The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NHL trade deadline.

San Jose Sharks’ trade deadline moves

In: Kiefer Sherwood, Laurent Brossoit, Nolan Allan, Jett Woo, 2026 fourth-round pick, 2027 fifth-round pick, 2028 seventh-round pick

Out: Jeff Skinner, Timothy Liljegren, Jack Thompson, Jake Furlong, Kyle Masters, Ryan Ellis (contract), 2026 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick, 2027 second-round pick, 2028 fourth-round pick

Grade: B

This was a quiet deadline for GM Mike Grier, but it didn’t need to be loud as his Sharks progress nicely out of a rebuild. This wasn’t the time to skip steps and make a hard push when they’re still more than a key player or two away from being a serious divisional threat. Most of Grier’s work came in re-signing Kiefer Sherwood and Alex Nedeljkovic. Liljegren, traded to Washington, was solid at times and mistake-prone at others, but he’ll have a shot at minutes every night with John Carlson having been traded to Anaheim.

Perhaps Grier could have extracted more or better assets from his set of pending UFA defensemen, but this was mostly about not disrupting the locker room and showing Macklin Celebrini that San Jose is ready to turn the corner and make the organization an attractive NHL option for players again. — Eric Stephens

What it means for the team’s lineup

Sherwood started out on the top line with Celebrini and Will Smith, but the high-energy battling winger is now working with Alex Wennberg and Philipp Kurashev. The rapid growth of Michael Misa, last year’s No. 2 draft pick behind Matthew Schaefer, has now given San Jose three lines that can generate offense, which means opponents have more to worry about than Celebrini and Smith.

The subtraction of Liljegren helps ease the crowding on the blue line and lets 24-year-old Shakir Mukhamadullin stay in the lineup every night and develop further into the shutdown top-four option he has the potential to become.

Nedeljkovic could have become a UFA, but the Sharks opted to sign him to a two-year deal with a $3 million average annual value. While San Jose would love Yaroslav Askarov to become their true No. 1 netminder, the well-traveled 30-year-old Nedeljkovic has outperformed Askarov. As of now, it looks like the experienced Brossoit will remain their No. 3 goalie.