Mike Grier spoke to media members after the State of the Sharks season ticket member meeting to discuss all things Sharks.
Mike Grier spoke to media members after the State of the Sharks season ticket member meeting to discuss all things Sharks.
Mike Grier spoke to media members after the State of the Sharks season ticket member meeting to discuss all things Sharks.
Many questions were asked regarding his plans for the 2024 NHL trade deadline.
"It's always an ongoing evaluation," Grier said of the six pending UFAs. "I think we've got a pretty good idea of what we want to do and how we want to attack the next six weeks."
Kaapo Kahkonen has been a topic of trade rumors lately, and Grier addressed his season and the chances of keeping him in San Jose.
"He's had a really strong season, and like I kind of said out there, I gotta give the kid a ton of credit," Grier said. "We'll see what's out there, and if something makes sense, we'll do it. I don't want to really get into too much about who's staying and who's going or what's out there for those guys."
Grier emphasized that he didn't want to get into many details about his plans for the deadline.
"To be honest, I haven't really got into any type of returns for any of the players yet," Grier explained. "It's just been kicking tires for the most part."
The Sharks will have abundant cap space this summer, and Grier may look to weaponize that. As for using the team's last salary retention spot, the Sharks GM admitted that he might have to use it at this trade deadline.
"We only have one retention spot, so it limits us a little bit," Grier explained. "There's a chance we might have to use it in one of our own deals."
Grier talked about the status of the team's hopeful timeline for getting back into the playoffs. The players he has acquired, like Granlund, Rutta, and more, will all have expiring contracts within 2-3 years.
"If it all works out, we'll have some money this year. In a couple of years, we'll have even more money, and hopefully, we'll have some good young players," Grier said. "We're obviously in the first phase where we've moved on from all-star caliber players for draft picks and younger players. That'll continue this summer where there'll be some other guys that have that will come off the books and make room for some younger players to step up. In free agency, through trades with players that we think are probably better fits for what we're trying to do here."
Grier spoke to the media for over 20 minutes. More articles will follow this one.
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