Mike Grier willing to explore trading Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl
Mike Grier has had an interesting time in San Jose, to say the least. He has tanked for multiple seasons and made some questionable trades, but Grier is not done yet. The San Jose Sharks general manager hasn’t ruled out trading his last two star players on the Sharks roster, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl.
This offseason, Grier made a questionable trade in sending off future Hall-of-Fame defenseman Erik Karlsson. Now when sending away one of the greatest offensive defensemen of all time, you expect to get a haul for it.
Well, Grier didn’t get a haul.
San Jose received only one first-round pick from Pittsburgh and getting very few impactful players is not an ideal trade for Grier. To put it in perspective, an aging Mikael Granlund was the best player Grier got.
As of right now, Couture and Hertl have pledged their allegiance to the Sharks, but they have not thrown the idea of being traded out the window.
“I check in with (Hertl and Couture) a lot, and if there ever were to come a time when they felt like they needed or wanted to go somewhere else, it’s definitely something I would listen to, and if it made sense for us, I would explore it,” Grier said, according to Bay Area News’ Curtis Pashelka.
Grier on Hertl, Couture's futures: "I check in with them a lot and if there ever were to come a time when they felt like they needed or wanted to go somewhere else, it's definitely something I would listen to, and if it made sense for us, I would explore it."
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) September 21, 2023
Only drafted five years apart, Hertl and Couture have resided in San Jose every year they’ve been in the NHL. Combining for over 1,100 points in 24 years, the two veterans have not expressed any interest in moving away from the franchise that drafted them anytime soon.
“They’re all in,” Grier said, according to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng. “They enjoy working with (head coach David Quinn) and the coaching staff. They’re excited by some of the young players.”
Grier on Couture, Hertl's feelings about what he's building w/ #SJSharks: "They're all in. They enjoy working with Quinny and the coaching staff. They're excited by some of the young players."
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) September 21, 2023
Did say that if either wants to move on, of course he'd consider it
San Jose makes their 2023-24 season debut on Oct. 12 at 10:30 pm ET against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Vegas Golden Knights.
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