Brent Burns not bothered by Seattle Kraken enlargement draft

The San Jose Sharks’ home game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday could be the last in a teal uniform for a handful of players, including Brent Burns.

Burns, the most prolific defender in Sharks history, could be debunked by the team in this summer’s expansion draft and picked by the Seattle Kraken when they prepare for their first season in the NHL this fall.

Just like four years ago when the Golden Knights held their draft expansion, the Haie can protect either eight skaters and one goalkeeper or seven forwards, three defenders and one goalkeeper.

All other players who meet the experience requirements will be left unprotected, as Seattle will be allowed to select one player from each team’s list.

Among the Defense Corps, the sharks must protect Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both of whom have no movement clauses in their respective contracts. That said, if the Haie want to protect seven forwards and three defenders, they’ll have to expose either Burns or Radim Simek to the expansion draft.

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Burns, who has 540 points in 715 games with San Jose, said he hadn’t considered the possibility of his last game with the Sharks after 10 seasons on Wednesday. If he has concerns about being exposed for the draft expansion, he did not share them with local reporters on Monday.

“I don’t know,” said Burns of the July 21st draft. “We will see.”

While Simek is not an attacking defender, has had injuries, and isn’t logging nearly as many minutes per game as Burns, his contract only includes a $ 2.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons.

While Burns has 375 points in the last six seasons and won the 2017 Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defender, his contract has a cap hit of $ 8 million for the next four years.

For a team like the Sharks, which has multiple players making long-term deals and devouring sizable chunks of cap space, it would be a relief if Seattle had Draft Burns. Given the pandemic that decimated league revenue last year, the cap is expected to remain unchanged at $ 81.5 million for the next season and likely beyond.

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On the flip side, if Burns is taken over by Seattle, the Sharks would likely have to find another right-shot defender to devour some of the more than 26 minutes he plays in each game. Burns will also end the season with the highest scoring defender for the Sharks, although his 29 points in 55 games in 2021 represents a sharp drop in production from recent years.

The Sharks would also lose one of their favorite players, and no less to a new division rival.

Doug Wilson, general manager of Sharks, said after the NHL trading deadline last month that decisions about who should be protected in the draft expansion will be made “in due course”.

“We think we are pretty well positioned to move forward,” said Wilson. “Not just by building our team, but possibly by adding a player who might be available due to the expansion draft.”

The Sharks could not advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row. This was the first time since Burns was acquired by Wilson prior to the 2011/2012 season.

“In this lifestyle it’s just difficult if you don’t win at any time,” said Burns. “Losing more than you win brings a lot of added stress and problem solving, and is just trying to fix things. This is not fun.”
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 24: Brent Burns (88) of San Jose Sharks and Mario Ferraro (38) of San Jose Sharks celebrate a goal by Evander Kane (9) of San Jose Sharks against the Los Angeles Kings in the third half at the SAP center in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. (Nhat V. Meyer / Bay Area News Group)

Burns, 36, has four years to go on the eight-year $ 64 million contract extension he signed with the Sharks in November 2016.

According to CapFriendly, Burns has a modified no-trade clause in his contract where each year he submits a list of three teams he would like to be traded with to give him control of a possible target if he doesn’t stay in San Jose.

When asked whether he would like to stay with the Sharks long term or join a team that may have better chances of winning the Stanley Cup in the near future, Burns said, “I’m here for the rest of the business, or until then you say me not supposed to do it. So it’s not up to me. ”

HERTL IS NOT THINKING OF A NEW OFFER: Center Tomas Hertl is slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-2023 season but said he hadn’t considered a possible extension yet.

The 27-year-old Hertl signed a four-year $ 22.5 million deal with the Sharks on July 2, 2018 and could sign another extension this summer.

Although Hertl missed six games from late February to mid-March after signing COVID-19, he has one of his best NHL seasons with 43 points in 49 games. He has 323 points in 502 career NHL games.

“I love it here. It’s like my second home,” said Hertl. “I started playing here (in the NHL), I have 500 games here. San Jose means everything to me. I have a lot of friends, but me don’t think about (a new contract) now. I just want to have a great summer and a great year and we can talk about it later. But I don’t want to think about it now. ”

Hertl said he needed a non-hockey-related surgery that will be done shortly after the season ends. Hertl added that he will be able to exercise again two or three weeks after the procedure.

MARLEAU NOMINATED: Patrick Marleau was nominated by the San Jose Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which was recognized for perseverance, athleticism and dedication to hockey. The 31 chapters of the PHWA announced their nominations on Monday.

Marleau became the NHL front runner that season, overtaking Gordie Howe on April 19 when he was in his 1,768. Career game played. Marleau has now played 1,778 NHL games dating back to October 1997 and has also played 909 consecutive games, an Ironman series that began on April 9, 2009.