Blue Jackets To Acquire Luke Kunin From Sharks
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Luke Kunin from the San Jose Sharks. A return hasn’t yet been shared. The Sharks held Kunin out of their Thrusday night game in anticipation of a move. In return, San Jose has received a 2025 fourth-round pick, per an official team report from Columbus.
Kunin will head to the Blue Jackets after two tough seasons as San Jose’s third-line center. He scored 11 goals and 18 points in both seasons with the Sharks – achieving the feat in 77 games last year and 63 games this year. That scoring has been coupled with frequent penalties and a low plus-minus. Kunin recorded 83 PIMs and a minus-30 last year and has 46 PIMs and a minus-24 this year. He also leads the Sharks in hits this year with 163.
Kunin was originally drafted 15th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. His selection came after a standout freshman season at the University of Wisconsin, marked by 19 goals and 32 points in 34 games. He took a step forward with 22 goals and 38 points in 35 games as a sophomore, and opted to turn pro at the end of the year. Kunin joined the AHL’s Iowa Wild for the end of the 2016-17 season and quickly flashed scoring upside. He scored five goals and eight points in his first 12 AHL games, then followed it with 10 goals and 19 points in 36 games of his formal rookie season. That was enough to earn Kunin an NHL call-up partway through the 2017-18 season. He took some time to find his scoring touch, with 21 points across the first 68 games of his career – split between 2017-18 and 2018-19. The slow start pushed Kunin back to the minors for part of the latter season, but he quickly proved the decision moot with 12 goals and 20 points in 28 games. Minnesota brought Kunin back to the NHL roster for the full 2019-20 season, and 15 goals and 31 points in 63 games was enough to solidify his spot.
Kunin has been in the NHL since 2019, though Minnesota moved him to the Nashville
Predators after his breakout season. They recouped Nick Bonino and the selection used on Marat Khusnutdinov, while Kunin struggled to carry his newfound scoring touch across the Central Division. He scored just 10 goals and 19 points in his first 38 games with Nashville. Lower-body injuries cut his first year in Tennessee short. His struggle to score continued into his return in 2021-22 – but Kunin did find a different layer to his game that year. He scored just 13 goals and 22 points, but managed a career-high 99 penalty minutes as he embraced the role of a bruiser.
That hard-hitting role made Kunin an enticing pickup for the Sharks in the summer of 2022. Nashville acquired John Leonard and a draft pick for Kunin, who went on to fully embrace his hard-nosed style on an underperforming Sharks lineup. He recorded 42 penalty minutes in 31 games of his first season in San Jose, which was again cut short by injury. But the physical style proved much more repeatable, and Kunin returned with 83 PIMs in 77 games last season. His goal-scoring touch has faded the further he gets from his prime minor-league days – but Kunin still brings the heft of a six-foot, 200-pound depth centerman. He’ll be a strong depth option as the Blue Jackets gear up for what’s sure to be a hard-fought playoff run, in the mix with major Stanley Cup candidates in the Eastern Conference.
Kunin carries a $2.75MM cap hit through the end of the season. He will enter unrestricted free agency this summer without a new deal.
Maple Leafs Showing Interest In Several Bottom-Six Forwards
With their cap space relatively limited (though likely to grow once Ryan Reaves is off the roster either via waivers or AHL assignment), the Maple Leafs appear to be looking at some lower-cost options up front. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that among the bottom-six players Toronto is looking at are Kraken winger Brandon Tanev and Sharks forward Luke Kunin. Meanwhile, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that they’re also in the mix for Flyers center Scott Laughton.
Tanev is in the final season of a six-year, $21MM contract carrying a $3.5MM AAV. The 33-year-old had a breakout offensive year in 2022-23, a campaign that saw him set new personal bests in goals (16), assists (19), and points (35). However, he hasn’t been able to reach that point total in the last two seasons combined as he has reverted to his more typical level of production.
This season, Tanev has nine goals and eight assists through 61 games. Of course, physicality is his main calling card and he’s once again averaging over two hits per contest. He’s also Seattle’s most-used forward on the penalty kill which will make him more appealing to Toronto and other playoff contenders. He has a 10-team no-trade list which could come into play depending on where he’s moved, assuming the Kraken find a swap to their liking.
Kunin, meanwhile, is the most versatile player out of this group as he can be deployed at all three forward positions. The 27-year-old has only reached the 30-point mark once in his career, that being back in 2019-20 when he had 31 points in 63 games. He has equaled his line from last year, tallying 11 goals and seven assists in 63 contests while chipping in with 163 hits. Like Tanev, Kunin is also heavily used on the penalty kill.
He’s in the last year of his contract, one that carries a $2.75MM AAV. Notably, San Jose does not have any remaining retention slots while Toronto doesn’t quite have enough money to bring him in, even if Reaves is off the roster. So if the Maple Leafs are to land Kunin, they’ll either have to open up some more cap space or a third team will need to get involved to retain a chunk of the contract.
As for Laughton, he’s more of a higher-end bottom-six piece. Through 59 games this season, he has 11 goals and 16 assists, his second straight season of a decline in per-game production. Of course, the 30-year-old is known for his sound defensive game and brings the size, physicality, and penalty killing acumen that many teams are known to be coveting.
Notably, Laughton has another year left on his contract on a deal that carries a $3MM AAV. Between that and the dearth of centers available, Philadelphia is believed to have set a high asking price for Laughton’s services, a package that includes a first-round pick. If Toronto GM Brad Treliving wants to make a longer-term splash over going for a rental, he’ll have to pay a pretty hefty price to do so.
Oilers Acquire Jake Walman From Sharks
3/7: The Edmonton Oilers have confirmed the acquisition of Walman, documenting the return as a conditional 2026 or 2027 first-round pick and minor-leaguer Carl Berglund. Berglund has 12 points in 45 AHL games this season.
3/6: According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the San Jose Sharks and Edmonton Oilers are working on a trade that would send defenseman Jake Walman north to Alberta. Pagnotta later shared that the trade is nearly complete, and there are rumblings that a first-round pick is headed to San Jose. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug added that Edmonton is expected to send a prospect back to the Sharks as a part of the deal, and the pick will have conditions on it.
The deal may take some time to finalize. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reported that the Oilers have some roster constraints, meaning the trade may not be completed until later tonight or early tomorrow morning.
In another master class move with one of his assets, general manager Mike Grier continues to collect future assets for the Sharks. Remaining one of the more baffling moves of the summer, San Jose acquired Walman and a 2024 second-round pick from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations last off-season. He’s now added two picks in the top 64 at no cost.
Walman has thrived in his new environment, too. He leads all San Jose defensemen in scoring with six goals and 32 points in 50 games, averaging 23:11 of ice time per night. He hasn’t been a drain on their possession metrics either, as Walman has maintained a 49.4% CorsiFor% at even strength, which is good for fourth on the team.
To put this season into perspective, Walman is only seven points away from matching his total point production with the Red Wings. Granted, he’s averaged nearly four minutes more a night, but it’s still a noteworthy development for the Toronto native.
He should fit seamlessly into the Oilers’ lineup. Although Edmonton could have used a right-handed defenseman, Walman isn’t a stranger to playing his off-side. He’ll join Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse in the Oilers’ top four, giving them flexibility to build their bottom pairing with Brett Kulak, John Klingberg, Ty Emberson, and Troy Stecher.
Unfortunately, Walman doesn’t have much postseason experience. Despite the 2024-25 campaign being his seventh year in the NHL, Walman has one postseason contest to his name, coming back in the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs with the St. Louis Blues. Walman can rely on his teammates for that, given that much of the roster made it to Game Seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final less than a year ago.
The last major benefit to Edmonton is that Walman is signed to an affordable $3.4MM salary through next season. The team still has to figure out a new contract for Bouchard, but Walman gives them more clarity on their blue line, at the very least.
San Jose Sharks To Activate Nikolai Kovalenko
- The San Jose Sharks are expected to make a minor roster move, although it won’t involve their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. According to Curtis Pashelka of the East Bay Times, the Sharks are expected to activate Nikolai Kovalenko from the injured reserve ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Colorado Avalanche. It’ll be the second time Kovalenko has played his former team since being traded in early December. He’s been limited to 17 games in San Jose due to a pair of injuries but has scored one goal and eight points when healthy.
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Sharks Holding Luke Kunin Out For Trade Purposes
The San Jose Sharks are planning to hold forward Luke Kunin out of the lineup on Thursday night for trade-related purposes. The decision was first reported by Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group and later seconded by Chris Johnston of The Athletic. San Jose traded fourth-line centerman Nico Sturm to the Florida Panthers earlier on Thursday – and would part with both of their bottom-six centerman should Kunin also be on the move.
Kunin has been a part of two trades in his eight-year career, though neither came in the middle of the season. The Minnesota Wild drafted Kunin with the 15th-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft and promoted him to the NHL two years later. He started off slow, with just 21 points across his first 68 games and two NHL seasons. He was reassigned to the minors for part of the 2018-19 campaign and found much hardier scoring – 20 points in 28 AHL games – which sparked a breakout performance in the 2019-20 season. Kunin posted a career-high 15 goals and 31 points in 63 games that year. Minnesota followed that statement year by selling high on Kunin before the start of the following season, dealing him to the Nashville Predators for Nick Bonino and the draft pick that would turn into Marat Khusnutdinov.
Kunin initially held onto his scoring through the early-career move, with 10 goals and 19 points in his first 38 games in Nashville. But a lower-body injury cut his first year with the Predators short, and he only managed 22 points in 82 games after returning in 2021-22. That downward trend prompted another move, with Nashville sending Kunin to San Jose for John Leonard and a draft pick in July of 2022. Kunin has filled a depth role in San Jose in the three seasons since. He’s twice scored 11 goals and 18 points in a single Sharks season – managing the feat in 77 games last year and 63 games of this season.
But those numbers are still far from the 30-point ceiling Kunin managed at his best. He’s a physically imposing centerman, but needs the backing of a hardy line to be at his best. He’ll be a cheap option on the open market, though any potential buyer will have to hope yet another trade can kick Kunin’s goal-scoring back into gear.
Panthers Acquire Nico Sturm From Sharks
The Panthers have acquired center Nico Sturm and a 2027 seventh-round pick from the Sharks, per announcements from both clubs. Florida had a pair of open roster spots after reassigning goaltender Chris Driedger this morning. The Sharks receive Florida’s 2026 fourth-round pick in return.
Sturm, 29, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Wild out of Clarkson University in 2019 and has since emerged as a reliable bottom-six forward. He played at the tail end of that season but spent most of 2019-20 with AHL Iowa before emerging as a full-time piece in Minnesota’s lineup during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. He ended up posting 20-16–36 in 111 games for the Wild, averaging 11:16 per game, before they traded him to the Avalanche ahead of the 2022 deadline for former top-10 pick Tyson Jost.
He wasn’t a fixture in Colorado’s playoff lineup that year after he was limited to three assists in 21 games down the stretch. He did, however, add a pair of assists in 13 playoff contests as he got a Stanley Cup ring. An unrestricted free agent that summer, the Avs opted not to re-sign him and he instead inked a three-year, $6MM contract with the Sharks.
The beginning of his tenure with the Sharks was great. He stepped into a top-nine role on an understaffed San Jose forward group, averaging 14:44 per game and posting a career-high 14-12–26 scoring line in 74 games. His -13 rating was respectable considering the Sharks had players in the -30 territory that year, and he was their top faceoff man with a 55.8% win rate.
Sturm hasn’t been quite as effective since then, but he remains a serviceable fourth-line piece who’s been absolutely elite in the dot. Here in 2024-25, his 62.7 FOW% leads players with at least 100 draws taken. Offensively, he’s posted 7-6–13 in 47 games for the Sharks between injuries while averaging a reduced 10:08 per game. He’s factored in less at both even strength and the penalty kill than earlier in his San Jose tenure, but he’s still reliable shorthanded and has posted a decent 46.1% shot-attempt share at even strength on a Sharks team that controls only 46.2% overall.
A pending UFA, San Jose will recoup a mid-round pick for his services while Florida gets an upgrade over what Tomáš Nosek has brought as their 4C this year. Nosek has just one goal in 50 games, and while fine in the dot at 51.4%, Sturm is a better option with better relative possession impacts. It won’t be surprising to see Nosek, who signed a league-minimum deal with Florida last offseason, shift to the wing down the stretch or head to the press box entirely with Sturm taking over his previous duties.
Sharks Acquire Vincent Desharnais
The Sharks have added some depth on the back end, acquiring defenseman Vincent Desharnais from Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2028 fifth-round pick. Both teams have announced the trade.
The 28-year-old’s stay with the Penguins was short-lived as he only spent 10 games with them after being acquired from Vancouver last month as part of the Marcus Pettersson trade. It has been a tough season for Desharnais who has struggled in his first season away from Edmonton. He has played in 44 games between the two teams but has just three assists along with 68 blocks and 73 hits while averaging 15:37 per game.
Desharnais is in the first year of a two-year, $4MM contract signed back in July following a stint in Edmonton where he worked his way up from a minor league deal to eventually landing a regular spot on their third pairing. Now, he’ll try to reclaim a full-time spot in San Jose’s lineup.
While it might seem odd for San Jose to be adding to their roster, Desharnais is a low-cost pickup from an acquisition standpoint while the extra year on his contract isn’t an issue for a team projected to have plenty of cap space for next season. If he can get back to being a full-timer, it’s possible they’ll be better poised to flip him for a stronger return at this time next year. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh sheds a contract they had to take on to facilitate last month’s swap with the Canucks, opening up some extra cap space which it appears they’ll put to use quite quickly.
Panthers Acquire Vítek Vaněček From Sharks
The Panthers have acquired goaltender Vítek Vaněček from the Sharks in exchange for depth forward Patrick Giles, both teams announced. There is no salary retention in the deal, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic confirms. Vaněček was held out of his scheduled start against the Sabres last night for injury prevention in anticipation of a move.
Florida has been searching for a backup netminder to reigning Vezina nominee Sergei Bobrovsky for the past few days after they dealt Spencer Knight to the Blackhawks in last weekend’s Seth Jones trade. They recalled veteran third-stringer Chris Driedger from AHL Charlotte to serve as Bobrovsky’s No. 2 in the interim, but the 30-year-old has just a .878 SV% in 20 minor-league appearances this season and wasn’t viewed as a reliable insurance option for Bobrovsky in case he sustained an injury down the stretch or in the postseason.
Vaněček grades out as a slight upgrade, albeit an expensive one at a $3.4MM cap hit. The 29-year-old is in the final year of his contract, though, so there’s no long-term burden on Florida’s books. They’ll still have $5.3MM in cap space to make other moves before Friday’s deadline after placing star winger Matthew Tkachuk on long-term injured reserve.
The Czech netminder’s short stint with the Sharks was underwhelming, even behind the league’s most porous defense group. Acquired from the Devils at last year’s deadline, he didn’t suit up for San Jose until the 2024-25 campaign due to injuries. More injuries, namely a cheekbone fracture, limited him to 17 starts and one relief appearance while serving as the primary backup to Mackenzie Blackwood and Alexandar Georgiev, who were traded for each other in December, when healthy. He mustered a 3-10-3 record with a career-worst .882 SV% and 3.88 GAA.
Advanced numbers aren’t kind to Vaněček’s performance this season, either. His -0.56 goals saved above expected per 60 is worse than Georgiev’s -0.34, and he’s allowed a cumulative nine goals above expected on the season, per MoneyPuck. Among 55 goalies with at least 18 games played, Vaněček ranks 48th in total GSAx and 53rd in GSAx/60. His raw GAA is also the worst among the group. He’s also allowing 0.072 rebounds per save, second-worst in the league behind the Devils’ Jake Allen.
The Panthers are banking on a slight return to form behind a defense that allows five fewer shots per game than San Jose’s. Vaněček has been a serviceable tandem option in the past, posting a 33-11-4 record in a career-high 52 appearances with New Jersey in 2022-23 with a .911 SV% and 2.45 GAA. He’ll only be relied upon for a few starts down the stretch to give Bobrovsky some rest as the Cats compete for a third Atlantic Division title in four years. However, if Bobrovsky sustains an injury, he will be Florida’s primary insurance option in the playoffs. He has a highly subpar .834 SV% in 10 playoff appearances with the Capitals and Devils.
As for the Sharks’ new backup, it won’t be top prospect Yaroslav Askarov – at least for now. He’s still dealing with a lower-body injury after being returned to AHL San Jose a few weeks ago and isn’t currently available for a recall. It’ll be 25-year-old Georgi Romanov coming up to serve as the No. 2 in the Bay Area in the interim, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.
In return for Vaněček, San Jose lands a low-ceiling depth center in Giles. The 25-year-old Maryland native made his NHL debut with the Cats at the beginning of the campaign, going without a point and posting a minus-one rating in nine games. He averaged 7:33 per game, won just 29.8% of his faceoffs, and recorded 16 hits while getting outshot 34-19 at 5v5 in sheltered usage, per Natural Stat Trick. Florida returned Giles to AHL Charlotte after Tomáš Nosek returned from an injury. The 6’5″, 216-lb forward has just 5-2–7 with a plus-three rating in 39 games since. He’ll now report to the Sharks’ AHL affiliate. He’s in the first year of a two-year, two-way deal and will be an RFA with arbitration rights in the summer of 2026.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the Panthers and Sharks were working on a Vaněček deal. Tim Reynolds of the AP was first to report Florida was sending Giles to San Jose to complete the deal.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sharks Not Playing Vítek Vaněček For Trade-Related Reasons
The Sharks won’t be starting goaltender Vítek Vaněček tonight against the Sabres in their penultimate game before the trade deadline, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports. He’ll dress as Alexandar Georgiev‘s backup, but presumably won’t enter the game unless an injury forces Georgiev out. Since he’s dressing, San Jose doesn’t yet need to recall a goalie from AHL San Jose in his place.
It’s worth noting if they trade Vaněček and don’t recoup a goalie in return, they won’t be able to recall top prospect Yaroslav Askarov for the minors, at least not right away. He’s been out of the lineup for the last couple of weeks with a lower-body injury and remains day-to-day.
Where Vaněček could end up amid a general lack of interest in goalies this week remains to be seen. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period speculates the Panthers could be a fit as they look to add a veteran name to back up Sergei Bobrovsky after they traded away young No. 2 option Spencer Knight to the Blackhawks in last weekend’s Seth Jones trade.
If a team can’t accommodate Vaněček’s $3.4MM cap hit, they’ll need to find a third dance partner for a trade. The Sharks are using all three of their salary retention slots on Brent Burns, Tomáš Hertl, and Erik Karlsson and will only have Burns’ opening up this summer.
Vaněček, 29, is on an expiring deal. San Jose acquired him from the Devils at last year’s deadline in the deal that sent Kaapo Kähkönen eastward, but he didn’t play down the stretch due to various injuries. His Sharks debut had to wait until this season. It’s been a tumultuous one for the Czechia native, who missed a chunk of time with a cheekbone fracture and has been underwhelming when dressed. Even behind a San Jose defense that allows a league-high 32.1 shots per game, his 3.88 GAA and .882 SV% aren’t inspiring. He has a 3-10-3 record in 18 outings and has allowed nine goals above expected, per MoneyPuck.
Teams interested in him are either banking on a return to form in a more insulated environment or desperately need even a marginal upgrade at their backup position. Vaněček was a fine tandem option at his peak, recording a career-high 33 wins in 52 appearances with New Jersey in 2022-23 along with a .911 SV% and 2.45 GAA. His numbers have nosedived since then, though, and the 2014 second-rounder now has a .903 career SV% with a 2.82 GAA across 181 NHL games since making his debut with Washington in the 2020-21 campaign.
If the Sharks trade Vaněček, don’t receive a goalie back, and can’t recall Askarov, 25-year-old Georgi Romanov is their only other minor-league goalie under contract. He allowed one goal on 30 shots faced in two appearances in his NHL debut last year, and the Russian has a .905 SV% and 3.10 GAA in 21 AHL appearances in 2024-25.
Sharks’ Walker Duehr Clears Waivers
March 4: Duehr cleared waivers, Friedman reports. The Sharks can now remove him from their roster at will. The team later confirmed they’d sent him to the AHL.
March 3: The Sharks have placed winger Walker Duehr on waivers for the purposes of assignment to AHL San Jose, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
San Jose acquired Duehr by claiming him off waivers from the Flames in January. If Calgary submits a claim for him and is the only team to do so in his 24-hour waiver window, they may assign him directly to their AHL affiliate without needing to waive him again.
Duehr, 27, failed to land a regular role in the lineup in the Bay Area. After playing in eight consecutive contests for the Sharks following his addition to the roster, he’s now been scratched in three straight heading into tonight’s matchup against the Maple Leafs.
The South Dakota-born righty scored twice as a Shark, his first goals of the season after going scoreless in 16 with the Flames. He posted a minus-five rating while recording six shots on goal and 11 hits, and his 8:49 ATOI nearly mirrored his 8:48 with Calgary to begin the campaign.
This is Duehr’s third time on waivers since the 2024-25 league year began. He cleared them late in preseason en route to starting the season with AHL Calgary, but he was recalled in December following season-ending ACL surgeries to Flames forwards Justin Kirkland and Anthony Mantha. Upon failing to lock down a fourth-line role in Alberta, he ended up on waivers to San Jose’s benefit when Calgary decided to try other internal solutions in their bottom six.
Whether the Flames will be interested in a reunion remains to be seen, but it’s likely considering how valuable he was to their feeder club. They signed Duehr as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota State in 2021. He scored 9-10–19 with a minus-nine rating in 84 games for Calgary before the Sharks claimed him. While that’s not particularly impactful, especially with highly underwhelming possession numbers this season, his performance in the AHL was stellar. He had 11-8–19 in 20 games for the Wranglers before his December recall to the big club, production they’d surely like to add back into the fold if possible.
San Jose, on the other hand, will hope Duehr clears and can provide that offense to their farm system despite the lack of NHL impact. He’d be a major add for a Barracuda club tracking to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2018-29 season. They boast the AHL’s leading scorer in veteran Andrew Poturalski (23-35–58 in 49 GP), while Sharks 2023 fourth-rounder Luca Cagnoni leads AHL rookie defensemen in scoring with 13-28–41 in 51 games.