David Pagnotta reports that the Colorado Avalanche are among many teams interested in defenseman Mario Ferraro from the San Jose Sharks
Despite all of the trade rumours of New York Rangers’ Artemi Panarin, Nashville Predators' Ryan O’Reilly, or a reunion with Calgary Flames Nazem Kadri, a new report comes in about who the Colorado Avalanche might be looking at acquiring. It’s a familiar name they have kicked rocks with at previous trade deadlines, but this time might just be the time.
David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period states that the Avalanche are among a list of teams interested in San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, someone who they have had interest in these past seasons and with him set to be a UFA this summer, this could be there best chance at acquiring him as the Sharks look to sell high on someone they might not re-sign this summer.
At 27 years old, Ferraro can play both left and right sides of the ice, and his game is something the Avalanche could really use in their bottom pairings. It's no surprise that they have always tried gauging the Sharks to see if they are open to moving him. With a cap hit of $3.25 million, making cap space to fit him would not be too hard, as he would be the fourth most expensive cap hit in that defensive group, behind Josh Manson's $4.5 million cap hit.
Pagnotta states in the article that, despite the Sharks and Ferraro both having interest in signing an extension, the only untouchables at this deadline are Dmitry Orlov, Sam Dickinson, and Shakir Makhamadullin. Though the Sharks could cash in on a lucrative trade deal, and Ferraro could either sign an extension with a traded team or be a top free-agent candidate.
There is no rumored package that the Sharks would want for Ferraro. As of writing (01/24/25), they are 26-21-3 for 55 points, which is good for the second wild card spot. With the way their young players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and William Eklund are playing, and the support of veterans like Tyler Toffoli and John Klinberg, what do the Sharks hope to get for him in return?
They don’t need goaltending, as they have their current and future starter, Yaroslav Askarov, and they just traded for Keifer Sherwood, whom they hope to extend and who could play a crucial middle-six role if he can continue his goal-scoring production. They still have an abundance of prospects, including Michael Misa, Quentin Musty, Filip Bystedt, and others.
Draft picks are going to be a factor, and while I don’t think Ferraro is worth a first-round pick, there are some holes the Avalanche could fill in some lacking positions. Picks like a 2027 second-round pick, and throwing in the six additional picks they have between the fourth, fifth, and seventh rounds.
The Sharks currently have over $8.8 million in cap space and still have an additional retain slot open, so the Avalanche could include more in the trade to have them retain and have his cap come down to around $2.75-$3 million, if they see the need to have the Sharks retain if money can’t be moved.
Speaking of money being moved, what does the defense look like if a Ferraro trade is included? The first step is assuming that Devon Toews and Gabriel Landeskog are back, so you send down Jack Achan and an eligible forward, which makes Ferraro's roster approved. It all comes down to who is moved in the deal. Do we see either Samuel Girard or Sam Malinski moved? Or is this deal strictly prospects and draft picks? For the sake of future projections, let's say it is.
Top pairing of Cale Makar and Toews stays the same, no shocker there, but it's how Bednar now tries to get Ferraro into the lineup and who he can play along the best. With the Sharks, he played on the left side and was paired with Timothy Liljegren, which helped him play in a defensive role while Liljegren could play more offensively.
So we can take that same tactic and use him with Malinski, who is having a great offensive season, and pair him with Ferraro, who can help improve Malinski's defensive reliability while being more than capable of supporting the offense, staying in motion. He averages just over 20 minutes of ice time per game and can easily see that number hover or even increase with his role with the Avalanche.
Another significant addition to Ferraro’s game is his work on the top penalty kill with the Sharks. If added, he adds another body to one of the league's best penalty kills, which sits at 84.4%. With Toews back in the lineup with Ferraro, you could look at a top unit of Jack Drury, Parker Kelly, Toews, Ferraro, and the second unit of Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen, Manson, and Makar.
It's going to be interesting to see how the Avalanche plays out this trade deadline. They have been in a little slump recently, going 4-4-2 in their last 10, but they still sit comfortably on top of the Central Division by 10 points and the NHL with nine. Though this doesn’t mean they should take their foot off the gas, bolstering their defense even more could be the best move they make this season.
