SAN JOSE, Calif. — Instead of being labeled as a buyer or seller in advance of the NHL’s trade deadline, Sharks assistant general manager Joe Will several days ago simply referred to himself as a listener.
That might have been the bulk of what Will did Sunday prior to the Sharks’ 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes and up until this newspaper went to print, San Jose’s front office remained quiet one day before Monday’s deadline at noon (PT).
Among the players the Sharks might have available are forwards Alexander Barabanov and Andrew Cogliano, defenseman Jacob Middleton and goalie James Reimer. All four were in the Sharks’ lineup Sunday, however, perhaps an indication that nothing was on the front-burner for any of them in terms of a pending trade.
Cogliano and Barabanov are on expiring contracts and will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the season.
Reimer still has one year left on his two-year contract that carries a $2.25 million cap hit, and Middleton, if he plays a certain number of games before the end of the season, will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He is making $725,000 this season, the smallest salary for any Sharks player.
“We listen every year and who knows what will happen by Monday,” Will said Wednesday after the Sharks signed Tomas Hertl to an eight-year, $65.1 million contract extension.
“You’re a listener because if it’s a great deal for the franchise, now or in the future, you have to weigh it and that’s what we’re looking at.”
The Sharks are not necessarily eager to part with either Reimer or Middleton. According to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic, the cost to acquire Middleton is a second-round draft pick and a prospect, and the Sharks would be perfectly content to keep Middleton if the price tag is not met.
NHL teams have also inquired about Reimer, LeBrun tweeted Sunday. While the Sharks have other left-shot defensemen on the roster to potentially take Middleton’s spot, replacing Reimer would be more of a challenge.
Reimer entered Sunday with a 15-13-6 record and a respectable .916 save percentage – 16th best among the NHL’s 38 goalies who have played at least 25 games.
Sharks back-up goalie Adin Hill is presently unavailable with a lower-body injury, with no timetable for a return, and the Sharks would likely have to search for a replacement for Reimer in the offseason if one is not returned in any trade.
Some teams have filled their need for a left-shot defenseman in recent days, perhaps cooling the market for Middleton.
On defense, Mark Giordano went from Seattle to Toronto, Florida acquired Ben Chiarot and Robert Hagg from Montreal and Buffalo, respectively, and Hampus Lindholm was traded by Anaheim to Boston. Josh Manson, a right-shot defenseman, was traded by Anaheim to Colorado.
Middleton, 26, will be due a raise after he’s played in the top-four forward group all season for the Sharks. But he can also be an important piece for San Jose, which needs several cost-effective players after it signed Hertl to a massive contract.
The Sharks and Barabanov had not had any talks of a contract extension as of the start of last week, but that could change if the winger remains in San Jose past Monday.
Barabanov came into Sunday fifth on the Sharks with 31 points in 53 games and will be due a raise from the $1 million he’s making this season on a one-year deal he signed with San Jose last May.
Cogliano is also on a one-year, $1 million deal he signed with the Sharks as a free agent in July. If he’s not traded, this season – assuming the Sharks’ place in the standings holds – will mark just the second time in 10 years he hasn’t been on a playoff team.
After Sunday’s game, the Sharks are 27-27-8 and 10 points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with 20 games to play.
Nick Bonino, Timo Meier, and Noah Gregor all scored and Reimer made 23 saves as the Sharks snapped a three-game losing streak. Meier and Gregor’s goals came at the 15:31 and 16:15 marks of the third period as the Sharks erased a 2-1 lead.
Rudolfs Balcers then scored an empty-net goal with 50 seconds left in regulation.
San Jose now travels to face Calgary on Tuesday and Edmonton on Thursday.
“I think it’d be good to get past (Monday) and see what our group is going to look like on the way in,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said before Sunday’s game.
“We’re going to fight to the end. In our position, you look up the standings, it looks overwhelming at this point and we can’t worry about that. We’ve just got to keep working and trying to get better every day, improve and try and get some wins in the bank.”
