SAN JOSE — San Jose Sharks normal supervisor Mike Grier made his most vital and maybe his most contentious transfer of the season Friday, sending final season’s main scorer, Fabian Zetterlund, to the Ottawa Senators in a multi-piece deal that was finalized proper earlier than the NHL commerce deadline.
In return, the Sharks obtained forwards Zack Ostapchuk and Noah Gregor and a 2025 second-round draft choose. San Jose additionally despatched minor league ahead Tristen Robins and its 2025 fourth-round draft choice to the Senators.
The 25-year-old Zetterlund, a pending restricted free agent, led the Sharks final season with 24 targets and had 17 targets and 36 factors in 64 video games to date this season, making him the staff’s fourth-leading scorer. Zetterlund had performed a top-six ahead function all season with the Sharks, who will enter Saturday in thirty second and final place within the NHL’s total standings.
Grier stated the important thing to the deal was the 21-year-old Ostapchuk, who they see creating right into a third-line NHL centerman who can develop with a bunch of younger gamers that features Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and their cadre of just lately drafted prospects.
Whereas the Sharks really feel they’ve high-end scoring forwards like Quentin Musty, Igor Chernyshov and Kasper Halttunen, Ostapchuk, listed at 6-foot-4 and 212 kilos, provides a unique dimension.
“Just something we felt like we needed to do and have a fit for our roster and roster construction moving forward,” Grier stated. “To add a 21-year-old centerman who can fit in behind (Celebrini and Smith) in this league, you can see it. In the long term, that’s three pretty good centers, 21 and under.
“You’ve got to be strong down the middle, and this kid gives us something a little bit different: size, pace, hardness, physicality. You don’t find many of those types of players.”
Zetterlund is a pending restricted free agent in want of a brand new contract, as he’s within the remaining 12 months of a two-year, $2.9 million deal he signed with the Sharks on July 1, 2023.
Per a supply, the Sharks supplied Zetterlund a brand new contract earlier this 12 months, however Zetterlund’s camp wished to attend till after the season. The Sharks just lately circled again on contract extension talks, and Zetterlund’s camp countered with their very own supply a couple of days in the past.
Grier stated contract negotiations with Zetterlund’s camp didn’t affect Friday’s commerce.
“It didn’t really play into this decision at all,” Grier stated. “This was more about roster construction, where we see things fitting down the line. It’s definitely some short term pain for our group. But in the long run, you have to be strong down the middle. We feel really good about what Zack offers us down the middle and where he fits.”
Ostapchuk, a 2021 second-round choose by the Senators in his second full skilled season, doesn’t have eye-popping numbers, no less than not in comparison with Zetterlund. This 12 months, he had 11 factors in 15 video games with Belleville of the AHL and 4 factors in 43 video games with the Senators, averaging simply 9:20 in ice time.
Requested about Ostapchuk’s modest manufacturing, Grier stated, “You can’t just have all Macklin Celebrinis and Will Smiths. You’re not going to win. That’s pretty obvious to most people who’ve been in the game. You need all types of players, all types of characters, to win in this game. And that’s our job: to put a roster together.”
Ostapchuk is reporting to the Barracuda, who’re in Abbotsford, British Columbia, this weekend. Gregor, drafted by the Sharks in 2016 and a veteran of 281 NHL video games, might arrive in San Jose this weekend, however it’s unclear if he’ll play in Saturday evening’s house sport towards the New York Islanders.
The Sharks’ commerce with the Senators, which reportedly was filed with the NHL lower than 30 seconds earlier than the midday (PST) deadline, wrapped up a busy week for Grier. Simply this week, he despatched six gamers to contending groups as he continues to reshape the franchise.
The Sharks traded goalie Vitek Vanecek and heart Nico Sturm to the Florida Panthers in separate offers on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Within the Vanecek deal, the Sharks obtained AHL ahead Patrick Giles. For Sturm, the Sharks bought again a 2026 fourth-round choose whereas additionally sending a 2027 seventh-round choice to the Panthers.
Thursday evening, the Sharks traded defenseman Jake Walman to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional 2026 first-round draft choose and minor league ahead Carl Berglund. Friday, earlier than the Zetterlund commerce, the Sharks despatched ahead Luke Kunin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2025 fourth-round choose that originally belonged to the St. Louis Blues.
Walman led all Sharks defensemen with 32 factors in 50 video games this season. Grier stated he began talking with Oilers normal supervisor Stan Bowman earlier this week, and felt the return was “a price that we couldn’t turn down.”
“We had to really think about it, because (Walman’s) been good for us and good for our group,” Grier stated. “But it was the right decision to do it now and move forward with it.”
Grier stated he didn’t go into this week desiring to commerce Walman or Zetterlund, however felt the strikes, which got here collectively rapidly, made sense for the Sharks long run. Walman, 29, had another 12 months left on his contract.
Grier hopes that is the final time the Sharks have a significant selloff earlier than the deadline.
“This kind of phase is, hopefully, for the most part, over of just sell, sell, sell,” Grier stated. “Now it’s time to start building. I’m sure we’ll still have some decisions to make down the road on players, but now the hope is to really use some of these assets and start building.”
Initially Revealed: March 7, 2025 at 6:54 PM PST
