Confirmed Trade: [SJS/MIN] Calen Addison for 2026 5th round pick and Adam Raska

[Waterbuf]

Stopgap until Thrun or somebody else is ready next season, or on the bright side Addison plays better and earns a modest contract going forward. Seems like a trade that makes sense for both sides.

 

[Menzinger]

Smart pickup for the Sharks. No risk with the potential to get an NHLer for pennies on the dollar in terms of value lost

 

[57special]

This seems like a good trade for both teams. I don't think Addison was going to ever work out in Minnesota so they pick up a pick for him while the Sharks need a defenseman who can actually run a powerplay and help bring the puck out of the defensive zone. This seems like a win for both teams and while Addison is going to a much less talented team he should get an opportunity to play that he would not get in Minnesota.

you're one for two with Addison.

 

[D Wakaluk]

Addison must be thrilled

 

[Patty Ice]

Why not give Leon Gawanke a chance instead of trading away draft capital (as low as it is)? I get that Addison is better but what was the purpose of trading for Gawanke if you are just going to keep him in the A.

 

[Bruce Granville]

This is the typical “if you can‘t defend I send you to the one team that doesn’t either” kinda deal.
A 5th being the main piece coming back is underwhelming tho.

 

[jackjohnson]

He will fit right in with the Sharks.

Honestly, the Sharks have something like 9 NHL D-men under contract. Can’t see the point of this unless they are shipping another D back.

Are you sure they have 9 "NHL" d-man?? Getting 10 scored back to back doesn't make it look like they are "NHL" d-man.

They should go after Peeke or Boqvist next. At least ice an NHL defense.

Nah...not after the Canucks play them a few more times. After that, they can improve their team

 

[saywut]

Thought San Jose was going to be the destination for Addison, wasn't sure it would happen during this season. Was hoping for a slightly better pick(or Benning but he's injured right now and we traded for Bogo), but at the end of the day Addison cannot defend and hasn't really shown the ability to produce at even strength. With his removal from the top(only?) PP unit there wasn't really any reason for him to continue being in the line-up.

 

[Cas]

Why not give Leon Gawanke a chance instead of trading away draft capital (as low as it is)? I get that Addison is better but what was the purpose of trading for Gawanke if you are just going to keep him in the A.

See if he could contribute, and the conclusion by management appears to be that he can't.

Basically we traded a left-handed AHL defenseman for a right-handed AHL defenseman, and that's pretty much fine anyway.

 

[bleuetbio]

Seems like a realy good deal for the Sharks! What Im missing?

 

[Bruce Granville]

Seems like a realy good deal for the Sharks! What Im missing?

Guerin.

 

[Soundgarden]

Gotta love Grier…. He makes the strangest moves sometimes. Goes in the locker room and gives it to the players after giving up 20 goals in 2 games, and followed through with his threat to make changes, by bringing in a player who may help them give up even more. How about Klingberg next??

People had a lot of hope Addison would end up maturing with experience but we just haven’t seen much ANY maturity in his game. He’s one of the new age dmen, who play the position, as if they were playing in a roller game. Many of them never do fix those holes in their game and he’s no exception. His game today, is the same exact game he played at 20, when the Wild got him in the Zucker trade. At some point you have to pull the plug on these guys. I am a little surprised they did it before he even turned 24 BUT they must just feel he has no chance of ever maturing into a dependable NHL dman.

For the Sharks, they’re gonna take a good dozen chances on some guys over the next 3-4 years and this one is a lot like Zadina. If the lightbulb ever turns on, maybe you get yourself a player. He’s gonna get lots of opportunity on that roster.

San Jose is averaging 1.17 goals per game, Washington is next worse with 2.00. Even if Addison just turns out to be a flawed PP specialist who can't defend he should be a step up from what they have now.

He's 23 and had about a .50ppg rookie season last year, he's worth taking a flyer on, he may play for them for a few years if he's good enough or he may increase his value as a PP specialist with some gaudy offensive stats and get moved for a higher pick than what they paid today, it's a smart move for San Jose anyway you slice it.

 

[OrrNumber4]

Why not give Leon Gawanke a chance instead of trading away draft capital (as low as it is)? I get that Addison is better but what was the purpose of trading for Gawanke if you are just going to keep him in the A.

Addison is a legitimate NHL player, and Gawanke didn't make this terrible team out of camp.

 

[Patty Ice]

Addison is a legitimate NHL player, and Gawanke didn't make this terrible team out of camp.

Yea no kidding. I recognize that but he was brought in for a shot. Why not give him a few games test run? He may not be turning heads but he can't be any worse than what is already being iced.

Might as well see if you have anything in what you already invested.

 

[PattyLafontaine]

Interesting. Don’t really understand this for either side.

For the Sharks they are taking a flyer on a low salary guy for 5th. It's a worthwhile gamble.

 

[biturbo19]

Well, maybe. But as much as we'd like as fans to believe that in 2-3 years all those blueline spots are going to be filled with our top 60 draft picks who are all big and skate well and smart and 2way all around studs, that is rarely reality. The luxury of being in a rebuild is you can just try shit out. You have an abundance of NHL opportunity.

Sometimes a change of scenery can make a world of difference. Vince Dunn was just OK before breaking out last year for the Kraken. Jake Walman wasn't really much before getting to Detroit. Ryan Lindgren has turned into a great defensive top4 D for the Rangers. Gustav Forsling was a waiver pickup for Florida.

It's not even so much the idea that in 2-3 years, these spots will be filled...that's insane. People constantly throw this around but there isn't an extant example of it happening. That's not the turnaround for a rebuild. It's half a dozen years+ easy. More depending on when you actually retroactively define as the very specific beginning of your team turning into a turd.


The examples are challenging reaches to Addison though.

Walman was a very unique case. Disruptions set him back a bit, but he was still a completely different profile than what i'm talking about.

Dunn even...was a different profile. He'd established before he went to Seattle that he was a pretty okay overall defenceman. He "broke out" offensively with them, but that's kind of the opposite of what Addison is looking at.

Yeah basically. If I was a rebuilding GM I would be taking as many of these low risk swings while the expectations are low as I could. Some of them are going to be pop up easy outs but with some good pro scouting you could hit a homerun or two and that's how you build a good team. You can't fill a roster only with top 5 picks.

Yeah. This is what i've always argued. I think you still have to be selective with which darts you throw...but when you're trying to rebuild something, you might as well throw a few darts at least. But rebuilding teams have a very unique opportunity to actually strike gold with a "reclamation project". They've got zero downside and maximum upside.

You obviously can't do it with every roster spot...but they're the teams with a spot to try something and see what happens.

And in this case...it seems like a pretty darn good fit to be an improvement on...not Karlsson as the Powerplay Quarterback. So why the heck not? It's a 5th round pick. I've seen GMs accidentally lose some late round picks in those brothels outside Vegas around the Awards show.

 

[MuckOG]

Addison is a legitimate NHL player, and Gawanke didn't make this terrible team out of camp.

He's good enough to make an NHL roster, but his ceiling is that of a #2 PP quarterback. The rest of his game is extremely unreliable. He's sub-par in the defensive zone and gets out-muscled in every puck battle.

 

[BringTheReign]

Addison is the next Gustafsson. He's going to bounce around as team's find a use for him as a specialist while being able to insulate him defensively. I'm surprised Minny couldn't.

 

[MuckOG]

Addison is the next Gustafsson. He's going to bounce around as team's find a use for him as a specialist while being able to insulate him defensively. I'm surprised Minny couldn't.

With Faber playing well and Spurgeon returning from injury, Addison became very redundant as a RD and PP qb. On top of that, the Wild gave him every opportunity to show them he has the ability to play competently in the defensive zone, and he wasn't able to take advantage of it. I believe that they feel they know what Addison is and can be and decided he wasn't going to get any better.

 

[jfhabs]

Decent buy low option for San Jose.
Still young at 23, could improve his defensive game and become a steal.
Not sure why Minn is giving up so quick only to get back a 5th back.

 

[abo9]

I'm curious, is Addison that good on the PP even? The Wild acquired Klingberg last year's TDL despite having Addison playing > 3mins on the PP per game.

That's a PP featuring Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuc and Eriksson Ek... with 18 assists to show for (9 being secondary assists)

This year with > 4 mins of PP time per game... 3 points.

 

[MuckOG]

I'm curious, is Addison that good on the PP even? The Wild acquired Klingberg last year's TDL despite having Addison playing > 3mins on the PP per game.

That's a PP featuring Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuc and Eriksson Ek... with 18 assists to show for (9 being secondary assists)

This year with > 4 mins of PP time per game... 3 points.

Let's put it this way, the past couple of games the Wild played with 5 forwards on their #1 PP unit.

 

[BagHead]

I'm curious, is Addison that good on the PP even? The Wild acquired Klingberg last year's TDL despite having Addison playing > 3mins on the PP per game.

That's a PP featuring Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuc and Eriksson Ek... with 18 assists to show for (9 being secondary assists)

This year with > 4 mins of PP time per game... 3 points.

Let's put it this way, the past couple of games the Wild played with 5 forwards on their #1 PP unit.

I think he's a mixed bag on the PP, but most of that mix is good. He moves the puck accurately and swiftly, walks the blueline well, and can make some very creative plays in that role. That said, his shot is lacking, and he can be somewhat feast or famine. When the rest of the PP isn't working out, he's going to decline as well. When it looks good, he looks good too.

He was not very impressive on the PP so far this year (damningly, the PP seemed to take off once he was removed from it), but looked somewhere between good and very good on it most of last year.

 

[Cas]

I think he's a mixed bag on the PP, but most of that mix is good. He moves the puck accurately and swiftly, walks the blueline well, and can make some very creative plays in that role. That said, his shot is lacking, and he can be somewhat feast or famine. When the rest of the PP isn't working out, he's going to decline as well. When it looks good, he looks good too.

He was not very impressive on the PP so far this year (damningly, the PP seemed to take off once he was removed from it), but looked somewhere between good and very good on it most of last year.

Plus he only has to be better than Kyle Burroughs or Mike Hoffman.

 

[57special]

His decision making is pretty good on the PP. Not brilliant, but moves the puck well. Gets his point shot off quickly, though it's not a bomb.

This is all about a personality conflict between him and the coach. They have made a decision, in his second year, that he isn't worth developing. Seems odd to me, but I'm not there at practice.

Funny thing with Addison is that he looks very assured in the Ozone during the PP, with quick feet. Otherwise, his skating looks mediocre, or at least uninterested. It's not that he makes a lot of bonehead plays like Klingberg, and the young Dumba, it's that he doesn't seem to compete hard. I don't know if it's lack of confidence/being afraid to make a mistake, or he just doesn't care. He was the same in the AHL. One thing that hasn't shown in his game in the NHL that he had in the AHL was a bit of nastiness. Not in game physicality, but more of a willingness to drop the gloves. He's a light middleweight at best, but in the AHL he wasn't shy in scrums.

I think this is a great trade for SJS. It's rare that a 5th rounder will play any NHL games for you, but they've got one served up for them, and his cap hit is miniscule. Maybe a new coach can get through to him... all he needs it to be ok defensively to be an asset.