Tomas Hertl to the Vegas Golden Knights?!?
We react to all of the San Jose Sharks’ Trade Deadline moves, and talk about why we like the Hertl trade for the Golden Knights.
But before we get there, we talk about Logan Couture ruling himself out for the rest of the season, a perfect way to cap off perhaps the worst day in San Jose Sharks history. (1:12)
Sheng describes a surreal day around Sharks Ice.
We get in deep about the Hertl trade, both the on and off the ice implications and emotions. (13:43)
The Hertl trade, obviously, was the star of the show, but we also talked about all of the Sharks’ moves today and yesterday.
Why we had “no notes” for the Anthony Duclair trade? (51:45)
Keegan really liked the Kaapo Kahkonen trade: Why was it a sensible swap for Vitek Vanecek? (57:05)
Sheng’s favorite San Jose Sharks’ Trade Deadline move was Radim Simek for Klim Kostin. (1:08:15)
Why didn’t Nikita Okhotiuk pan out for the San Jose Sharks? (1:15:45)
Finally, we end with a thought about Devin Cooley. (1:20:45)
We grade the San Jose Sharks’ 2024 Trade Deadline. (1:24:25)
12 Comments
Definitely been a rough day…
Losing in the final, but this is a close second
Yup, it's totally possible for this to be a fantastic move, and also feel just freaking terrible for the fans.
Great soul-searching and dialectical discussion of the many sides to this Sharks season. The main thing missing is a discussion of how Sharks can actually change their luck! What works to change luck according to ancient philosophies and religion? Nothing, it is in the hands of the invisible hockey gods! Luck always changes and is out of our control, but we must build its uncertainties into our plans too. Karma, voodoo rituals, Santeria animal sacrifices and prayers, magic or metaphysics, witchdoctors, shaman drug rituals, exorcists, and other human agency does not change luck, which comes from outside the human sphere of control and action to impact upon it. Luck plays a unreasonable role in a game of inches and injuries.
Hertl trade to Vegas was a shocker, perhaps also the first explosion in blowing up this losing line up and scattering its players across the league. I expect that Mike Grier will trade Logan Couture this summer to complete this demolition, if Couture does not retire due to his medical problems or health. The only way that this trade turns into good is if David Edstrom turns into a star center in his own right in the next 4 years and Hertl struggles or has more injuries in Vegas uniform so his career fades into a gamble by Vegas that did not pay off. I don't have confidence that a Vegas 2025 first round pick will be higher than 25 overall, so that pick won't turn into a replacement for Hertl. Hertl is simply irreplaceable and that is why Sharks fans hearts are broken now. Hertl leaves a giant gap in the lineup and scoring, where Sharks were already weakest. A 32nd overall (Edstrom) and a 25th in 2025 from Vegas trade are probably not going to fill the skates of Hertl, but time could prove this wrong as Hertl and his trade counterparts can be compared in reality as seasons unfold the real story. Grier is trading the present for the future and these trades are hard to evaluate instantly or in a hot take because it takes time to judge appropriately. Has Hertl already peaked as a player? We don't know and this hurts fans but it could be phantom pain, or real pain at this amputation to change team identity. I think the main motive here was to force the 2023-24 team to hit bottom and get best shot at draft pick #1 to save the team in future, so it is a gut punch to all present day fans and a total shock. Given their chronic bad luck in last 7 years, I don't see any future in which Sharks suddenly get very lucky, win pick #1 in a lottery, and a great group of new stars fall into their lap by accident pumping fans to championship heaven.
I think Grier was in a visibly disadvantaged position and had trade assets no one was really interested in, so though he was eager to deal with anybody, nobody wanted to deal with him or take any of his rental players/UFAs. This negativity wore on him and made him so desperate to make many deals and irrational enough to leap at chance to move Hertl if he could not move anyone else due to their perceived low value in other GM eyes. The other GMs smelled blood and circled like Sharks, picking off assets for low prices and Grier got gouged on Hertl trade after being desensitized to his line up value by other GM disrespect. The worst team in the league does not have leverage at the deadline, it gets eaten by the big fish. Throwing together a team of new faces and mixed talent is an experiment in team chemistry every time, and this makes David Quinn's job even harder. Team chemistry builds as friendships between players grow in time, so it is never instant and a product of bonding processes that trades disturb. Knowing each other well and knowing your proper role in this particular group, so as to be able to serve the team better is exactly what Grier's current plan is missing or failing to recognize. All fans must be patient with Mike Grier because the consequences of such trades take time to evaluate, even if it looks like treason and that the captain scuttled the ship and pushed us into lifeboats. Sleep on it all, and dream of a Sharks team that is lucky after all.
The Sharks are still paying for the sins of the Doug Wilson administration. Don't put this on Mike Grier.
Don’t get Grier’s trade for Vanecek….
Remember the Jacob McDonald hype train? 🙂 We were so naive back then 🙂
Tbh the Hertl move and shipping out Kakhonen is perfect. Now we can tank in earnest, get #1 picks this year and next, and start building up!
If Penguins collapse this season and next, and Knights collapse, there is a world in which we can pick #1, 2, 3 next season (or at least three top-10 draft picks). It's a 0.1% chance. But there is this fun chance 🙂
So fing sad, but I get it. Gotta nail the draft and player development….
🙁
This trade can age like fine wine or like fine milk no in between.