The Sharks probably still could use another defenseman.
Last year’s cellar dwellers did add Jake Walman, who along with fellow left-hander Mario Ferraro, should form the beginning of the Sharks’ top-four backend.
After that? It’s hard to say.
Right-handed Matt Benning did a credible job as San Jose’s No. 3 blueliner in 2022-23, but he’s coming off a serious hip injury. Righty Jan Rutta is a solid veteran, but he’s probably best suited for a bottom-pairing role. Lefty Marc-Edouard Vlasic was in and out of the lineup last year, and projects for off-and-on usage again this season.
Left-handers Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun, and right-hander Ty Emberson are talented youngsters, but are they ready for top-four minutes on a more competitive NHL squad? That’s an open question.
“Maybe there’s a potential add, something on the backend?” GM Mike Grier mused recently.
Multiple sources have told San Jose Hockey Now that the Sharks could be seeking a veteran right-handed defenseman.
If that’s the case, which blueliners are left on the market, via free agency or trade? And can they play at least passable top-four minutes for San Jose?
Here are eight experienced right-handers with thoughts about them from various league sources. Team 33, a third-party scouting group comprised entirely of ex-NHL scouts, also contributed.
Let’s start with the free agents, the easiest to acquire, then discuss trade targets, in order of most to least available.
Tyson Barrie
Barrie, 32, is just a year removed from a 55-point campaign split between the Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators in 2022-23. From 2014 to 2023, the 5-foot-11 UFA was seventh among NHL defensemen with 439 points. He was a real power-play weapon — his 189 PP points tied for third among all blueliners.
The Sharks could use that: Outside of Walman and the unproven Mukhamadullin, they don’t have a lot of offensive firepower from the backend.
Barrie, however, battling injuries and healthy scratches, struggled last season for the Predators, finishing with just 15 points, his lowest since his 2012-13.
Team 33 isn’t convinced that Barrie will bounce back as a top-four skater. He’s an offense-first defenseman who isn’t doing a ton for you defensively if he’s not scoring.
An NHL scout opined to San Jose Hockey Now that at this stage in his career, Barrie might be better suited for a PTO.
John Klingberg
Klingberg, like Barrie, was one of the great offensive defensemen of his time. But the 31-year-old UFA has been slowed down by injuries in recent years and managed just 14 games last season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Team 33 still believes in Klingberg’s talent, considering him a rearguard with “elite offensive ability.” That offense could make up for the 6-foot-1 blueliner’s unexceptional defense.
But it’s hard to say if Klingberg, who last played in November, has fully recovered from season-ending hip surgery.
Justin Schultz
Schultz, 34, is a two-time Stanley Cup winner, an excellent puck-mover who perhaps never took enough advantage of his 6-foot-2 frame defensively. He appears to have slowed down though and was dropped to third-pairing last year with the Seattle Kraken.
“Schultz is more of a bottom-pairing with PP utility,” an NHL scout said.
Team 33 is also not as bullish, considering the UFA a bottom-pairing defenseman at this stage of his career.
Kevin Shattenkirk
Shattenkirk has improved his defense as his offense has declined over the years. The UFA isn’t a shoo-in for 40-50 points anymore, but he’s still a steady puck-mover. He played a career-low 15:47 a night with the Boston Bruins last season.
The 6-foot-0 blueliner, per Team 33, does compete defensively — he’s better in his own end than Barrie or Klingberg, though that’s not saying much. Team 33 believes that the Sharks might be able to squeeze another passable top-four campaign out of the 35-year-old.
Cody Ceci
The Edmonton Oilers are up against the cap, and still need to re-sign RFAs Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway.
Dumping Ceci’s contract — one year left at $3.25 million AAV — could solve their troubles. Ceci doesn’t have any trade protections.
Ceci, 30, was a top-four defenseman for an Oilers side that reached the Stanley Cup Final.
He profiles as a stay-at-home penalty killer, perhaps not as physical as his 6-foot-2 frame would suggest, and Team 33 sees him more as a bottom-pairing rearguard.
San Jose could probably use more puck-moving than penalty killing in their defensive corps.
A league source did tell SJHN that Ceci is an excellent locker room presence, which could be valuable for the rebuilding Sharks.
Trevor van Riemsdyk
Now Kuznetsov is going to the KHL, so putting Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on LTIR will make Washington cap-compliant by the start of the season.
That said, the 32-year-old van Riemsdyk is more of a bottom-pairing defenseman, a stay-at-home shot-blocking presence. Team 33 also sees him as third-pairing, so he’s a little overpaid for that.
The 6-foot-3 blueliner, who doesn’t have any trade protections, might not be a great fit for the Sharks, besides his veteran competency and handedness..
Zach Whitecloud
The Vegas Golden Knights don’t need to move Whitecloud and his contract right now — $2.75 million AAV with four more years left — but the perennial would-be Cup contenders always seem to be in need of cap space. His contract also doesn’t have any trade protections.
Whitecloud, 27, has been a bottom-pairing rearguard for a deep Golden Knights’ defensive corps, and profiles as more stay-at-home.
Team 33 does think that the 6-foot-2 defender has the upside to be an all-around second-pairing, he’s hard to play against, and SJHN has heard that he’s also a quality locker room presence.
“Whitecloud can play up and down the pairings,” a scout said. “More of a shutdown guy but has great mobility and compete.”
Aaron Ekblad
Ekblad might not be a true No. 1 defenseman anymore — his production declined sharply last year — but he was still good enough to play over 22 minutes a night in the playoffs for the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers.
When the 6-foot-4 defenseman, oft-injured, plays within himself, he’s still very effective. Team 33 likes his all-around game and still rates him as top-pairing.
If the Panthers could find an upgrade for the 28-year-old and his $7.5 million AAV for one more year, they might, but that immediate upgrade doesn’t appear to be out there.
Ekblad also has a 12-Team No-Trade List, and there’s no reason to believe that he’d waive that to come to San Jose.
Which defenseman should Sharks acquire?
Ekblad (and trade rumor mill favorite Jacob Trouba) would be ideal additions for the rebuilding Sharks, looking more for short-term on and off-the-ice help for future franchise cornerstones Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, but neither are likely to be headed west.
If the Sharks believed in any of the leftover free agents, my guess is, they would’ve signed them already. None of them are exactly breaking the bank.
The UFAs all profile as offense-first blueliners, and in some cases, offense-only, which might not be what Grier is looking for.
Ideally, you want to add a more all-around defenseman, someone like an Ekblad or Trouba, who is capable both on the power play and penalty kill. But beggars can’t be choosers!
Realistically, Whitecloud would be a solid addition, if you believe that he’d grow into a reliable second-pairing defender with more responsibility. He’s young enough too that he could still be a key contributor when Celebrini and company start to enter their primes. His age also makes the length of his contract a little less scary.
Behind favorite Whitecloud, between Ceci and van Riemsdyk, Ceci is the easy choice, because of his shorter contract, locker room presence, and stronger all-around game.
Grier can also stand pat. Maybe he’s sure of Benning’s health and really believes in his young defensemen?
We’ll see — there’s plenty of time from now to training camp in September.
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