By Mary Walsh
The San Jose Sharks have traded forward James Sheppard to the New York Rangers for a 4th round pick in 2016. The Sharks acquired Sheppard in 2011 from the Minnesota Wild. After a lengthy recovery from a knee injury sustained before coming to the Sharks, Sheppard gradually became a regular in the lineup, playing 67 games last season and 57 this season. He had 5 goals, 16 points this season and was -3 and 50% in the faceoff circle.
The Sharks also put Tye McGinn on waivers. McGinn saw relatively little playing time with the Sharks after being acquired last offseason from the Flyers. He had 1 goal and 5 points in 33 games. He is a +1 so far this season. McGinn is still a Shark as of Sunday evening, but waiving him does show a willingness to part with him for very little compensation.
The NHL trade deadline is Monday. There is still time for Sharks GM Doug Wilson to make a more significant move, but in light of the “no equity” claim at the beginning of this season, these moves are underwhelming. If in fact no Shark gets a pass based on seniority, how are Sheppard and McGinn the first to go? Neither move is very surprising or detrimental in itself. Neither player had the sort of impact the team probably hoped for this season. For James Sheppard, the trade is a positive one as he joins a very exciting group in this season’s Rangers. But such moves hardly send a message to the rest of the Sharks, unless the message is that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
That said, these changes leave some holes in the lineup, and the Sharks have cap space to fill those holes. Maybe they are precursors to something very exciting. If so, it is probably too late for us to see the benefits this season. Per David Pollak:
@PollakOnSharks: Wilson also said players he’s eyeing for future pick-up not really available now, so #SJSharks acquisitions probably wait till summer.
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