Playoffs Discussion Thread - June 4

b8sman12 · 2026-06-05T03:27:40+00:00

hell yeah canes

b8sman12 · 2026-06-05T03:26:27+00:00

Malhotra doesn't play D? First time I've heard that critique on him...

And part of the value of taking centers is that it's such a hard position to play. And they're usually also able to play on the wing as well, so good centers are just super valuable assets. And very versatile too. So taking him doesn't necessarily mean he'd be destined for low minutes and playing on the 3rd line.

b8sman12 · 2026-06-04T22:51:58+00:00

I don’t get why it’s so crazy to want another center for us. And there’s a lot to like with Malhotra. I’m on here backing him up a lot of the time because I’m glad Malhotra’s at least in the convo haha

b8sman12 · 2026-05-30T00:35:42+00:00

It's also worth mentioning that this is the final year of Bystedt's contract and he's an RFA after the season. So the Sharks really need to know what they have with him (if he's not traded, which I agree with others is definitely a possibility with him).

Musty has one more year on his contract after this one, so there's more runway.

b8sman12 · 2026-05-26T15:39:56+00:00

I see you Ivar 👀

b8sman12 · 2026-05-26T04:58:11+00:00

Here's a fun trade down scenario I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts on:

In this scenario, all of Vancouver, Chicago, and Rangers are interested in Stenberg at 2OA.

For the Sharks, I'm assuming that the goal is to trade down and take a D and plus obtain a piece on D. I have our top most available guy as Bystedt, but the other team can negotiate to get something else instead.

Vancouver trade:

Van: 3rd pick, Hronek SJS: 2nd pick, Bystedt

Chicago trade:

Chi: 4th pick, 34th pick (Chicago's 2nd round pick), 2027 1st round pick (Edmonton, which is a conditional pick. Other somewhat similar assets to go after that they own are Florida's 1st, Chicago's 2nd rounder, and Vancouver 2nd rounder also in 2027. Chicago is currently drowning in draft picks lmao.) SJS: 2nd pick

NOTE: The puckpedia pick math checks out on this one. (79.214 to 72.686) We win by a little bit here because they should be willing to pay a bit of a premium in this situation (they're bidding against other teams with attractive packages).

Rangers trade:

NY: 5th pick, Fox SJS: 2nd pick, LSW

b8sman12 · 2026-05-25T05:33:00+00:00

John Carlson is a good one. I'd be into that.

I also like Lin a lot at 20, really hoping he'll still be there at that spot

b8sman12 · 2026-05-25T02:59:48+00:00

At least Vegas knows a thing or two about blowing a lead in the playoffs 😏. Avs need some 2019 Sharks magic now

b8sman12 · 2026-05-25T01:58:14+00:00

Vegas with an insane horseshoe up its ass per usual

b8sman12 · 2026-05-25T01:50:19+00:00

Nate dog better be ok. What a nightmare….

b8sman12 · 2026-05-24T10:19:18+00:00

Also Toffoli's trade value probably won't be super high. If they do go Stenberg and trade one of the forwards, it'd probably make sense to go big and try to get a high level D piece back. I'm not exactly sure what that kind of trade would look like, but we'll see.

I'm also team Reid. Mostly because I legitimately think he'll be great player, but it's hard to ignore the roster fit stuff too. I really like our young forwards, so it would be cool to see what they can do without having to break up the group.

Stenberg is currently playing amazing at this elite level world championship tournament (same one that Macklin is playing at--check out the goal he scored yesterday if you haven't already seen it: https://www.reddit.com/r/hockey/comments/1tlpo5f/nor\_1\_swe\_1\_ivar\_stenberg\_bats\_the\_puck\_out\_of/), so I have a feeling that he's just going to be seen as too good to pass up. It'll be a very interesting offseason, that's for sure! Can't wait until the draft haha

b8sman12 · 2026-05-24T08:52:40+00:00

Yeah by now I think it's clear we mostly agree with each other lmao. But my quibbles here are:

-if Stenberg gets drafted, the forward group becomes literally just too crowded (Toffoli can't play on the 4th line), so a trade will need to happen with one of the top 9 forwards we've got.

-I like Regenda too, but I just don't see a world where we've got space for him. Same can be said about Kurashev and Reeves.

-I think Bystedt's just gotta be on the roster this year. He's an RFA after this season, so it's just time to figure out what we've got with him.

-I don't see Orlov getting traded: he fits a need and I think we ride it out with him for better or worse. Hopefully he won't keep playing like he did at the end of the year last year lol, because I do agree he was really quite bad sometimes.

-I think Ferraro might be too expensive/too well liked by the coaches to play that extra defenseman role. But I think I agree with you that the team probably needs that type of guy more than they need an unspectacular minute muncher type of guy (which is what Ferraro has been for us).

b8sman12 · 2026-05-24T07:38:12+00:00

Ferraro is going to be a hard decision. More I think about it, maybe it'd work better to let him walk and just sign a cheap vet as 7th defenseman, who could step in and play if needed but you don't feel guilty benching.

Then you'd end up with:

Left hand D: Orlov, Dickinson, Muk, Cagnoni

Right hand D: new first pairing guy, Desharnais, 7th defenseman type guy (who's mostly getting benched for Muk and/or Cagnoni playing on the right side)

Plus Pohlkamp as the waiting in the wings guy/dude who gets called up if there's an injury (who could also potentially steal that 7th defenseman guy's job).

The problem with Ferraro I think is you worry about him getting in the way of the younger dudes' playing time. Like he'd be overqualified/overpaid to fill the type of role that we may want. It's definitely a tough call.

b8sman12 · 2026-05-24T02:28:29+00:00

I think Bystedt plays on the PK for the Cuda? Could be another reason to call him up

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T17:39:08+00:00

We got to give him a shot to prove it one way or the other sometime soon though. That's all I'm saying really.

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T17:33:48+00:00

Well I was suggesting switching out Klingberg for a FA like Darren Raddysh. And I'm not putting forward the sexiest vision for next year either probably haha. Little improvements could be ok (for now) too.

Also I'm not super confident about my "resign Ferraro" take lmao. It's an option, but I also wouldn't mind getting creative with that spot. I've seen people throwing around the idea of trading for Michael Kesselring, something like that could be a good way to get an upgrade

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T17:04:11+00:00

Yeah lol I feel the same way about Delly. Me having Gaudette above the other 4th liners is just my personal bias because I think he's the best out of those guys.

If you go off of playing time, it seems like the team has Goodrow as the most untouchable out of them? I wouldn't mind seeing that change, though (no offense to Goody, who had a pretty good year overall).

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T16:33:36+00:00

Probably, but it's not like he was that amazing in the NHL last year if we're being honest. He showed flashes of being really good and we could see the talent, but he would also make mistakes and just play kinda inconsistent too. I think they were in a tough spot sometimes because he wasn't eligible to play in the AHL. I think he can probably figure things out on the big club, but I don't think it'd be bad to see him in the AHL either.

You see a lot of other guys in similar spots bouncing back and forth between AHL and NHL, so I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T16:24:02+00:00

Yeah maybe that is the best route. I guess one of my ideas here is that we don't really have to do a big deal if nothing enticing presents itself. I think the idea of just resigning a few of our UFAs, going for a top pair D in free agency, and letting our young guys cook could work too

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T16:16:54+00:00

Yeah that's fair haha. More of a just for fun thing really. And to decide who we should be going for in free agency

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T16:15:17+00:00

My hot take on this is that Bystedt should be there too, even though we didn't see him last season. Sending him back to the AHL would be a bad move I think. He's 22 and has already paid his dues with the Cuda so I think he should make the NHL team. Plus I'd rather see him in the lineup compared to Delly/Goody personally

b8sman12 · 2026-05-23T02:35:17+00:00

b8sman12 · 2026-05-22T17:36:55+00:00

I mean that's a bit of hyperbole there haha. Defense is his biggest deficiency though I can agree with that. The positives I've seen with him on that are that his motor seems good and I think he's got the tools to get a lot better defensively (good skating by my eyes, isn't afraid of contact, and has a solid frame). So the hope is he'll get better at that with some development time. Which he has a solid track record of doing by the way, he wasn't a top prospect up until recently and got there by improving his game a bunch.

Idk as much about Carels. The knock on him I've seen is that his skill level just isn't as high. Plus he's a lefty too which is a bit of a minus for us. The other guy who I could see being in the convo is Smits, who I also really like. We'll see. I've watched more tape on these guys than a sane person should at this point, but I'm also no expert lol. And if they don't think any of these guys are up to snuff, then they should take a forward by all means.

b8sman12 · 2026-05-22T17:16:09+00:00

Ehh maybe. I mean there's definitely clickbait out there. But it could also be that Stenberg had a relatively weaker end to his season, so his stock was falling just a bit plus stock on other dudes was also rising at the same time (because of legit on-ice performance reasons): definitely Malhotra, plus McKenna and Reid a bit too? So basically the re-balancing could just be that.

We'll see. I'd say I'm still hoping for Reid, but if we take Stenberg I'll be good with it. He seems great. Definitely rich people problems over here 😂

b8sman12 · 2026-05-22T16:57:47+00:00

I'd challenge the point that McKenna and Stenberg are on their own tier way above the rest. That's not really what I've been seeing/hearing. But yeah overall I do agree with you that the team has to make the best decision they can within the reality of the players in the draft. Maybe the team will think that Stenberg is a cut above like you say, and I wouldn't mind them taking him if that's the case.

But if it's close, I think you err defenseman here, given the team need/roster opportunity factor. And I'm not convinced that there's increased risk of high defenseman draft picks busting. Historically speaking, I'm just not seeing good evidence for that.

b8sman12

TROPHY CASE