While the San Jose Sharks aren't mathematically out of a playoff spot yet, the chances of making the post-season are close enough to zero that we can pretty much call it. San Jose currently sits in 27th spot overall in the league and are 12 points out of a wild card position in the West. With the trade deadline drawing near (Feb. 24th), Sharks' brass will have some tough decisions to make to prepare for next year. Two of those decisions revolve around veterans Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who both have one-year deals that expire at the end of this season, and could very well be in their last year of play in the NHL. Kevin Kurz, the Sharks Insider with The Athletic, recently wrote about four potential landings spots for both should the team decide to deal them.
First of all, we'll look at Joe Thornton. This needs to be prefaced by saying the 40-year-old's $2 million dollar deal includes a no-trade clause and management has already said Thornton will need to come to them if he wants to waive it. If that happens, Kurz says the most likely landing spots are the Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights and Boston Bruins. Kurz says all four of these teams will be looking for added help up front in order to go as deep into the playoffs as possible. Vegas would make for an interesting trade as it would reunite Thornton with former Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer and add another twist in the ongoing rivalry between the two teams. However, it's all but certain they won't be meeting in the playoffs this season as they have in the past, given San Jose's current position in the standings. Perhaps as interesting would be the Bruins as it would see Thornton reunite with the team that drafted him and traded him away in 2005. Thornton has two goals and 24 points in 55 games.
Marleau is cheaper of the two options. The 40-year-old, who's currently making the league-minimum $700k, has kept pace with Thornton offensively, recording 10 goals and 20 points in 51 games. According to Kurz, the most likely landing spots would be Colorado, Dallas, Vancouver and Washington. Dallas would reunite him with former long-time teammate Joe Pavelski. With either team, Marleau would be a depth forward likely slotting in on the third or fourth lines.
As for the return for either, neither will fetch a huge haul. The most likely scenario would be a draft pick, possibly as high as a second with the right buyer, but more realistically a third or fourth rounder. We'll find out either way in two weeks.
Source: The Athletic
