Grier said he’s not willing to part with the No. 2 selection for a short-term fix, even if San Jose hasn’t qualified for the playoffs the past seven seasons.
“It would have to make sense for us to move off the second overall pick and potentially get a new player like that who can be on our roster for a long time,” he said. “It (has) to be a very good young player or young players who are maybe a little bit further along in the line than an 18-year-old that could step in and do the same thing (and) be part of our lineup for a long time.”
Upgrading their defense is a focus for the Sharks after center Macklin Celebrini finished fourth in the League this season with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games. Celebrini, the No. 1 pick at the 2024 NHL Draft, turned 20 on June 13. Another defenseman could complement Sam Dickinson, the No. 11 pick in the 2024 draft; Dickinson, who turned 20 on June 7, had 14 points (one goal, 13 assists) and averaged 16:45 of ice time in 72 games in his rookie season.
Whether it happens during this weekend’s festivities at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, when free agency begins July 1 or later this offseason, Grier said it’s on him to improve the roster.
“That’s an ideal-world thing; it’s not just this week, but we’ve got a couple of months to make our team better, and you know we’ll continue to look to do that,” he said. “We’ve been pretty clear about wanting to improve the back end, and we’ll continue to look to do that.”