Which Shark on a long term deal is next to go?

 After moving Karlsson this offseason, which one of Vlasic, Hertl or Couture who are all on long term deals is the next to be moved. 

Now this past offseason the San Jose Sharks were able to continue to go forward with their rebuild as after having a 100 point season the Sharks were able to find a few willing takers for Erik Karlsson and even though he had a $11.5 Million dollar AAV, they were able to move him to Pittsburgh and that was just a year after the team moved on from Brent Burns as they shipped him to Carolina the year prior, but with this team still not having a abundance of cap space and being in the midst of a rebuild, they may try to make more moves like they have in the past few years and try to offload more long term deals, and there are 3 players who are long time Sharks still there on long term deals and are players I think will probably get moved at some point over the next few years, and those players are Vlasic, Couture and Hertl.

Now I am just going to quickly go through each of these players and give my opinion on which I think is most likely to get moved next and where do I think they could go and we will start with:

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Hertl: Contract: this year + 6 more years at $8.138 Million, 23 Stats: 13-15-28 in 37GP

Now Hertl is currently the player who is under contract for the longest period of time for the Sharks as no other player currently on the team is signed for 3 more years after this one while Hertl is still going to be signed for 6 after this year, but of these 3 Sharks we are talking about, Hertl does wind up being the youngest out of the 3 as he is only 30 and just tuned 30 a couple month ago while the other two are both over 34 years old, so Hertl while having the longest term of the 3 may also be the one to play at a high level for the longest given his age. Now this extension only happened a few years ago and Hertl emphasized how he wanted to remain in San Jose and how he liked playing there so I think of the 3 he may be the one most open to staying and would probably still be under contract when the team is ready to compete, but this team isn't doing all too well and if Hertl wants to be a impact player for a cup contender he may want to be moved elsewhere. 

Now he has also probably been the best Shark player this year as even though the team stinks this year, he is on pace for one of his career highs in goals and for about the same amount of points he had the past two years, so he is the youngest, he is producing well on a bad team and I think he would be the most likely player the Sharks could move without having to retain salary, so Hertl in my opinion is a extremely likely trade option and if the Sharks do say they are moving him, I would think there would be a lot of interest. Now Hertl does have a NMC for the rest of this year and next year so he would have to approve a deal, but I think he may be open to it and I feel the Sharks may even be able to get a 1RD pick or a 2RD pick and good prospect for him and I think that could also help them make a move. 

Now just a quick look at some teams who I could see acquire Hertl, 1 would be Boston as after losing Bergeron and Krejci we know they need some help at Center and although there would have to be Cap gymnastics, Imagine him centering Marchand and Pastrnak, another team would be Columbus, as we know they have been looking for some Center help and Hertl isn't overly old and could help some of their younger players, while another would be Calgary as with a lot of talk that Lindholm isn't coming back they could use a top line Center and I think Hertl could fit well with Huberdeau and Mangiapane, so those are some teams who I could see acquire Hertl and I do think that if he keeps up his level of play from this year so far and doesn't want to be a part of the Sharks rebuild, then I do feel we could get a Hertl trade in the next year or two. 

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Couture: this year + 3 more years at $8 Million, 23 stats: 0-0-0 in 0GP

Now next up is Couture and of these three players I am discussing, after the Karlsson trade he was the player that a lot of people thought would be the next long term member of the Sharks would be dealt and I can see why but it would definitely be a difficult move to pull off. Now unlike Hertl, Couture isn't signed for as long as he is only under contract for the rest of this year plus 3 more season and even has a slightly lower cap hit at a even $8 Million dollar AAV, but he is also 4 years older then Hertl and isn't playing at his level right now. 

Now like I said after the Karlsson trade to Pittsburgh there was a lot of talk that Couture may be the next to go and although it might have not been right away, a lot of people though with Couture's age and where the Sharks are at right now, moving him may make sense for him as he could still be a productive player right now and sort of help a team as possibly a 2nd line Center, but so far this year he has been dealing with a injury that has kept him out the entire season so far and although the Sharks don't think it is season ending, I think that his injury has put a dampener on any sort of trade by the deadline. However I still think he will probably get moved at some point as even though he has been dealing with a injury, he did have a fantastic season last year tying his second highest point total in his career and having his best season point wise since 18-19 which was fantastic and if he can show that towards the end of the year when he gets back, I think he will definitely be a solid trade candidate, and just like Hertl he has trade protection that only allows him to be dealt to 3 teams without him approving, but I think he would be open to being moved and I still think the Sharks although they may have to retain money (which would be difficult given 2 of their 3 slots are already being used by Karlsson and Burns for the next few years), I do think a team could pay a 2nd or 3rd round pick and decent prospect to acquire him. 

Now a few teams I could see look to acquire Couture would first be Boston again, as I think that team could really benefit from adding a top six Center and putting Couture with Marchand and Pasta would be lethal, another maybe less likely fit I see would be Minnesota, as although they would have to get San Jose to eat some money, I could see Couture be fantastic as either Center 1 or 2 in Minnesota, and lastly would be Washington who I think with Kuznetsov wanting out and Backstrom injured could definitely look for a veteran top 6 C and I think having Couture play with Ovi would be cool to see, but I definitely think Couture will get dealt and although I don't see it happening at the deadline, if he can show some signs of last year when he gets back, I do think he could be moved as early as the offseason.

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Vlasic: this year + 2 more years at $7 Million, 23 stats: 0-1-1 in 19GP 

Now Vlasic has been the one of these 3 players that has been in the rumour mill the most this year as a lot of people have been talking about how the Sharks would probably like to move on from the long time Shark defensemen, but so far it has been a difficult task to complete for the Sharks. Now Vlasic has the shortest term of the 3 players we are talking about as Hertl has 6 years after this year, Couture has 3 more years, while Vlasic only has 2 after this year and he also has the smallest cap hit as Hertl and Couture both have a AAV north of $8 Million, while Vlasic is only making $7 Million so one would think he would be the easiest of the 3 to deal, but think again as Vlasic is also the oldest as he is 36 years old and while all of these players are probably overpaid, Hertl is probably worth a $6.5 Million dollar AAV, Couture is probably worth a $5-6 Million dollar AAV, but Vlasic at this point is playing like a $1.5-2 Million dollar AAV player right now and not too many teams are going to be looking for a $7 Million dollar AAV player to play on their 3rd pair.

 Now Vlasic so far this year has 1 point in 19 games and has actually not done too well the past few years as he has not been in the positive for the plus-minus since the 17-18 season and while early on in his career he was a consistent 20-30 point defender, the past 3 years he hasn't even hit 20 points and he is currently on pace to hit his worst point total of his career and has been healthy scratched on multiple occasions this year, so I don't find it too surprising the Sharks may want to move him but with the way he is playing right now, I really don't see too many teams wanting to trade for him and just like the other two, Vlasic does have trade protection and can only be dealt to 3 teams without him approving the deal, but with where he is at in his career I think he would welcome a move right now. 

And I do think there may be a few teams who would be open to acquiring Vlasic maybe in the offseason, 1 would be Chicago who could use some veteran help on their blueline and although they aren't much better then San Jose, I think he could fit well there, another would be Philly, we know they are a rebuilding team but they have a wining mentality and I think could use a guy like Vlasic on the 3rd pair, and Arizona who we said may look to try and upgrade their blueline a bit and while Vlasic isn't much of a upgrade he could be a decent 3rd pair D-Men and the Coyotes do have the cap space to get him, so it will be interesting to see but if Vlasic can up his play a bit and the Sharks are okay with retaining money, I could see Vlasic be moved and although I think they would only get a low draft pick for him, I think they would be okay with that. 

So to conclude I think the Sharks may be open to moving all three of these players right now, I think Hertl would get the most attention given his play this year and long term contract but I wouldn't be surprised if when Couture comes back and he shows signs of last years play that he may be the first of these three dealt given he may want out like Burns and Karlsson, while if Vlasic doesn't pick up his play soon I think that he may become more of a buyout candidate then a trade one, but I also think he may be able to be dealt to a team with Space, so it will be interesting to see but in the next year or two, I personally wouldn't be surprised if these guys were all in different jersey's, and Iwould love to hear your opinion in the Comments.