I think following are sent down/waived:
1. Simek
2. Linblom
3. Knyshov
Labanc needs to beat out Kunin or Hoffman or Smith or Peterson and probably will not.
Smith starts do to his size and speed. Peterson is more of line 3 guy than 4th liner but will spell Kunin as they ease him back from the knee.
On D tough between McDonald who is the only PP D they have over Thrun but Thrun gets the start until they go 0 for 25 on PP.
Tough season coming.

This team will be a strong candidate for that top pick next year. And for the record I think these are some pretty stellar line combinations. Honestly, MacDonald might give you better 4LW minutes than Smith.......

Never thought of MacD on line 4. Smith is a GMMG guy.
Labanc days are over IMO.
As for top pick, I agree and would be best. We need at least another top 4 pick. Our prospects have some promise but we are 3-years out at minimum so keep building and drafting. Shark fans need patience. I can remember what the Avs went through and now look at them. Hoping for the same.

How are the AVs shaping up this year? Such a bummer for Landeskog! Love that guy.

I think I agree with almost everything but if we waive knyzhov he will almost 100% be claimed and I hope he'll have a strong camp after actually being able to train this offseason... fresh start and all that ya know

I agree with Knyshov I really like the guy and think he has a future in the league. He might be road blocked though with the Sharks. Maybe he has a good camp and him and Thrun are the 6-7 D with MacD starting with the Cuda. I just kept coming back to the PP and MacD.
If Thruns plays well and has shown signs of emprovment he gets the nod because hes a GMMG guy and may have a hand shake agreement for playing time when signed. This is Thruns contract year so I think he gets every opp available which means Knyshov could be out/down.

My biggest fear is that they are better than last year. Not much but get a pick from 5-9 instead of 1-4. The D will be better on D. Of course worse on O and they have better forwards overall. If they are better hopefully that means TDL moves with good returns.

Im not confident at all, w/o EK Thrun is our best option to move the puck out of the zone. I think we are gonna get curb stomped in transition. Eklund + Granlund + Hoffman + Duclair is still probably worse than meier on his own. I'm fairly confident that we won't be better than last year. Interms of the PP we could go 5f and then thrun, or Matt benning like last year. I dont think keep Macdonald up for PP time is worth losing knyzhov for free, I also dont think Mcdonald moves the needle for our power play which might go an entire season without a goal

Its funny to me and I don't mean any disrespect to Sharks fans but that forward group isn't actually that bad but the D and goaltending is just awful, you're certainly getting a top 10 pick but more likely a top 5 pick which is what you need.

Makes me wonder, if you could magically swap that defense for a solid one and put average goaltending behind that forward group where would this Sharks team finish.

Agree about Knyzhov over MacDonald. I'm a big fan of Knyzhov. Has MacDonald played on the pp before?

I think Thrun signed with SJ instead of Anaheim because he was promised NHL icetime. He should get that ice time over older options.

I agree that Simek and Lindblom should be waived. Maybe MacDonald and/or Smith should be waived as well.

I'd be afraid that Okhotiuk would be claimed if we send him down to the Cuda after camp. Hate to lose him for nothing before we know what he can do, especially since he was part if the Timo trade.

I think the Sharks will be bad enough to pick top 4. I hope Hoffman, Duclair, and Labanc do well enough to get something for them at the TDL. But not so well it ruins our tank.

It would be sweet if Granlund gets more points than EK65. If you look back at both their recent stats that's not entirely farfetched. Best for the Shark's pick if Pittsburgh falters this year.

Keep on Slackin' for Macklin'!

C-an't win too many games
E-ven if we try to win we still won't
L-osing is best for the tank
E-rik is gone now and so is half our offense
B-et we finish 32nd
R-eally hope Eklund can be a star
I-am not expecting much from Zadina
N-ow it's hard to see a bright future
I-promise it'll be glorious

who is san jose most likely to use their last retention spot on? duclair?

Waiving Knyzhov would be a HUGE mistake. It sucks, but Thrun can't be claimed so he'll likely start in the A. Peterson earned a spot in the top 6 unless he has a terrible camp. He was the best forward to close out the season. I've also heard Kunin is starting the season on the IR

Depends, Hoffman would be my guess if he has a good season. There will no doubt be a lot of three-way trades with a team retaining for picks

Tough call. Duclair? Hoffman? Labanc? Barabanov? Kunin?Rutta? Granlund? Couture?

I'm betting Couture stays so therefore I'm going to go with Granlund . He has the a good potential to bounce back and the highest salary. He might be traded at the 2025 TDL instead of 2024, but we'll still only have that one retention spot in 2025 if we don't use it in 2024, At $3M Duclair could probably be traded for a 2nd or 3rd without any retention if he has a good year. Same with Barabanov at $2.5M.

Last retention spot goes to Granlund.