The San Jose Sharks have acquired forward Nick Merkley from the New Jersey Devils, in exchange for defenseman Christian Jaros.
TRADE: We've acquired the rights to forward Nick Merkley from the @NJDevils in exchange for the rights to defenseman Christian Jaros. #SJSharkshttps://t.co/uUqIxHJi9I
Merkley is 24 years old and was the 30th overall pick in 2015. He played in 27 games with the New Jersey Devils this year, scoring two goals and 10 points. Merkley is currently a restricted free agent.
Jaros was acquired by the Sharks early in the season and played seven games with the team, as well as 11 games for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. Since being acquired by the Devils, Jaros has already signed a one-year contract extension with the team.
The Sharks are still in need of forward depth and Merkley gives the Sharks another option for the bottom-six. He's still fairly young and while it's tough to say whether he could be a long-term fit, the move makes sense for San Jose.
***NOTE: We've launched a HockeyBuzz Sharks Twitter account! For anyone interested, you can follow @HB_Sharks for updates on articles, Sharks news, etc.***