The 2026 NHL trade deadline is rapidly approaching, so talk in the rumor mill is naturally picking up. The Athletic's Chris Johnston released his latest trade board [https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7068279/2026/02/25/nhl-trade-board-binnington-oreilly-trocheck/] for The Athletic because of it, and it featured one San Jose Sharks player: Mario Ferraro. Seeing Ferraro make an appearance on this trade board is not necessarily surprising. The left-shot defenseman has been the subject of trade rumors for a decent amount of this season due to his pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) status. If the Sharks still have not signed him to a contract extension closer to the deadline, there is a chance that he could be on the move. With Ferraro being a top-four defenseman, it is likely that he would generate plenty of interest from contenders if the Sharks make him officially available. This is especially so when noting that he has a reasonable $3.25 million cap hit for all that he does on the ice. Yet, if the Sharks are still in the playoff race leading up to the deadline, the possibility of them keeping him even without a contract extension should not be ruled out. He has been an important part of their blueline for multiple years now, and it will be interesting to see what they decide to do with him from here.
