Gustav Nyquist chose sharks, Erik Karlsson?

BOSTON – Doug Wilson has bought Gustav Nyquist at a great price, as the Swedish striker wanted to join the Sharks for the second leg and the playoffs. The shark territory is hoping their friend, Erik Karlsson, feels the same way about the organization, now that he can sign an eight-year extension contract with the team.

Wilson completed a remarkable 12-month run on Sunday when he signed an agreement with the Detroit Red Wings to acquire Nyquist for a second-round pick in 2019 and a conditional third-round pick for 2020, further strengthening the depth from the front of the Sharks. The transaction comes after Wilson's acquisition of Evander Kane at last season's deadline and his decision to bring Karlsson on the eve of training camp in September.

With the closing date for transactions in the rearview mirror, Wilson will now attempt to have Karlsson sign a contract extension before he is allowed to go free on July 1 without restriction. At this point, the Sharks general manager no longer shows The main goal is to bring the first Stanley Cup to Northern California this spring.

"We do not comment on that," said Wilson. "Our goal is to win hockey games."

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Although Karlsson's long-term interests are unclear, it is clear that Nyquist's short-term desire was to join the Sharks when the Detroit Red Wings asked the unrestricted free agent to give up its non-exchange clause. According to Wilson, San Jose was Nyquist's favorite destination for several reasons: he was friends with Karlsson and he thought the Sharks offered him his best chance of winning the Stanley Cup.

Nyquist's desire to play in San Jose tipped the scales in Wilson's favor, as it allowed him to have a favorable leverage effect. He earned a legitimate place among the top six strikers while he was lacking a first-round pick in 2019 or 2020 to soften the deal. Wilson also landed in Nyquist without giving up on a current player, a potential junior hockey player or a member of the AHL Barracuda.

"He wanted to go somewhere where he had a chance to win," said Wilson. "He chose us as much as we chose him. We take this as a great compliment. "

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Assuming that the Sharks find themselves where they want to go this year and that they reach at least the Stanley Cup final, the choice of the third conditional round of 2020 will become a second round choice of 2020, which means that the team could be deprived of selections in the first two rounds. 2019 and 2020 projects.

But Wilson is comfortable with these choices for short-term gains because the organization's closet is filled with many perspectives.

Sasha Chmelevski scored five goals for Ottawa 67 of the Ontario Hockey League last week. Ivan Chekhovich has scored 93 points in 57 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Joachim Blichfeld leads the Western Hockey League scores and Ryan Merkley is second in OHL defensemen with 64 points in 54 games. In addition, the Barracuda posted the third highest point percentage of the AHL (.653) despite the skating of one of the youngest teams in the league.

"Our scouts have done a great job," Wilson said. "We did not want to lose players because we think some of them are very close to being able to play.

"Draft picks usually take a few more years to get here."

In hindsight, the Sharks had to add Nyquist to stay on par with their competitors in a West Conference arms race that reached its highest level before the trade deadline on Monday. The Vegas Golden Knights won first prize in the market by acquiring Mark Stone, Selke Trophy candidate, as part of a deal with the Ottawa Senators. The Nashville Predators added two big pieces up front, capturing Mikael Granlund in an agreement with the Minnesota Wild and bringing power forward Wayne Simmonds back into an exchange with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Winnipeg Jets also took part in the party trying to bring Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers.

Fortunately for Wilson, the purchase price of Nyquist was ultimately within the limits of his budget. Vegas gave up a first-rate prospect, a member of the lineup and a second-round pick. Winnipeg traded a first-round pick and one of the lineup and Nashville separated from two players in the lineup.

"You look at the top of the food chain in the West, each team added a few players, added key elements to their teams," Wilson said. "It will be a challenge for the future. It forces you to improve and maybe focus on some of the details you need to master your best hockey. "

The Calgary Flames, who had three points for the Sharks for first place in the Pacific Division, made only a minor gesture, acquiring deep defender Oscar Fantenberg of the Los Angeles Kings.

With Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Timo Meier and Joonas Donskoi all eligible for new contracts this season, Nyquist will likely end up being a short term rental. But Wilson left the door open for the chance to sign the 29-year-old forward again, depending on the falling chips in the summer.

As he deepened the depths of the Sharks, giving the team a chance to create legitimate inconsistencies on their first three lines, Wilson gave a vote of confidence to his goalies by refusing the acquisition of a police force. insurance for Martin Jones on the trade market.

With 19 games to play in the season, Jones ranks 42nd as a percentage of saves (0.897), which raises concern among the fan base that the most loaded lineup in the world is the best. franchise history could be disrupted by goalkeepers unequal in the playoffs.

But Wilson rejected these concerns. He said Jones' career, with a 926 save percentage in 42 playoffs, gave him confidence that the goaltender would bring his best hockey to the rink in the spring. He also thinks that Jones' performance is correlated with the defense of the team ahead of him. If the Sharks tighten things up, so will Jones.