San Jose Sharks: Listing the likeliest trade candidates at the deadline
By Andrew Bet
Brent Burns
A high-risk, high-reward defenseman, Brent Burns has not been the same Norris caliber defender even before Karlsson arrived. At 34, Burns has plenty of upside, but his salary cap hit and limited no-trade clause make finding a trade partner difficult.
The Sharks have plenty of defensemen ready to assume the available openings. Perhaps Columbus gives a call to Wilson after Seth Jones went down and expects to be out significant time.
Columbus is fighting for a playoff spot and someone like Burns could fill the need and have the space for his contract.
Burns could fetch a couple of draft picks and a decent prospect depending if Wilson finds a trade partner. The most likely scenario is Burns will get exposed to the expansion draft for the Seattle team in a couple of years.
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Aaron Dell
Unless Wilson can get creative in trading away Martin Jones, the Sharks cannot afford to have a backup making about six million the next few seasons. Jones will likely become the starter next year, barring a buyout.
Aaron Dell has shown his durability and reliability between the pipes since becoming the backup to Jones. After the coaching change, Dell took full advantage of getting more starts to replace Jones as the number one goalie.
A team looking for insurance for the playoff run would likely covet Dell’s services. To get a fourth or fifth-round pick for Dell sounds reasonable, but a possible third-round selection would be hard to pass up if Wilson got such an offer.
Chances of Dell re-signing are strong as the goalies on the Barracuda do not appear ready to compete for the backup spot behind Jones for the next training camp.
Dell is outstanding but doesn’t possess all the tools to be an everyday starter for a team wanting to compete. Perhaps an up-and-coming or rebuilding team would allow Dell to be a starter in the NHL.