The San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild are reportedly closing in on a trade, which could send both Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Donato to the Sharks, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. In exchange, the Sharks may be sending a high draft pick or prospect back the other way.
San Jose is not on Devan Dubnyk's 10-team No-trade list (10 teams he can't be traded to). So the Wild are free and clear to deal him to San Jose if they wish. But I do think San Jose wants to make sure Dubnyk is comfortable with the move before both teams take it further.
Dubnyk is coming off of one the worst seasons of his career, posting a brutal .890 save percentage in 30 games. He has one year remaining on his contract at an AAV of $4.33 million.
Donato had 14 goals and 23 points in 62 games this year, a pace of 19 goals and 30 points per 82 games. He has one year left on his deal before becoming a restricted free agent, with the contract carrying an AAV of $1.9 million.
In terms of my thoughts on this trade, I didn’t mind it initially. Dubnyk has been a quality goalie before and the Sharks need some help for Martin Jones. Donato, on the other hand, could play in the middle-six, which works well, considering the Sharks are in need of forward depth.
Then I saw that there could be a high draft pick or a prospect involved and I wasn’t as happy about this. If you’re getting Dubnyk and Donato for cheap, go for it. However, the Sharks desperately need to build through the draft and potentially dealing a quality draft pick or prospect for a 34-year-old goalie on an expiring contract, along with a middle-six forward, isn’t the right call in my opinion.
At that point, San Jose would’ve just been better off getting a goalie through free agency because while Dubnyk may bounce back to an extent, it’s a short-term fix that’s going to cost you assets, in a year where you probably won’t be overly competitive anyways. Acquiring Dubnyk and Donato would also mean San Jose using basically all of their remaining cap space.
TSN's Pierre LeBrun did say that there could be two separate trades here, which could make for a more complicated situation.
So while I do think like my friend @RussoHockey that the Sharks have interest in both Dubnyk and Donato, I believe they are separate conversations. Potential Dubnyk deal to SJ is the front burner. Could happen over next 2-3 days. https://t.co/SABSGJYWNz
We don’t know the exact details of the deal and who knows, maybe nothing will ever materialize. But if the Sharks are set on making this deal work, it really shouldn’t come at the cost of selling off quality draft picks.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
Would you be in favour of the Sharks trading a high draft pick or prospect in exchange for Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Donato?
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