of the best penalty killers for the Sharks, huge in the faceoff circle, and helped provide stability in the bottom six. When the Sharks claimed Goodrow and the remaining three years of his contract, it allowed Sturm to become expendable.

Nico Sturm will get the Sharks a nice piece at either training camp or the trade deadline because he plays winning hockey, but the Sharks have set up their bottom six for the next few seasons with the additions of Goodrow, Dellandrea, and Grundström.