Trade confirmed: Colorado Avalanche - San Jose Sharks

Trade Details
Colorado Avalanche Acquire: Matt Nieto · $850,000$850,000$850,000 Ryan Merkley · $0$863,333$70,000 (AHL/JR) Sum: $850,000$1,713,333$920,000 Change: +$87,500 Change: +$87,500 Change: +$100,000	San Jose Sharks Acquire: Martin Kaut · $0$863,333$70,000 (AHL/JR) Jacob MacDonald · $762,500$762,500$750,000 Sum: $762,500$1,625,833$820,000 Change: -$87,500 Change: -$87,500 Change: -$100,000

Another weird trade for Grier, who downgrades on forward and defense with this trade. Weird they didn't get so much as a draft pick back as an incentive. Grier seems to be pretty keen on trading away young players as of late. Kaut could be something, but he isn't enough for me to move Merkley without getting anything back. Plus, knowing Colorado's luck, Merkley will become the stud everyone thought he would.

It's not like this is going to hurt San Jose at all considering Merkley requested a trade, it's just weird. Hopefully Nieto didn't sell his place in Colorado

Avs win I think, I like Merkley better than Kaut and MacDonald/Nieto are about the same, they’re both bottom of the lineup players/HS

Only downside for the Avs is they miss out on MacDonald's super cheap 2nd year. Aside from that this is a W in every way imo

Kaut is 16th overall from 2018. Merkley is 21st overall from the same year. Nieto and MacDonald are bottom-6/bottom-pair players in their own right. I think it's overall a fair deal.

Merkley for Kaut is a wash as of now and Nieto > McDonald so I voted the Avs

There were 2 occasions this season where San Jose could've gotten Kaut completely free of charge. Instead, they opt to trade away a promising young defenseman for him as the only significant asset coming back. Not sure why they didn't atleast ask for a pick

IMO Merkley will thrive in COL system and Nieto is having a nice year.

COL w

This situation seems to work out well for both teams.
Kaut and MacDonald will be able to get way more playing time in SJ.
Merkley will be able to continue to develop somewhere he wants to be but I don't see him cracking the Avs lineup for quite some time: he had a much better chance of that with the Sharks.
I thought Nieto would at least return a 5th or something though.
Here's to hoping Kaut has Czechia connection with Hertl and turns into a stud... lol
oh Grier

pain

Kahut could end up being something but rn got to say the Avs won

Colorado fleece

This is essentially Matt Nieto for Jacob MacDonald
And Ryan Merkley for Martin Kaut. They just put 2 trade ideas into 1

Merkley wasn't trusted in Sharks system, there's rumors about him having attitude issues and he had requested a trade. Sharks is also 50/50 at the contract limit, so they couldn't take Kaut for free. Plus his almost PPG performance in AHL probably increased his value a bit since September-October time.

I don't think SJ had many options on the table, especially if no one was willing to give a mid round pick. This could very well be the best they could've done. Plus in MacDonald they got an asset with term too that costs under the league minimum cap wise, something which Nieto did not have.

It's not the greatest trade, but frankly I can see why SJ did it.

This is a minor trade. Merkely and Kaut have potential, but at this point are unlikely of being big NHL contributors. Colorado gets a bit of an edge since I think Neito is a decent 4th liner (don't even know who Macdonald is lol) but this is not a big win one way or the other.

Colorado gets:

1. A legit NHL bottom 6 forward

2. A former 1st round pick that is waivers exempt



San Jose gets:

1. A fringe NHL player that plays less than 10 minutes a night and who can't decide whether he's a forward or defenceman.

2. A former 1st round pick that was placed on waivers twice this season and cleared waivers on both occasions.



Colorado wins the trade.

San Jose was at the contract limit, so would not have been able to add a player without subtracting one.

(This trade essentially a completion of those missed claims)

Nieto moving was inevitable. Merkley requested a trade and is absolutely terrible defensively. I honestly doubt Merkley ever establishes a career in the NHL, his work ethic is abysmal. Probably same with Kaut but he'll get more of a chance in SJ

daily reminder that grier still thinks he can get 3 first-rounders for karlsson

Kaut is more than Merkley and Nieto would depart anyway. I welcome this trade. Kaut -RW - with Hertl on the same line. Wow.

Avs W, we get a good defensive bottom 6 forward who has experience with us, and manage to get positive value out of Kaut!

Pretty fair trade right now but, could potentially be a big win for either side (Merkley thrives in COL or Kaut thrives in SJ while the other flops). I am curious to see how this trade looks 2-3 years from now

This is probably a nothingburger, but COL does get the best player and an interesting reclamation project. Win COL, but not by a lot.

This is a slam dunk trade for the sharks. I've liked what grier is doing and I would like to see his moves in the offseason. Merkley is an undersized bum to say the least, and I don't think he will ever play decent NHL minutes for very long. I do think kaut can be a future bottom six guy for a little while. McDonald for nieto is fair but gives each team what they need. While the Avalanche do well in the trade, I think this is a fantastic deal for the sharks.