I was completely fine with discussing the Sharks’ draft options in this blog today. I had a solid draft going yesterday about recent mock drafts, thinking that I could just finish it up today and post it for my Tuesday blog for the week.

But then this morning happened.

The Ottawa Senators had traded forward Mike Hoffman to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for forward Mikkel Boedker, defenseman Julius Bergman, and a 2020 third-round pick. The Sharks also received defenseman Cody Donaghey and 2020 fifth-round pick.

The Senators had been shopping Mike Hoffman not only as a part of their fire sale rebuild, but because Hoffman’s fiance had been accused of harassing teammate Erik Karlsson’s wife, including wishing she and her unborn son was dead and hoping someone would take Karlsson out.

As a result, his market value plummeted, and the Senators were desperate to get rid of the forward and to cleanse the locker room atmosphere. After what had happened between Eriksson and Hoffman and their significant others, the Senators simply couldn’t keep both on the team.

As for the Sharks, it seemed like general manager Doug Wilson took advantage of a lower asking price on a talented player with off-ice issues like he did with Evander Kane. Hoffman would be a solid addition to the Sharks’ top-six and give them another offensive weapon.

However, that would only be the case if Hoffman was actually going to suit up for the Sharks. Shortly after acquiring Hoffman, Wilson flipped Hoffman and this year’s seventh-round pick to the Florida Panthers for a 2018 fourth-round pick (which was originally held by Vegas), a 2018 fifth-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick.

As it turns out, the Panthers were originally the highest bidder for Hoffman, but because of differences between players and picks as well as Ottawa’s refusal to trade within the division, the Sharks managed to play the middle man to acquire picks and more cap space.

From a Sharks perspective, Doug Wilson essentially traded away Boedker (and his $4 million cap hit for the next two seasons), Bergman, and a couple picks for a second-round pick next year, two middle-round picks this year, and a large sum of cap relief that can be used to bolster the roster via free agency. It keeps the Sharks in the John Tavares sweepstakes and adds three draft picks in the process.

With the Sharks no longer having a first-round pick next summer after extending Evander Kane, that second-round pick is huge for the Sharks and helps to minimize the damage to a farm system that is already lacking talent.

As for the two middle-round picks, as we have already seen by looking back at previous draft classes, Wilson and his scouting staff have done very well in recent years in the second half of the draft. Because of this trade, as well as the trade with the Nashville Predators that sent minor-leaguers Brandon Bollig and Troy Grosenick for a sixth-round pick, the Sharks now have six picks in rounds fourth through six in this year’s draft. Current Sharks Joe Pavelski, Justin Braun, Dylan DeMelo, Joakim Ryan, and Kevin Labanc, as well as upcoming prospects like Rudolfs Balcers and Joachim Blichfield, are all examples of how the Sharks have had success drafting in the later rounds.

As for what they gave up, the Sharks didn’t give up anything that had a whole lot of value. Bergman, despite his draft pedigree, likely wasn’t going to get playing time with the Sharks this season and is going into his third AHL season without making an NHL appearance, and the draft picks they gave up are largely of little value.

The big piece of this transaction for the Sharks is Mikkel Boedker. I discussed why trading Mikkel Boedker was the best option for Wilson and the Sharks last month, but the gist of it is this: Boedker, despite a stronger second half last season, isn’t that good of a player and isn’t worthy of his contract, and, in an offseason where the Sharks needed to shed as much salary as possible in order to make runs at marquee free agents, it was time that the Sharks moved on from Boedker.

So to get to unload a hefty contract like Boedker’s without retaining any salary is a huge win for the Sharks. As it stands, the Sharks have 18 players on the roster, assuming that the Sharks will eventually buy out Paul Martin as is expected. And with the salary cap increasing from $75 million to somewhere between $78 million and $82 million, the Sharks could have about $20 million in cap space. Obviously, this is before extending DeMelo, Tomas Hertl, and Chris Tierney, but there will be more than enough room to pursue John Tavares should he hit free agency or a combination of other free agents like Paul Stastny, James van Riemsdyk, and Ilya Kovalchuk in addition to bringing back Joe Thornton.

After signing Kane to a hefty extension, there were concerns over whether the Sharks would be able to pursue Tavares cap-wise. But now, not only do the Sharks have enough money, they have a rock-solid pitch to Tavares for his services. Players love living and playing in San Jose, Tavares would immediately be a top-line center for a team in need of another one with an aging Joe Thornton’s status up in the air, and you could argue that signing John Tavares immediately makes the Sharks contenders for the Stanley Cup.

Leading up to this offseason, Doug Wilson has made it abundantly clear that the Sharks will use all of their available cap space to make the team better this offseason. Whether it’s a marquee free agent signing (or two), pulling the trigger on a major trade, and/or extending other members of this current core like Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Justin Braun, we’ll find out soon enough. And with the draft coming up on Friday, it might be earlier than you would think.

In order to stay up-to-date on your Sharks news, be sure to check The Shark Spot regularly as the offseason progresses. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @TheSharkSpot for instant updates, too. I’ll also be on this podcast I do with a few friends of mine called PowerPlay 904 a few times throughout the summer. Stay tuned!

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