A Deep Dive Into the Sharks and the Notable Trades Made by Mike Grier

"Pavelski doesn't age" And to this day as a Sharks fan, I miss Pav's.

In two years, Mike Grier has moved multiple contracts that people called immovable, improved our prospect pool from #14 on The Athletic to #4, given the team the best looking jerseys since their inaugural ones, and has finally come out and called it what it is: a rebuild. The Hertl deal only truly hurt because he went to their most recent rival - but it was a much needed move and they technically got two firsts from it. They have three first round drafts in their current lineup (eklund, kunin, zadina), two of which fit the timeline of the rebuild, and a few more 1st round picks marinating in the AHL that look poised for promotion. They should draft top 3 this year, and with any luck it'll be Celebrini which would be huge, and they'll have 3 1st round picks in a deeper draft next year. If you really think GMMG is doing a shit job, you're not really paying attention. Great video Shannon, I hope this wins some of the lesser-informed fans over on Grier.

They said to Grier at his hiring "Take the team to the top, here's a shovel"

As a sharks Fan, i think he is doing a great job drafting and cleaning up Doug Wilsons mess.

I love these types of videos, just analyzing past trades and gm histories

Just going to sit back, cross my fingers, and hope the Sharks will be respectable in 3-5 years...

I would say that he went into the worst situation possible. There was no GM in the last 10 years who came into a worse team when it comes to contracts and assets.

Mike Grier has been quietly doing gods work in San Jose. He inherited a Sharks team drowning in aging, overpaid, and underperforming stars on 8 year contracts (just like the current Penguins) No GM was in a tougher position than Grier when he first started. He took as season to assess the team, the talent, and created a plan. The Meier trade got the ball rolling. He has taken the emotion out, and is doing what needs to be done. A complete rebuild while selling off what needs to go. He hasn’t made exciting trades but it’s been good business while also doing right by the players by sending them to contenders. Players take notice of that. Burns, Meier, Karlsson, and now Hertl. The old guard is gone. Couture may never play again, and Vlasic has been checked out for years so we’re riding those out. In less than two years Grier has massively overhauled our prospect pool, traded Karlsson who we all thought would be impossible to move without serious retention. He’s had to pay some prices for getting rid of those contracts. Hertl would have fetched more two years ago on an expiring contract but he’s 30, had multiple knee surgeries, and the latter part of that contract won’t age well. He had to give up a little more draft capital and retain to do good on Hertl and the Sharks. Good move. Vegas is going too hard and I think they’re gonna be paying for it sooner than people think, and might not make the playoffs this year. That 1st next year could be higher than you think. Smart move. Meier trade - Good move. Muk looks good, Musty is destroying the OHL, and Zetterlund has been so good. Karlsson trade - good move. Granlund has been our MVP, and has been more valuable than Hertl this season..both as a pro example for the young players and on the Ice with the way he plays the game. Ruuta is a vet, and D has been bad this year but he’s a good mentor and still decent. Hoffman is trash but you gotta make that move. Don’t forget about that 1st that is currently top 10 protected with how bad the Pens are…they could choose to surrender the top 10 but that means the 2025 1st is unprotected and the Penguins could potentially be even worse next season. Don’t think Grier didn’t know what he was doing. The Klim Kostin trade was a sneaky good depth addition. I loved the Blackwood trade, and Kahk for Vanecek is also a quietly good trade as he has more proven upside. Zadina is having a strong second half of the season. Zetterlund has looked great. We just need some proper defense this draft, and a future goaltender in there somewhere. As hard as it has been watching a bad team us Sharks fans know it’s going to be darkest before the dawn. There is a LOT to be excited about and the future looks very bright for San Jose. Thank You Shannon for this video. People love crapping on Grier, but I don’t think they understand the depth of the workings of what he is doing. People love quick fixes, this man isn’t doing a remodel he’s stripping it down to its foundation and demolition is hard, ugly, painful work. In 5-10 years people will be talking about Mike Grier very differently.

Moving that 11.5 million Karlsson contract was a huge win and some of those albatross deals off the books.

Thank you for the most levelheaded analysis of the Sharks situation and Mike Grier's moves so far. Content you are not going to find on the NHL Network. This is why your channel is the best.

As a sharks fan since their inaugural season I will never say I'm not watching this team, but I'd be delusional to say to myself we're anywhere close. Just got to hope the prospects pan out and that we are smart with how we spend our cap space. Thanks for the well thought out break down on my team!

The problem with Grier is that he stepped into a tough situation. San Jose needs a complete rebuild, similar to Detroit.

It's worth mentioning Quentin Musty as a major piece of the Timo trade with how he's performed as a younger guy in his D+1 year, leading the OHL in points per game with 1.78 (35g, 49a, 84p in 47gp). That trade has aged into a major win for SJ and Grier.

Awesome work as always! Thanks for showing love to the Sharks, it’s these types of videos that keep us entertained through the rebuild. Take care!

Grier has done well, dude had an impossible job and has done a good job getting us out of the majority of bad contracts and improving our prospect pool. He also has acquired a lot of 1st and 2nd round draft picks.

I am huge Miami Dolphins fan, Mike's brother Chris is the GM, and if Mike is just as a good a GM as his brother the Sharks will be fine. The on thing I think the Griers do well is getting good contracts for players that give the team excellent exit options at the right time.

I feel for Mike Grier in terms of the mess that he has to clean up, but I'm actually also sympathetic to Doug Wilson, the decaying contracts that he handed out, and what happened to his Sharks. It's a dumpster fire that was directly caused by nearly-psychotic levels of ambition. So many damned years where San Jose would be one of the best teams in the league, only to fall just short of the hardware for over a decade, must've ate into his rational state of mind. I think it would've for just about anyone, including myself.

The Pavelski situation is point on. I remember there was a lot talk from sharks fans not resigning him and he is to old. What a disaster this decision was. He brought us to the finals as the captain. He is a real leader

This was a really good breakdown of why the wild criticism of Grier has been ridiculous. He came into a horrible situation and is doing his best to rectify it while rebuilding and doing right by the vets that didn’t sign up for this situation. That said, there are three key things I think it would have been good to consider that you didn’t mention: 1. Of all the brutal contracts that Wilson handed out in the three years before he left, low-key the worst was Evander Kane. Why? Because by re-signing Kane, the Sharks fulfilled the trade requirements to send their 2019 1st to Buffalo. That punted the 2020 1st, which ended up 3rd overall, to Ottawa in the Karlsson deal. If the Sharks hadn’t re-signed Kane, then the 2019 1st would have gone to Ottawa and then the Sharks have their 2020 1st and end up with Stutzle. 2. It’s looking like Logan Couture might sadly end up on the LITR. It’s not looking good for him coming back from his injury that’s kept him out all year, and he’s 34 years old. As a fan, I feel horrible for Logan and want him to get healthy again. But if he can’t, that’s a huge amount of cap space freed up. 3. For those criticizing the value that Grier has gotten back in his trades so far, I feel like there are two factors people are neglecting to mention. First, I think there’s a bit of a “new guy” tax for new GMs that are not part of the old boys club (Yzerman, for example). Secondly, Grier has really moved heaven and earth to get guys like Burns, Meier, Karlsson, and Hertl to destinations that they actually want to be in. The restrictive NTCs/NMCs that all those guys had meant that he couldn’t just open it up to 31 teams and say “best offer wins”. I think he’s putting in some effort to get a rep as a player’s GM, in that he’s all for giving guys fresh chances who want them and treating big names with respect. All in all, as a Sharks fan, I like Mike Grier and think the franchise is in good hands so far.

You actually missed how Grier flipped Lorentz to Florida for Duclair after acquiring the former player in the Brent Burns trade. After flipping Duclair this TDL, the man basically flipped Burns and a 2026 7th for a 2023 3rd, 2024 3rd and Makiniemi.