The Sharks and Avalanche announced a trade Wednesday night, with forward Matt Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley heading to the Avalanche in exchange for defenseman Jacob MacDonald and forward Martin Kaut.
The Colorado Avalanche will be getting a solidified depth forward and a familiar face along with a young defenseman with a lot of offensive upside in this deal. This will be Long Beach Native Matt Nieto's second stint with the Avs, having played for them from 2016 to 2020. During this season with the Sharks so far, Nieto has recorded eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in 45 games. Until today, Matt Nieto was in the midst of his second stint with the Sharks since the 2021 season, finishing with 19 goals and 20 assists. Throughout both of his stints with the Sharks, Matt Nieto has totaled 47 goals and 62 assists for 109 points in 364 career games.
Ryan Merkley is a disgruntled young defenseman who had a lot of potential and upside on offense and desired a change of scenery. This season, Merkley has tallied 14 points, all of which were assists, in 30 games with the Barracuda in the AHL. He also appeared in 39 games with the Sharks last season, tallying one goal and five assists for six points. In total, Merkley has two goals and 42 assists in 93 AHL games with the Barracuda.
As for the Sharks' end of the deal, they receive a veteran defenseman and a young forward who also needed a change of scenery. Jacob MacDonald can also play the forward position and has 76 NHL games under his belt, recording a total of two goals and ten assists for 12 points with the Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche. In addition, MacDonald has 68 goals and 121 assists for 189 points in 271 AHL games with Springfield, Albany, Binghamton, and Colorado. He was most recently named to the AHL Second All-Star Team and the AHL All-Star Game in 2020 with the Colorado Eagles.
Martin Kaut spent time with both the Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles in the AHL this season, recording one goal and two assists for three points in 27 games with the Avalanche, and five goals and three assists for eight points in ten AHL games with the Eagles. Last season, Kaut tallied 19 goals and 12 assists for 31 points in 46 regular season games with the Eagles, along with one goal and four assists for five points in nine playoff games. In total, Kaut has recorded three goals and three assists for six points in 47 NHL games, along with 47 goals and 52 assists for 99 points in 173 AHL games.
Furthermore, MacDonald will join the Sharks on the road, while Kaut will join the Barracuda. According to many insiders and from what I have read, the Avalanche have received the better end of the deal and won this trade on paper. Overall, I am not all that impressed with this deal, but the change of scenery has to work in MacDonald and Kaut's favor in order for this trade to look good on the Sharks' behalf. I understand that the Sharks had to pull the trigger on this one since they are having another awful season this year, but I still don't think of this trade too highly.
Sources: Sharks + SAP Center App, Curtis Pashelka via Twitter
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