Eight defensemen the Sharks could target in free agency or via trades originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Sharks would probably still need another defenseman.
Last year’s cellar dwellers added Jake Walmanwho, along with fellow left-hander Mario Ferraro, should form the start of the Sharks’ top four.
After that? It is hard to say.
Right-hander Matt Benning has done a reliable job as San Jose’s third blueliner in 2022-23, but is coming off a serious hip injury. Righty Jan Rutta is a solid veteran but is probably better suited to a bottom-of-the-table role. Lefty Marc-Edouard Vlasic was in and out of the lineup last year and plans to use him again this season.
Left-handers Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun and right-hander Ty Emberson are talented young men, but are they ready for top-four minutes on a more competitive NHL team? This is an open question.
“Maybe there’s a potential addition, something on the back end?” GM Mike Grier reflected recently.
Multiple sources told San Jose Hockey Now that the Sharks may be looking for a veteran right-handed defenseman.
If that’s the case, which blueliners remain on the market, via free agency or trade? And can they play at least the first four minutes acceptable to San Jose?
Here are eight experienced right-handers with opinions on them from various league sources. Team 33, a third-party scouting group made up entirely of former NHL scouts, also contributed.
Let’s start with free agents, the easiest to acquire, and then discuss trade targets, in order of most available to least available.
Barrie, 32, is just one year removed from a split 55-point campaign between the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators in 2022-23. From 2014 to 2023, the 5-foot-9 UFA ranked seventh among NHL defensemen with 439 points. He was a true power play weapon – his 189 PP points tied for third among all blueliners.
The Sharks could use this: Outside of Walman and the unproven Mukhamadullin, they don’t have much offensive firepower at the back.
Barrie, however, battling injuries and healthy scratches, struggled last season for the Predators, finishing with just 15 points, his lowest since 2012-13.
Team 33 isn’t convinced Barrie will bounce back as a top-four skater. He’s an offensive defenseman who isn’t doing much for you defensively if he’s not scoring.
An NHL scout has his opinion on San Jose Hockey. Now, at this stage in his career, Barrie may be better suited for a PTO.
Klingberg, like Barrie, was one of the great offensive defenders of his time. But the 31-year-old UFA has been hampered by injuries in recent years and played just 14 games last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Team 33 still believes in Klingberg’s talent, considering him a rearguard with “elite offensive capabilities.” That offense could make up for the 6-foot-2 blueliner’s unexceptional defense.
But it’s difficult to say whether Klingberg, who last played in November, has fully recovered from season-ending hip surgery.
Schultz, 34, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, an excellent puck mover who perhaps never made enough use of his 6-foot-1 defensive frame. He appears to have slowed down and was demoted to third pairing last year with the Seattle Kraken.
“Schultz is more of a bottom pair with PP utility,” said one NHL scout.
Team 33 isn’t as optimistic either, considering UFA a bottom-ranked defender at this stage of his career.
Shattenkirk has improved its defense as its offense has declined over the years. UFA is no longer a surefire pick for 40-50 points, but he is still a steady puck mover. He played a career-low 15:47 per night with the Boston Bruins last season.
The 6-foot-2 blueliner from Team 33 competes defensively — he’s better in his own zone than Barrie or Klingberg, although that’s not saying much. Team 33 believes the Sharks may be able to wring another acceptable top-four campaign from the 35-year-old.
The Edmonton Oilers are facing the cap and have yet to re-sign RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
Eviction Ceci’s contract — one year away from $3.25 million AAV — could solve its problems. Ceci does not have any commercial protection.
Ceci, 30, was one of the four best defenders on the Oilers team that reached the Stanley Cup Final.
He has the profile of a stay-at-home penalty killer, perhaps not as physical as his 6-foot-4 frame would suggest, and Team 33 sees him more as a deep-lying rearguard.
San Jose could probably use more puck movement than penalties on its defensive corps.
A league source told SJHN that Ceci is an excellent presence in the locker room, which could be valuable to the Sharks’ rebuild.
It seemed more urgent for the Washington Capitals to try to get out of van Riemsdyk’s contract with two years left on his $3 million AAV before Evgeny Kuznetsov opts out of his contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Caps retained $3.9 million from Kuznetsov’s 2024-25 contract.
Now Kuznetsov is headed to the KHL, so putting Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie on LTIR will make Washington draft-friendly early in the season.
That said, the 32-year-old van Riemsdyk is more of a bottom-line defender, a stay-at-home, shot-blocking presence. Team 33 also sees him as a third pair, so he gets paid a little too much for that.
The 6-foot-1 blueliner, who doesn’t have any trade protection, may not be a good fit for the Sharks in addition to his veteran prowess and prowess.
The Vegas Golden Knights don’t need to move White cloud and his contract now – $2.75 million AAV with four more years remaining – but perennial Cup contenders always seem to need cap space. Your contract also has no commercial protection.
Whitecloud, 27, has been the last back of the Golden Knights’ defensive corps and has a stay-at-home profile.
Team 33 thinks the 6-foot-10 defenseman has the advantage of being a versatile second pair, he’s tough to play against, and SJHN has heard he’s also a quality presence in the locker room.
“Whitecloud can play up and down the pairs,” said one scout. “He is more of a disconnected guy, but he has great mobility and competition.”
Ekblad may no longer be a true No. 1 defenseman — his production declined drastically last year — but he was still good enough to play more than 22 minutes a night for the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers in the playoffs.
When the oft-injured 6-foot-1 defender plays with himself, he is still very effective. Team 33 likes his all-around game and still ranks him as the top pair.
If the Panthers could find an upgrade for the 28-year-old and his $7.5 million AAV for another year, they could, but that immediate upgrade doesn’t appear to be available.
Ekblad also has a 12-team banned list and there is no reason to believe he would give that up to come to San Jose.
Which defenseman should the Sharks acquire?
Ekblad (and trade rumor favorite Jacob Trouba) would be ideal additions to the rebuilding Sharks, looking for more short-term help on and off the ice for future franchise mainstays Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, but neither are likely to be managed west.
If the Sharks believed in any of the remaining free agents, my guess is they would have signed them by now. Neither of them are exactly breaking the bank.
All UFAs are profiled as offensive blueliners, and in some cases just offensive blueliners, which may not be what Grier is looking for.
Ideally, you want to add a more versatile defender, someone like Ekblad or Trouba, who is capable on both the power play and the penalty kill. But beggars can’t be choosers!
Realistically, Whitecloud would be a solid addition if you believe he would become a reliable defender with more responsibility. He’s also young enough that he could still be a key contributor when Celebrini and company start to hit their stride. His age also makes the length of the contract a little less daunting.
Behind favorite Whitecloud, between Ceci and van Riemsdyk, Ceci is the easy choice given his shorter contract, locker room presence and stronger overall game.
Grier can also stand. Maybe he’s confident in Benning’s health and truly believes in his young defenders?
We’ll see – there’s plenty of time from now to training camp in September.
