The San Jose Sharks had one job this offseason. Fix the blue line. Help Macklin Celebrini. That’s it. That’s the whole plan. And somehow, general manager Mike Grier looked at what was available, looked at his cap space, and decided the best way to build around a 19-year-old who just scored 115 points was to hand out two of the most questionable contracts in the league.
Let’s start with what actually happened, because it’s worse than it sounds.
Grier signed Jacob Trouba to a four-year deal worth $8.25 million per season. Trouba turns 33 next year. He has never been a fast skater, and that’s not getting better. He has almost no offensive upside at this point. He was the captain of the New York Rangers and they basically told him to find a new home. He had a decent half-season with the Ducks, but decent doesn’t usually earn you $33 million at age 32.
Then Grier traded for Darnell Nurse. Nurse had asked out of Edmonton and expanded his trade list to include San Jose. The Sharks sent young defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin to the Oilers, which is not a crushing loss. But here’s the thing. Nurse has four years left at $9.25 million per year. He’s a solid top-four guy, not a top-pair, game-breaking defenseman. He makes top-pair money. The Oilers were happy to get that contract off their books. That should tell you something.
Celebrini’s extension is coming and the cap math gets ugly
Macklin Celebrini is eligible for a contract extension right now. He’s entering the final year of his entry-level deal. The Sharks have cap space, sure, but every dollar they gave Trouba and Nurse is a dollar that can’t go to their franchise player. Celebrini could realistically ask for the max. He’s earned it. He nearly dragged this team into the playoffs by himself last season. If Trouba and Nurse’s contracts take even a cent away from what Celebrini should get, he should be furious. And not just because of the money. Because the team didn’t actually get much better.
The Sharks needed veteran defensemen. They got them. That part makes sense. But they overpaid for both, and neither one moves the needle enough to turn this into a contender. Nurse is fine. Trouba is a third-pairing guy who might be a healthy scratch in two years. That’s not what you want when your star rookie is asking why he should stay long-term.
The draft was great. The free agency was not.
Credit where it’s due. Grier crushed the draft. He traded William Eklund for the ninth overall pick and came away with three highly regarded prospects. Ivar Stanberg, Keaton Verhoff, and Ryan Lin are all considered strong gets. Fans should be excited about those guys. But here’s the problem. Verhoff and Lin are defensemen. They’re supposed to be the future of the blue line. Now their path to the NHL might be blocked by two bloated contracts that the Sharks are stuck with for four years.
Celebrini is in his prime right now. He’s 19 and already one of the best players in the league. The Sharks should be building around him, not tying up cap space on defensemen who are past their best years. The Nurse and Trouba deals don’t just look bad today. They’re going to look worse every single year. And by the time those contracts end, Celebrini might be asking himself if San Jose is really the place to spend his career.
That’s the part that should scare Sharks fans more than anything.
Leave a Comment