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Sharks trade analysis: Grier (again) turns bargain into bigger return


SAN JOSE – Mackenzie Blackwood was acquired by the San Jose Sharks from the New Jersey Devils in June 2023 for a sixth-round pick in that year’s draft. It was unclear at that point how much the Sharks would get out of Blackwood, who struggled with injuries during the latter stages of his Devils tenure.

But given how well he knew Blackwood, Sharks general manager Mike Grier had faith the 6-foot-4 goaltender could stay healthy and turn his career around. Working with Evgeni Nabokov and Thomas Speer, Blackwood would later become the Sharks’ No. 1 goalie, posting solid numbers for a team in the nascent stages of a rebuild.

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Monday, Grier sent Blackwood, forward Givani Smith, and a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Colorado Avalanche for goalie Alexandar Georgiev, winger Nikolai Kovalenko, the Avalanche’s 2026 second-round selection, and a conditional fifth-round draft selection in 2025.

It was a tidy bit of work for Grier, who once again turned a minimal investment into a bigger payoff.

Grier’s made some blockbusters, such as the Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier trades that have aged well. But in June, he picked up defenseman Jake Walman and a 2024 second-rounder from Detroit for nothing, and two months later, he also acquired defenseman Cody Ceci from Edmonton for waiver claim Ty Emberson.

Forward Klim Kostin, who has been playing on the Sharks’ third line of late, was acquired in March from the Red Wings for defenseman Radim Simek, who didn’t play a game for Detroit and is now in the Czech League.

While Walman is signed through next season, Ceci, a pending UFA, figures to be traded for a future asset before the March 7 deadline. Kostin’s future is uncertain, as he is a pending restricted free agent.

Grier likely didn’t intend to keep Blackwood past the two-year contract he signed him to shortly after bringing him from the Garden State.

Blackwood turned 28 on Monday, and while still in the prime of his career, signing him to an extension didn’t make much sense for the Sharks, given that they appear to be at least a couple more years away from being legitimate playoff contenders.

The Sharks could have held onto Blackwood a little longer, perhaps getting other teams interested …read more

Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment

      

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