The San Jose Sharks made three more minor trades today, sending defenseman Fredrik Claesson to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Nick DeSimone to the Vegas Golden Knights and forward Antti Suomela to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Claesson was signed by the Sharks prior to the season and played just four games for the team. In the deal, San Jose gets goaltending prospect Magnus Chrona. He is 20 years old and has spent the last two seasons with the University of Denver. Chrona was originally drafted by the Lightning in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.
The Sharks dealt DeSimone as part of yet another three-team trade, acquiring a fifth-round pick in 2022 in the deal. San Jose also retained $562,500 of Mattias Janmark’s contract for the rest of the season, who was dealt from Chicago to Vegas.
The Sharks acquired forward Alexander Barabanov from the Maple Leafs, in exchange for Antti Suomela. Barabanov is 26 years old and had one assist in 13 games with Toronto, while Suomela played just four games for the Sharks this year.
In addition to the trades, the Sharks also signed goaltender Zach Sawchenko to a two-year, entry-level contract. Sawchenko is 23 years old and has spent time in both the AHL and ECHL this season.
ANALYSIS
The Sharks getting a prospect back for Claesson is fine by me, regardless of Chrona’s ceiling. Claesson doesn’t factor into San Jose’s plans and barely played this season. I also like the idea of using extra cap space to acquire a pick, even if it meant throwing in DeSimone as well. It’s not much of a return but at least it’s something. The Sharks are also likely getting the player with higher upside in the forward swap, even if it’s a relatively minor move overall.
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How do you feel about San Jose's trade deadline moves overall?