3 San Jose Sharks Offseason Trade Candidates

We’ve started to see the San Jose Sharks fully entering the rebuild as Timo Meier was already traded and there appears to be a few more on the way out who couldn’t be moved before the trade deadline. To speed up the rebuild, the Sharks must take advantage of the assets they have and trade players while their stock is high. That is what we should see from them in the offseason, so let’s take a look at three players who could be dealt this summer.

Erik Karlsson

The first and most obvious is the leading Norris Trophy candidate Erik Karlsson. There were a number of rumours that he may be traded before the deadline this year, but the money was hard to work around for a contender mid-season. The offseason on the other hand will see many players be moved around and it is easier to do so without games going on.

After the season Karlsson has had, it would be a massive wasted opportunity if the Sharks aren’t able to trade him for a sizeable return.  He is having his first healthy season in five-plus years and his stats have shown that. His contract isn’t great at age 32, but San Jose is willing to retain. It is counterproductive to keep Karlsson on the team for his remaining four years as the goal is to get assets and high draft picks. The elite defenceman’s production will only help them win games and not bring them in multiple high-end picks/prospects.

Kevin Labanc

Kevin Labanc has fallen a bit out of favour with the Sharks after he signed his extension. After his career year in 2018-19, he signed a one-year deal to help the team stay cap compliant, but then followed that up with his payday of a four-year, $4.725 million AAV contract. He is in year three of that and as he’s been playing on the third line and not producing like he once was, he’s a prime candidate to be moved before his final year.

Related: 3 Sharks Who Won’t Be Back Next Season

Labanc doesn’t have any trade protection and he’s up to 15 goals and 32 points in 67 games. It’s not bad for a third line player on a pretty bad team, but he’s also overpaid to be playing in that role. The Sharks should be looking to move him and even retain some of the cap for the final year so they can create more space for their young players and get some assets.

Alexander Barabanov

The Sharks may not be so quick to trade Alexander Barabanov because he has played so well for them as a cheap winger, but could see the value in moving him while his stock is so high. He’s not that young (28 years old) and has had two strong years for the Sharks in their top-six. He has one year left on his deal at $2.5 million and for the production he provides, could fetch San Jose a very nice return.

The Sharks aren’t trying to win next year as they are still breaking down their roster, so as Barabanov will be a UFA at the end of next season, it would be a waste not to move a very tradeable asset like that as soon as they can. He has 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games this season and 28 goals and 92 points in 147 games as a member of the Sharks.