Support this community by becoming a Sponsor
  
Sharks Fire Sale Keeps Going
Hertl trade is a shocker but the future actually looks bright
3/10/24 - By Paul Krill

When the Sharks signed Tomas Hertl to a massive contract a couple seasons ago, knowing this probably would mean they couldn't keep Timo Meier, I thought they'd chosen the wrong player. Well, now neither player is still with the team.

As if trading Hertl a few days ago wasn't bad enough, he got sent to the Sharks' bitter archrivals in Vegas. This adds Hertl to the list of top-level players dispatched from the team in recent years. Besides Hertl and Meier, the list also includes Joe Pavelski, who wasn't re-signed, and Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson, who were traded. (Did I leave anybody out?). It's no wonder the team is now in last place, when all these great players are sent elsewhere.

Funny how I've actually spoken a few seconds to all five of these players at times. All nice guys. Now, they're all playing elsewhere. So what happens next for Sharks fans and what has to be done to get the now-mostly-empty Shark Tank filled with fans again? Well, the Sharks have a bunch of young players either on the team, on the Barracuda, in college, juniors, or playing overseas.

The list of potential Sharks superstars features a bunch of youngsters, ranging from Will Smith, who has tallied 57, count'em, 57 points at Boston College this season in 34 games; Quentin Musty, with 84 - gasp! - points in 46 junior games this season; Thomas Bordeleau, who just came back from the minors and scored two goals in Saturday's Sharks victory over the Senators; Shakir Mukhamadullin who has 27 points as a defenseman with the Barracuda this season and one point in three games for the Sharks, and, just acquired in the Hertl trade, David Edstrom, with eight points in 16 games played in Sweden international juniors this season.

There's other young players awaiting their Sharks arrival too, including Danil Guschin, an AHL All Star with 37 points in 42 games so far this year. Another topnotch player may be available to the Sharks early in the 2024 entry draft, too.

For Sharks fans, there will be no playoffs this year, the fifth consecutive season without making th post season. Things, though, hopefully can only look better in a few seasons when these young players and more arrive to play with the Sharks. Maybe, at long last, the Sharks can even win the Stanley Cup, something some of us have been waiting for more than 30 years to happen.


Contact Paul at at paulkrill@letsgosharks.com


SHARE THIS STORY:



What did you think of this article? Post your comments on the Feeder Forums

Privacy Statement   |   Contact Us   |   Advertise
Copyright 1997-2022 LetsGoSharks.com. All rights reserved.
This website is an unofficial and independently operated source of news
and information not affiliated with the San Jose Sharks, any team, or league.