The Sharks have made their first of what could be many deals ahead of Friday's noon PT NHL trade deadline, sending veteran forward Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round draft pick.
Duclair was scratched from the Sharks' lineup against the New York Islanders on Thursday, signaling that a trade was imminent.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
The 28-year-old Duclair was in his first season with the Sharks after spending the last three years with the Florida Panthers. San Jose originally acquired him on July 1, 2023 for Steven Lorentz and a 2025 fifth-round draft pick.
In 56 games with the Sharks, Duclair recorded 16 goals and 11 assists. He finished his Sharks tenure on a high note, registering two goals and two assists in San Jose's 7-6 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Thompson, a 2020 third-round draft pick, made his NHL debut earlier this season, playing just under 12 minutes in the Lightning's Jan. 6 game against the Boston Bruins. That was the 21-year-old's only appearance with Tampa Bay this season.
San Jose Sharks
In 46 AHL games for the Syracuse Crunch, Thompson had five goals and 27 assists. In 118 career AHL games, the Courtice, Ontario native has 13 goals and 43 assists.
Per the Bay Area News Group's Curtis Pashelka, Thompson will report to the San Jose Barracuda.
The Sharks enter Thursday's game against the Islanders tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for the fewest points in the NHL (37). The next closest team is the Anaheim Ducks with 49 points.
In the midst of another disappointing season, San Jose general manager Mike Grier's task is to acquire as many future assets as possible, and the Duclair trade was the first step in that process.