SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks have traded their two most notable pending unrestricted free agents — center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci — to the Dallas Stars.
The Sharks on Saturday sent Granlund and Ceci to the Stars for Dallas’ 2025 first-round selection, and a conditional 2025 third-round pick.
San Jose will receive Dallas’ 2025 third-round selection if Dallas advances to this year’s Stanley Cup Final. If Dallas does not reach the Cup Final, the Sharks will receive a 2025 fourth-round selection, originally owned by the Winnipeg Jets, instead.
Granlund, 32, was the Sharks’ leading scorer this season and Ceci, 31, was used on San Jose’s top defense pair since the start of training camp. The veterans were widely believed to be on their way out before the March 7 trade deadline, as both are in the final years of their respective contracts and were set to become UFAs this summer.
Granlund, the Sharks’ No. 1 center used in all situations, led the Sharks with 45 points in 52 games and all of the team’s forwards in average time on ice (20:51).
Since being acquired by the Sharks in Aug. 2023 as part of the deal that sent Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh, Granlund’s also been valuable off the ice, helping young forwards like William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith make the adjustment to the NHL.
Ceci, a right-shot defenseman listed at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, figured to be a valuable trade commodity since the day he was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers last August.
Ceci was second among all Sharks skaters in average ice time (21:46) and led the team in penalty killing minutes and blocked shots (100). Ceci has also played in 88 playoff games in his 12-year NHL career, including playing 24 postseason games last year with the Oilers on their way to the Cup Final.
By going to the Sharks (15-33-6) to the Stars, Granlund and Ceci are going from a team that’s in last place in the NHL’s overall standings to one that entered Saturday in second place in the Central Division with a 33-17-1 record.
Both players will be back in San Jose soon, as the Stars play the Sharks at SAP Center next Saturday.
“We are excited to welcome both Mikael and Cody to Dallas,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. “We see both players as addressing immediate needs for our team — Mikael is a proven scorer who will bolster our forward group at both even strength and on the power play, and Cody will add a stabilizing and physical presence to our blueline.
“Both players will bring valuable postseason experience to our group, and we are looking forward to seeing their contributions to the Stars as the season continues.”
The Sharks now have eight picks in this year’s draft, including three in the first two rounds.
Earlier this week, Ceci said he would love to stay in San Jose, “but there’s also a business side of things where they have to move pieces around and think about the future, so I get that part as well.”
Still, Ceci said, “The playoffs are awesome. I mean, it’s just a whole different animal. So much more weight to all the games. It’s a lot of fun to be a part of.”
With this deal now complete, the Sharks and general manager Mike Grier have now traded their top forward, their leading defensive defensemen and their No. 1 goalie in less than two months. The Sharks also traded goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche in early December.
The trade left the banged-up Sharks with 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goalies on their active roster, although winger Nikolai Kovalenko has an upper body injury and not expected to be available to play again until after completion of the 4 Nations Face-Off in late February.
The Sharks’ next game is Tuesday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.
Granlund will be playing for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off later this month, and the event was thought to something of a soft trade deadline for teams around the NHL. General managers such as Grier perhaps had concerns that their players who were on the trade market might get injured during the tournament, which features most of the best players from Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden.
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Source: Paradise Post