The Sharks have dealt two-time NHL All-Star center Tomas Hertl to the Vegas Golden Knights for 2023 first-round draft pick David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round draft pick, the team announced 90 minutes after the noon PT trade deadline.
Additionally, the Sharks are sending a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2027 third-round draft pick to the Golden Knights while also retaining 17 percent of Hertl's remaining contract.
“It’s an extremely hard day when you have to trade a player like Tomas Hertl,” general manager Mike Grier said in a statement. “It’s rare to find the combination he brings in talent as a player on the ice and quality as a person off the ice. While difficult, this trade brings us two high-quality assets which includes an additional future first-round draft selection and a promising young center in Edstrom, as well as significant financial flexibility as we continue to re-shape our roster.
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"While we continue the process of rebuilding our team on the ice to the standard our fans deserve, Tomas deserves the chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. Tomas will be missed but his time and contributions to the Sharks franchise, and our fans, will never be forgotten. We wish him his wife, Aneta, and his two children the very best in this next chapter of their journey."
TSN's Pierre LeBrun, Bob McKenzie and Chris Johnston first reported the Hertl trade, and TSN's Darren Dreger later reported details of the deal.
Edstrom was Vegas' 2023 first-round draft pick at No. 32 overall.
San Jose Sharks
Hertl, who signed an eight-year, $65.1 million contract at the end of the 2021-22 NHL season, has six years remaining on the deal with an $8.1375 AAV, per CapFriendly.
CapFriendly notes that San Jose now has used all three of his slots for the 2024-25 NHL season, as well as two slots through the 2026-27 season.
Hertl currently is on Long-Term Injury Reserve and likely won't play for Vegas until the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin in April.
A 2012 first-round draft pick, Hertl became a fan favorite in San Jose, so his move to one of the Sharks' biggest rivals likely will take some getting used to.
In 712 games over 11 NHL seasons with the Sharks, Hertl racked up 218 goals and 266 assists. In addition to this season, he also represented the Sharks at the NHL All-Star Game in 2020.
Hertl leaves San Jose with the fifth most goals, seventh most assists and sixth most points in franchise history.
Edstrom, a Goteborg, Sweden native, was rated the Golden Knights' No. 1 overall prospect by The Athletic's Scott Wheeler in February.
"Edstrom was a steady riser in his draft year last season," Wheeler wrote of Edstrom. He was one of Sweden’s best players as their first-line centre at U18 worlds after a good season split between Frolunda’s J20 and SHL team, establishing himself as a borderline-dominant player against his peers and demonstrating he can hang against men. This year, he has played a regular role in the SHL and centered Sweden’s third line (though they were used like a second line at times) at the world juniors. Again playing alongside his U18 worlds linemates of Otto Stenberg and Felix Unger Sorum, he was the least impressive of the three and a little quiet.
"His stride is a little stilted and he’s not a great skater (I think it was overrated in his draft year and he has talked to me about the need to work on it), but he’s good in a very effective kind of way. He can also play with power or play with skill, which blends to allow him to take pucks off the wall to the inside and then execute in congested areas in ways you wouldn’t necessarily expect out of a 6-foot-3 player. He’ll make a soft-area play one second, a play in tight to his body the next, and then drive out of those plays the next. At an early age, it’s also clear he has a really mature understanding of how to use his size to his advantage. He looks to dictate with his length and knows how to position himself against defenders. He’s decent on entries and will hold pucks but can also play off of his linemates. It’s not flashy but Edstrom projects as a solid third-line centre who can potentially contribute on both special teams."
Trading Hertl wasn't something Sharks fans saw coming, but Grier has made it clear the team is looking towards the future.
In addition to the reported Hertl trade, the Sharks dealt Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round draft pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Radim Simek and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick to the Detroit Red Wings and Nikita Okhotiuk to the Calgary Flames.
Between those four trades, the Sharks added Edstrom, Jack Thompson and Klim Kostin, as well as a 2024 third-round draft pick, a conditional 2024 fifth-round draft pick and a 2025 first-round draft pick.
San Jose also announced that they have traded goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to the New Jersey Devils for goalie Vitek Vanecek, while also sending a 2025 seventh-round draft pick, which originally belonged to the Washington Capitals, to the Buffalo Sabres for goalie Devin Cooley.
For a team in full rebuild, Grier added valuable pieces to the Sharks' future.