The Sharks made a significant trade today, acquiring goalie Mackenzie Blackwood from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for the Sharks’ sixth-round selection (pick no. 164) in this year’s draft.
This trade made sense for both the Sharks and Devils. The Sharks needed additional goaltending with James Reimer departing in free agency, while Mackenzie Blackwood was the odd goalie out in Newark, as the Devils are committing to the one-two punch of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid in net.
Blackwood appeared in 22 regular season games for the Devils this past season, compiling a 10-6-2 record record with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage in 20 starts. He didn't appear in any Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Devils this past season. In total, Blackwood is 65-57-18 with a 2.97 GAA, .906 SV% and eight shutouts in 143 starts in 152 regular season games, all with the Devils. He is a pending restricted free agent on July 1.
Another trade went down today involving the Sharks, this time a more minor one, sending forward Andrew Agozzino to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Andrej Sustr. This was done to help shore up depth on the Barracuda in the AHL.
In other news, the NHL released their entire 2023-24 regular season and preseason schedules. The Sharks also released their promotional schedule for the first half of next season. I don't plan to list the Sharks' entire schedule for next season here, but they open the 2023-24 season on October 12 at home against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights. This is part of a four-game homestand to open the next season, followed by October 14 vs. the Colorado Avalanche, October 17 vs. the Carolina Hurricanes, and October 19 vs. the Boston Bruins. San Jose's longest homestands are five games each from February 17-29 and April 1-9, while their longest road trip is six games from November 30-December 10. The Sharks will play four games against the Kings, Ducks, Golden Knights, Kraken, and Canucks, three games against all other Western Conference opponents, and two games against each Eastern Conference team in 2023-24. Lastly, according to insiders, the Maple Leafs, Kraken, and Hurricanes have 'serious interest' in trading for Erik Karlsson.
The NHL Draft begins tomorrow in Nashville, starting with the first round and continuing with rounds 2-7 on Thursday. Expect a full recap of the 2023 draft from the Sharks perspective in one post in the coming days.
Sources: NHL App, Sharks + SAP Center App, NHL Discussion via Instagram
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