SAN JOSE – Shortly after the San Jose Sharks secured the No. 2 overall pick in June’s NHL Draft, general manager Mike Grier was asked about the possibility of trading it elsewhere.
Are you willing to move down? Is it possible to trade up?
Here are the short answers.
If Grier and the Sharks get a quality offer for the No. 2 pick, they’re quite willing to entertain the possibility. And since the New York Islanders, in a stunner, had just won the No. 1 pick less than an hour earlier, Grier hadn’t yet thought about trying to pry the top selection away.
“I don’t know what the Islanders are thinking, what they’re going to do with the pick themselves,” Grier said. “So, take some time to let this kind of marinate a little bit and go through our options, and we’ll kind of see where that goes.”
Defenseman Matthew Schaefer, expected to be the first player taken in the draft, would have been an ideal fit for the Sharks, who have stockpiled several young forwards in recent years. Still just 17, Schaefer’s elite skating, passing, and puck-moving ability would be valuable commodities in today’s NHL.
But even if Grier wanted to begin discussions with the Islanders about what it might take to get the No. 1 selection, there’s no one to talk to right now, since the team still does not have a general manager after firing Lou Lamoriello last month. Such a decision to move the top pick would seemingly have to wait until New York has a new head of hockey operations.
There might, however, be some motivation for the Islanders to trade down.
Boston College center James Hagens, considered one of the top three or four players available this year, is a Long Island native and was a huge Islanders fan while growing up in Hauppauge, about 35 miles east of UBS Arena.
The Islanders could trade down and collect another asset while still getting an exceptional player in Hagens, who would surely be a fan favorite. In case anyone forgot, loyalty matters to Islanders fans, who pilloried John Tavares after he decided seven years ago to leave New York for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Sharks have plenty of draft picks, including a second first-rounder this year, and prospects to dangle in front of the Islanders if they wanted to make such a deal. Considering the Yaroslav Askarov trade last year, we know Grier is not shy about going after what he wants.
Grier, though, also sounded content about keeping the No. 2 pick and had plenty of good things to say about center Michael Misa, who is considered by many to be the second-best player available.
Misa, who earned exceptional status to start playing in the OHL at age 15, was the captain of the Saginaw Spirit and led the OHL with 134 points, including 62 goals, this regular season as he moved from wing to center.
“Talented player,” Grier said. “Obviously, he had a record-breaking-type year, someone who’s had exceptional status. Talented player.”
Staying at No. 2 remains the most likely scenario for the Sharks since a team hasn’t traded the No. 1 overall pick before the draft since 2003.
That year, in a draft-day trade, the Florida Panthers sent the No. 1 overall selection and a 2003 third-round pick to Pittsburgh for the Penguins’ original No. 3 selection, a 2003 second-round pick, and defenseman Mikael Samuelsson.
The Panthers used the third overall pick on winger Nathan Horton and the second-round pick on winger Stefan Meyer. The Penguins took Hall of Fame-bound goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at No. 1 and chose forward Daniel Carcillo with the 2003 third-round pick they also received from the Panthers.
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The deal worked out pretty well for the Penguins, who won a Stanley Cup with Fleury six years later.
Grier recently said he received wild offers for the No. 1 pick the Sharks held last year after winning the 2024 lottery. Grier did not seriously consider any of them, instead taking a future franchise cornerstone in center Macklin Celebrini, who on Monday was named a finalist for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie.
“We definitely lucked out last year to be able to select (Celebrini) and this year it would have obviously been nice to have the (top) pick and have the choice of all the players,” Grier said. “But picking two, we’re still in a pretty good spot, so we’re happy.”
CELEBRINI SHINES: Celebrini had a goal and three assists as Canada beat Hungary 6-0 on Tuesday in a tune-up game before the start of the World Championships. Celebrini also scored in Canada’s 5-1 win over Austria on Sunday in Vienna. The World Championships begin Friday, and Canada plays its first game on Saturday against Slovenia in Stockholm.