The Sharks have made a significant trade this morning, sending forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick and 2025 conditional fourth-round pick. Both Granlund and Ceci are pending unrestricted free agents this summer.
Mikael Granlund has been one of the Sharks' best and most consistent players this season and last season, while Cody Ceci has been and still is a solid, serviceable defenseman. This season with the Sharks, Granlund has 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 52 games, while Ceci has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 54 games. At the time of this trade, Granlund leads the Sharks in assists and points this season and currently ranks 11th all-time in points, ninth in assists, and 14th in games played among Finnish NHL players. In total, during his two seasons with Team Teal, Mikael Granlund compiled 27 goals and 78 assists for 105 points in 121 games. He also finished the 2023-24 season on a 13-game point streak and nine-game assist streak, both of which are the second longest of any Shark in team history. In addition, as for Ceci, he leads the Sharks in time on ice (1,175:41), blocked shots (100), and ranks second among team defensemen in hits (52). Ceci provided one of the top highlights of the most recent Sharks game I attended on January 4, scoring the game-winning goal with about 24 seconds left in a 3-2 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
As for the Sharks' return package for Granlund and Ceci, I anticipate that the Sharks' second first-round selection will be towards the end of the first round, while the conditional fourth-rounder will become a third-round selection this year if the Stars make it to the Stanley Cup Final. The Sharks now have a total of eight picks in the 2025 draft, two of which are in the first round.
Overall, this trade should not come as a surprise one bit considering the speculation leading up to this morning, both players' pending UFA status, and the rebuilding Sharks still at the bottom of the NHL league standings this season. I preferred that the Sharks further pursued re-signing Mikael Granlund to a contract extension since he has been one of the Sharks' best and most consistent players this season and last season. Granlund has been a great mentor for many of the Sharks' younger players during this rebuild as well, and I will miss him in teal. However, the Sharks ultimately made the right decision to trade both Granlund and Ceci now and get something in return rather than lose both of them in free agency for nothing.
Source: Sjsharks.com
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