Why would a player say they don't want to sign in Anaheim suddenly want to play in SJ, when they can literally sign anywhere?
People are questioning why the Sharks would make this move, unless they have some assurance that he will sign.
If you are a college UFA and there are like 6 teams within 500 miles of your hometown, why would you sign on the other side of the country after you told the other team that is in that part of the country that you weren't interested, especially considering both teams are clearly rebuilding bottom-feeders.
It's like, "oh he doesn't want Coca-Cola? We'll hook him with a Pepsi for sure."
Why did Jack McBain decline to sign in Minnesota then sign with Arizona after his rights were traded? McBain could have waited to be UFA on August 15, but he signed his two year ELC with Arizona and got to burn the first year immediately.
I don't think it's necessarily a geographical thing. As others said, the Ducks have a good D prospect pool so Thrun might be looking at it as the difference between making 70K in the AHL versus getting 925K in the NHL. Which was pretty much McBain's thought process. Wouldn't be shocked if there was some communication through back channels with the Sharks and Thrun.