Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have traded defenseman Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round pick. The 23-year-old has five assists in 12 games so far this season and will join a rebuilding Sharks team that just won its first game of the season last night. According to Russo, the draft pick appears to be a 2026 selection and the Wild will also receive minor-league right winger Adam Raska in the deal. Raska is currently playing in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda and has zero points in seven games this season.
On the surface, the move is a peculiar one for the Wild, Addison was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018 and was a central part of the trade package the Penguins sent to the Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. Last season, Addison posted three goals and 26 assists in 62 games in what was his first full season in the NHL. Those numbers, while impressive, do require some context. 18 of Addison’s 26 assists came on the powerplay, and while his offensive instincts are obvious, his defensive shortcomings leave a lot to be desired. Last season, Addison was a -17, and while that statistic can be misleading, a deep dive into his defensive analytics will tell you a very similar story. Things got so bad defensively last season that Addison went through a stretch where he was a healthy scratch in 25 out of the 35 games (including regular season and playoffs). During this stretch, the Wild traded for John Klingberg who took over powerplay responsibilities from Addison and his spot in the lineup. This led to Addison spending most of the summer without a contract extension before ultimately signing a one-year $825K deal on September 19. Now with the trade, Addison will close a very uneven run in Minnesota.
From the Sharks’ perspective, the move makes total sense, the club is rebuilding and gets to acquire a right-shot offensively-minded defenseman for almost nothing. If Addison is unable to turn his defensive game around San Jose can simply non-tender him in the offseason and walk away from Addison without any long-term ramifications. Sharks general manager Mike Grier has decided that a fifth-round pick and an AHLer is worth rolling the dice on a player who could develop into a long-term fixture on the Sharks powerplay when they emerge from their current rebuild.
In addition to the trade, the Sharks have also recalled forward Oskar Lindblom from the AHL and defenseman Jacob MacDonald has been moved to the injured reserve.
Sadly, a legit headline for this trade could be “sharks acquire defenseman to play top pair” lol.
Credit where due, this is a decent add for the price.
Agreed, a 23yo Right shot Defenseman on pace for 35 points making just above league min for a 5th is a very good deal. It would be a steal if he can progress on the defensive side of things
But Guerin has worshipped for fleecing the Penguins out of Addison, He was praised for his GM brilliance. Lol.
Unless you can cite any other post or article using the word, it would seem that you are the only one who has stated that the Addison acquisition was a fleecing of the Penguins. Oh, and the Wild also received a 1st round pick in that trade which was used to select Carson Lambos.
Which means Addison may have been the best piece the Wild received in that deal
Two Sharks W’s in two days!
I dont get it
With the Bogosian trade, got it
“Hey Mike, if you guys can win a game with that awful defence, I’ll trade you a guy who can be even more of a defensive liability.”
“Hold my beer.”