[Bonded]

Originally Posted by FanIn80

Erik Karlsson
Traded to Pittsburgh by San Jose with Dillon Hamaliuk and a 3rd-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Jan Ruuta and a 1st-round pick in 2024, August 6, 2023.

Mikael Granlund
Traded to Dallas by San Jose with Cody Ceci for a 1st-round pick and 3rd-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, February 1, 2025.

Mike Hoffman
Contract expired at the end of that season, was not extended by San Jose

Jan Rutta
Contract expired two seasons later, was not extended by San Jose

Sharks turned Karlsson into two firsts and a third... they didn't young roster pieces to help them make the playoffs. They wanted draft picks and/or pieces they could flip for more draft picks... they did that by taking on Hoffman's contract and packaging tradeable piece they got with another one of their players. They let the contracts they couldn't move (Hoffman and Ruta) expire without even trying to re-sign them.

They turned Temo Mier into a pile of picks the same way.

That's how you trade a player that everyone wants when you're rebuilding. Stockpile draft picks and fill up your roster with post-prime contracts that contenders are trying to get rid of, knowing that doing so will also ensure your team finishes at the bottom, maximizing the value of your own picks in the process.

* After missing playoffs for three years and saying they won’t rebuild