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BOSTON — Doug Wilson acquired Gustav Nyquist at a bargain basement price because the Swedish forward wanted to join the Sharks for the stretch and the playoffs. Sharks territory is hoping that his pal, Erik Karlsson, feels the same way about the organization now that he’s eligible to sign an eight-year contract extension with the team.
Wilson capped off a remarkable 12-month run on Sunday when he swung a deal with the Detroit Red Wings to acquire Nyquist for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 conditional third-round pick, further bolstering the Sharks forward depth. The trade comes in the wake of Wilson’s acquisition of Evander Kane at the deadline last season and his move to bring Karlsson aboard on the eve of training camp in September.
With the trade deadline in the rearview mirror, Wilson will now get a shot at signing Karlsson to a contract extension before he’s eligible to hit unrestricted free agency on July 1. At this point, the Sharks general manager isn’t showing his hand, insisting that the focus is on bringing Northern California its first Stanley Cup this spring.
“We don’t comment on that,” Wilson said. “Our focus is on winning hockey games.”
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Though Karlsson’s longterm interests are unclear, it’s evident that Nyquist’s short-term desire was to join the Sharks once the Detroit Red Wings asked the pending-unrestricted free agent to waive his no-trade clause. According to Wilson, San Jose was Nyquist’s preferred destination for a couple of reasons: he’s friends with Karlsson and he thought the Sharks gave him his best chance of winning a Stanley Cup.
Nyquist’s desire to play in San Jose tipped the scale in Wilson’s favor because it gave him the leverage to pull off a favorable trade. He acquired a legitimate top-six forward even though he lacked a 2019 or 2020 first-round pick to sweeten the deal. Wilson also landed Nyquist without giving up a current roster player, a junior hockey prospect or a member of the AHL Barracuda.
“He wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance to win,” Wilson said. “He chose us as much as we chose him. We take that as a great compliment.”
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Assuming the Sharks end up going where they want to go this year and reach the Stanley Cup Final at minimum, the 2020 conditional third-round pick will become a 2020 second-round pick, meaning the team could be without selections in the first two rounds of the 2019 and 2020 drafts.
But Wilson is comfortable with giving those picks away for short-term gain because the organization’s cupboard is full with a deep pool of prospects.
Sasha Chmelevski scored five goals for the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s last week. Ivan Chekhovich has recorded 93 points in 57 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Joachim Blichfeld is leading the Western Hockey League in scoring and Ryan Merkley ranks second among OHL defensemen in scoring with 64 points in 54 games. In addition, the Barracuda boasts the AHL’s third-highest points percentage (.653) despite skating one of the league’s youngest teams.
“Our scouts have done an outstanding job,” Wilson said. “We didn’t want to lose any players because we think some of the guys are really close to being able to play.
“Draft picks are usually a few more years out before they get here.”
In hindsight, the Sharks needed to add Nyquist to stay on par with their competitors in a Western Conference arms race that kicked into high gear before Monday’s trade deadline. The Vegas Golden Knights landed the top prize on the market, acquiring Selke Trophy candidate Mark Stone in a trade with the Ottawa Senators. The Nashville Predators added two big pieces up front, snagging Mikael Granlund in a deal with the Minnesota Wild and picking up power forward Wayne Simmonds in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Winnipeg Jets got in on the fun, as well, making a move to bring over bruiser Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers.
Fortunately for Wilson, the price for acquiring Nyquist ended up being within their budget. Vegas gave up a blue chip prospect, a roster player and a second-round pick. Winnipeg traded a first-round pick and a roster player and Nashville parted ways with two roster players.
“You look at the top of the food chain in the west, each team added some players, added some key pieces to their teams,” Wilson said. “It’s going to be a challenge going forward. It forces you to get better and maybe zero in on some of the details you need to be on top of to play your best hockey.”
The Calgary Flames, who the Sharks trail by three points for first place in the Pacific Division, made only a minor move, acquiring depth defenseman Oscar Fantenberg from the Los Angeles Kings.
With Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier and Joonas Donskoi all eligible for new contracts this offseason, Nyquist will likely end up being a short-term rental. But Wilson left the door open to the possibility of re-signing the 29-year-old forward depending on how the chips fall in the summer.
As he bolstered the Sharks forward depth, giving the team a chance to create legitimate mismatches on their top three lines, Wilson gave his goaltenders a vote of confidence by declining the opportunity to acquire an insurance policy for Martin Jones on the trade market.
With 19 games left in the season, Jones ranks 42nd in save percentage (.897), raising concerns among the fan base that the most-loaded roster in franchise history could be derailed by spotty goaltending in the playoffs.
But Wilson dismissed those concerns. He said Jones’ career .926 save percentage in 42 playoff appearances gives him confidence that the netminder will bring his best hockey to the rink in the spring. He also thinks that Jones’ performance is correlated to the team defense in front of him. If the Sharks tighten things up, so will Jones.
“We’ve seen it,” he said. “The foundation of our group is a blue collar group that can shut it down.”
— Wilson labeled Karlsson’s re-aggravated groin injury as “day-to-day,” saying he doesn’t see it as an “issue” going forward. He reiterated that the organization will be cautious and benefit from the luxury of time.
— The Sharks traded prospect Linus Karlsson to the Vancouver Canucks on Monday for 2016 second-round pick Jonathan Dahlen.
