{"id":340054,"date":"2026-05-31T09:23:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T09:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340054\/"},"modified":"2026-05-31T09:23:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T09:23:34","slug":"scouts-exec-assess-fair-value-if-sharks-decide-to-trade-2026-no-2-overall-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/340054\/","title":{"rendered":"Scouts, exec assess fair value if Sharks decide to trade 2026 No. 2 overall pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scouts, exec assess fair value if Sharks decide to trade 2026 No. 2 overall pick<\/a> originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area<\/a><\/p>\n

What\u2019s a fair trade for the Sharks\u2019 No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft?<\/p>\n

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Of course, odds are, the Sharks aren\u2019t actually going to deal the pick: The last time that a top-five selection moved, post-draft lottery, was in 2008<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That said?<\/p>\n

\u201cMike Grier is absolutely open to moving the No. 2 pick,\u201d insider Pierre LeBrun reported in The Athletic<\/a> on Wednesday, \u201cdepending on the offers.\u201d<\/p>\n

So what are fair offers for No. 2 overall?<\/p>\n

San Jose Hockey Now spoke with three NHL scouts and an executive to come up with some reasonable deals.<\/p>\n

Two trade scenarios seem to make the most sense for the Sharks: Trading back from No. 2 and still coming out with a high pick or dangling No. 2 for an established star.<\/p>\n

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Trade Back?<\/p>\n

The Sharks, as an organization, are deep up front and shallow on defense.<\/p>\n

So while there\u2019s much thought that wingers Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg are the top prospects of the draft, there\u2019s also a handful of blueline prospects, Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Keaton Verhoeff and Alberts Smits, who could well be future No. 1 defensemen.<\/p>\n

The Sharks must also add to their current blueline, which has just two defensemen signed for next year, veteran Dmitry Orlov<\/a> and rookie Sam Dickinson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So trading back can still net the Sharks a high pick, which they can use on a top defensive prospect, and they can acquire some blueline help right now, too.<\/p>\n

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Could the Sharks trade No. 2 to the Blackhawks<\/a> for the No. 4 pick, defenseman Kevin Korchinski<\/a> and Chicago<\/a>\u2019s 2026 second-rounder \u2014 No. 34 overall?<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that would be a fair trade,\u201d the executive said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like this trade for San Jose,\u201d Scout No. 1 said.<\/p>\n

Korchinski would be an intriguing-but-risky gamble. The 2022 No. 7 pick has bounced between the NHL and AHL for the last two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m only 50-50 that he\u2019s a top-four guy [in the future],\u201d the exec said. \u201cHe\u2019s sort of erratic. Has trouble slowing the game down.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, the 6-foot-1 left-hander is just 21, talented, and could benefit from a change of scenery.<\/p>\n

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Also, the Blackhawks aren\u2019t likely to trade their top young defensemen, think Alex Vlasic<\/a> and Artyom Levshunov<\/a> and Sam Rinzel<\/a>, just to move up two spots in the draft. Meanwhile, the Sharks might still end up with their choice of defenseman in the draft, if the top-three picks are forwards, and they\u2019re adding some quality assets on top of that.<\/p>\n

In the same vein, could the Sharks trade No. 2 to the New York Rangers<\/a> for the No. 5 pick, defenseman Braden Schneider<\/a> and the Carolina Hurricanes<\/a>\u2019 2026 second-rounder? That pick will be in the 60\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Schneider, unlike Korchinski, is an established NHL player. He\u2019s 24, big and mobile, and averaged over 20 minutes a night this season.<\/p>\n

But there are also questions about what the pending RFA\u2019s ceiling is, if he\u2019s more of a high-end bottom-pairing defender as opposed to a true top-four.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe didn\u2019t elevate his play last year,\u201d Scout No. 2 said. \u201cBut he would be a stabilizer for the Sharks. Not a big numbers guy, [can be] second-pairing and kill penalties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schneider could be a solid replacement for possibly departing UFA Mario Ferraro<\/a>. Both are stay-at-home defenders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like this trade for both teams,\u201d the executive said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one could be close,\u201d Scout No. 3 said.<\/p>\n

This deal might lose the Sharks their top choice of defenseman in this draft, but that could be acceptable, if they like multiple blueliners equally or if their favorite is a less celebrated one like Smits.<\/p>\n

Win Now?<\/p>\n

Or, the Sharks could get teen superstar Macklin Celebrini<\/a> some real help right now.<\/p>\n

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There aren\u2019t a lot of true No. 1 defensemen in the NHL, and even fewer potentially available for the No. 2 pick. So who\u2019s a top blueliner who could be conceivably available?<\/p>\n

Keep in mind, this is less likely than a trade back, and simply an exercise in ascertaining fair value.<\/p>\n

Could the Sharks trade No. 2 and center prospect Filip Bystedt<\/a> (or goalie prospect Joshua Ravensbergen) to the Rangers for defenseman Adam Fox<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Fox, 28, is a right-hander with a $9.5 million AAV until 2029. He has a No-Movement Clause next year, which becomes a 16-team No-Trade List after that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were San Jose, I would be scared to take Fox,\u201d the executive said, remembering that the star defenseman forced his way out of the Calgary Flames<\/a>, who drafted him, and the Carolina Hurricanes, before landing in the Big Apple. Is he finally ready to go West?<\/p>\n

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New York was one of the NHL\u2019s worst teams this year, though Rangers general manager Chris Drury hasn\u2019t signaled that the organization is ready to rebuild.<\/p>\n

Fox is not considered by most to be in the class of arguable best defenseman in the world, Cale Makar<\/a>, but he\u2019s still a true No. 1, a point-per-game force who was the 2021 Norris Trophy winner and a four-time top-five Norris finalist. Despite these accolades, Fox\u2019s reputation has taken a hit in recent years, as he struggled for Team USA at Four Nations and was passed over for the 2026 Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cValue is fair,\u201d the executive said of the No. 2 and Bystedt for Fox.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the Fox scenario [for both sides],\u201d Scout No. 2 said.<\/p>\n

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If the No. 2 pick and 2022 first-rounder Bystedt, a good-but-not-great third-line center prospect, feels light for Fox, perhaps 2025 first-rounder and top goalie prospect Ravensbergen instead of Bystedt is more appropriate value? The Rangers don\u2019t appear to have an heir apparent for veteran Igor Shesterkin<\/a>, while the Sharks have 23-year-old Yaroslav Askarov<\/a> tabbed as their starter of the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019d ask for a higher-end prospect than Bystedt,\u201d Scout No. 3 opined, \u201cor a young player already in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\n

That said, youngsters Michael Misa<\/a>, Sam Dickinson or Igor Chernyshov<\/a>, along with the No. 2, would probably tip the scales too much in the Rangers\u2019 favor.<\/p>\n

Anyway, remember these trade proposals are just exercises in figuring out fair value.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think all have some traction to them,\u201d Scout No. 2 said.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the San Jose Hockey Now podcast<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scouts, exec assess fair value if Sharks decide to trade 2026 No. 2 overall pick originally appeared on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[52499,140108,140107,12390,87555,72088,27929,2066,4419,5400,53742,3522,3517,53172,139878,1035,4217,3259,6755,1037,117549,88,90,89,13190,3516],"class_list":["post-340054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-adam-fox","tag-alex-vlasic","tag-artyom-levshunov","tag-blackhawks","tag-braden-schneider","tag-cale-makar","tag-calgary-flames","tag-carolina-hurricanes","tag-chicago","tag-dmitry-orlov","tag-fair-trade","tag-filip-bystedt","tag-igor-chernyshov","tag-igor-shesterkin","tag-kevin-korchinski","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-mario-ferraro","tag-michael-misa","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-sam-dickinson","tag-sam-rinzel","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-the-sharks","tag-yaroslav-askarov"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}