- Everything changed for the San Jose Sharks after trading for Joe Thornton.
- Brent Burns became a franchise icon after being acquired from Minnesota.
- Erik Karlsson was a superstar when San Jose traded for him.
The San Jose Sharks have been involved in some of the most notable trades in the NHL over the last 20 years.
In fact, you could argue that the Sharks were involved in the most important deal of the salary cap era.
I’ll cover that deal and much more in my countdown of the seven biggest trades in San Jose Sharks history.
7 Biggest San Jose Sharks Trades in Team History
1. Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau for Joe Thornton
This trade changed everything for the Sharks.
San Jose had put together a couple of decent seasons before the 2004-2005 lockout, but they were never really considered a contender.
That changed when they acquired Joe Thornton.
A former No. 1 overall pick by the Boston Bruins, Thornton made an immediate impact in San Jose – winning the Hart Trophy in the same season he was ac
Thornton was San Jose’s most important player for a generation, leading them to a Presidents’ Trophy in 2008-2009, and a Stanley Cup Final in 2015-2016.
San Jose often sported some of the best hockey odds to win the Stanley Cup with Thornton leading the way.
2. Josh Norris, Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan DeMelo, Two First-Round Picks, and a Second-Round Pick for Erik Karlsson and Francis Perron
The Sharks were staring down the end of their contention window when they made this trade before the 2018-2019 season. The idea behind it was that acquiring one of the best defencemen in the league would keep San Jose competitive, and allow the Sharks to build around him.
At first the deal looked like it was going to pan out, but the Sharks fell apart a couple of seasons later and were forced to move Karlsson to help kickstart their rebuild.
3. Charlie Coyle, Devin Setoguchi, and a First-Round Pick for Brent Burns
The trade for Thornton was the moment that turned the Sharks into a perennial contender, but this deal for Brent Burns was also a massive step forward for San Jose.
Burns was already considered one of the best young defencemen in the NHL in 2011, but the Minnesota Wild wanted to change the look of their team and inject their offence with more firepower.
It turned out to be a poor decision by the Wild, but one that Sharks fans will always look back on with a smile.
Burns won a Norris Trophy in 2017, led the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, and holds the franchise record for most points by a defenceman.
4. Erik Karlsson, Dillon Hamaliuk, and a Third-Round Pick for Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Jan Rutta, and a First-Round Pick
Karlsson’s tenure in San Jose ended with a bang. The Swedish defenceman put up 101 points and captured the Norris Trophy in 2022-2023, but everyone saw the writing on the wall.
The Sharks were one of the biggest long shots to make the playoffs according to their NHL odds in 2023-2024, and Karlsson wanted to move to a contender.
San Jose made it work by trading Karlsson to the Penguins for what was viewed as an underwhelming package at the time, but the deal has aged well for San Jose.
5. Tomas Hertl and Two Third-Round Picks for a First-Round Pick and David Edstrom
Not many trades come out of nowhere at the deadline, but this one certainly did.
There were rumours the Sharks and Hertl were looking for a trade because the Czech centre didn’t want to stick around for the rebuild, but he just signed a massive contract extension and would be very tough to move – especially in the middle of a season.
But San Jose and Vegas – two bitter rivals – found a way to make it work, genuinely shocking the hockey world.
6. Sandis Ozolinsh for Owen Nolan
Before Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and Joe Pavelski, there was Owen Nolan. The first real face of the Sharks, Nolan joined the club from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for defenceman Sandis Ozolinsh.
Nolan stuck around for nearly a decade and established several franchise records before getting traded to Toronto.
7. Timo Meier, Santeri Hatakka, Scott Harrington, Timur Ibragimov, Zachary Emond, and a Fifth-Round Pick for Fabian Zetterlund, Andreas Johnsson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotyuk, Two First-Round Picks, and a Seventh-Round Pick
This was the first big trade of San Jose’s rebuild in the 2020s.
Timo Meier had established himself as one of the sport’s premier power forwards, but his prime didn’t match up with San Jose’s timeline.
The Sharks traded Meier to New Jersey for a package centered around Fabian Zetterlund.
First viewed as a massive coup for the Devils, this trade has aged quite well for the Sharks as Zetterlund looks like he will be a key contributor for years to come.
