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The San Jose Sharks announced today that they’ve acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood from the New Jersey Devils, in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft.
Blackwood is 26 years old and is set to become a restricted free agent. He’s coming off a few really tough seasons and posted just an .893 in 22 games this past year. With a $3.36M qualifying offer, the Devils didn’t have much incentive to bring him back.
For the Sharks though, it’s a low-risk move. They’re getting Blackwood with his value at an all-time low and hoping he can regain the form we saw in the 2019-20 season, where he posted a .915 save percentage in 47 games.
The Devils have had significant issues finding a solution in net over the last few seasons. The closest they came was arguably Adin Hill, but they moved him last offseason for next to nothing, only for him to help lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup.
The Sharks should really be holding onto whatever assets they have at this point, given their spot. Over the last few years, it’s seemed like they’ve wasted picks on players who aren’t really going to make an impact. Still though, it’s a minimal price to pay.
The Sharks also completed a separate minor trade with the Anaheim Ducks today, acquiring the signing rights to pending UFA Andrej Sustr, in exchange for forward Andrew Agozzino. The forward had a single year remaining on his contract.
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Meanwhile, Sharks’ defenseman Erik Karlsson also took home his third Norris Trophy yesterday.
The award doesn’t come as a huge surprise, following Karlsson’s monster year. Karlsson posted 25 goals and 101 points this season, the highest numbers of his entire career.
The award comes at an interesting time for the defender though, as it’s now common knowledge that he’s also waiting for a trade. With an $11.5 million cap hit though, moving the defender won’t be an easy task.
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