Just accept the long term rebuild

SJ should've done that before signing Hertl tbh.

Couture certainly is playing to his contract, but no contender can afford his contract long term....like next season

Yeah just commit to being mediocre, we need as few competitors for Bedard as possible

Sj should resign Meier and build youngster around him and Hertl

Yeah it isn’t that teams wouldn’t want to add Couture the player, it’s that everybody would hate to add his contract.

You realize Hertl will be 30 next year, right? If SJ tried to rebuild around him, he'd be mid-30s before they had young players good enough to make a meaningful impact. Besides, the high AAV players currently on the roster aren't generally good enough to be able to trade with the contracts they have.

If Hertl was Meier’s age, that’s probably what would be happening instead of trade rumors galore. The timelines just don’t let that work towards much more than mediocrity in SJ. tear it down and be the next Buffalo/New Jersey instead!

Rebuild around Holtz? No thanks

Couture is a good player but he is likely to be on the decline within the next year or so (athletic performance declines dramatically around age 35) so, even if you retained half - which you would need to in order to make him affordable to almost any team that he would agree to go to - it just isn't worth it. He's definitely a player the Sharks are going to have to keep for the life of that contract or very close to it.

One major missing piece here is that Sharks will likely land Bedard if they trade away both Meier AND Couture at TDL, but that only furthers this idea for a quick retool for a playoff push all the while getting younger.

This is the plan I also have in mind for the direction of the team, and I hope Mike Grier has in mind as well. I just find the Meier trade far too underwhelming. It needs to be Mercer or Nemec or nothing, otherwise try Meier to another team or just hold on to him.

If you are able to jettison Couture, there is no reason not to sign Timo, unless he has made it explicitly clear to GMMG that he doesnt want to play here anymore. If he has expressed to Grier that he doesnt want to stay, then Nemec or Mercer or find someone else to trade with for him.

Recent leaks have expressed NHL brass still think he's a $6M center. He's having a career year and with a better team, he'll be better. Retaining 2-2.5 should be more than enough.

He is having a great year but, given his age, I wouldn't touch him for less than half retained if I'm a GM - it's just too risky

Mercer and Nemec arent getting moved.

It doesnt matter what you would touch him for... it matters how the league views him, and they view him favorably.

It shouldn't, but it always amazes me that fans think teams should just give away their best players for nothing. Anyways, if a top prospect isn't included in a trade for an elite Timo just entering his prime, GMMG just needs to move onto the next team.

Shakir, Holtz, Casey, Gritsyuk are all top prospects.

Sure, buddy