SHARKS TRADE JAYCOB MEGNA TO KRAKEN

The San Jose Sharks announced that they have traded defenseman Jaycob Megna to the Seattle Kraken for a 2023 4th Round Draft Pick.

The 2023 4th Round Draft Pick the Sharks will receive from Seattle is a conditional pick, as the Kraken own both Colorado's 2023 4th Round Pick and their own. Per Curtis Pashelka on Twitter, the Seattle club has until June 15th to determine which draft pick they will send in the transaction. As of February 5th, 2023: Seattle holds the 114th overall selection and121st overall selection in the 4th Round (per CapFriendly).

Megna was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 210th overall in the 7th Round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. On July 28th, 2021, former General Manager Doug Wilson signed Megna to a 1-year/$750K AAV contract. Megna was offered a 2-year extension worth $1.525M by interim General Manager Joe Will on May 9th, 2022 (Per CapFriendly).

Jaycob Megna was part of the San Jose Sharks organization from 2020-2023. He played 88 games for the San Jose Barracuda between 2020 and 2022. Megna was named the 3rd Team Captain in Barracuda Franchise History on February 6th, 2021, and led the Cuda to the 2021 AHL playoffs. Megna recorded minutes with the Sharks for 2 seasons, in which he played 92 games, and scored 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists), and recorded 146 hits.

Megna has been paired with Matt Benning, Nick Cicek, Scott Harrington, Radim Simek, Mario Ferraro, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic this season (even strength lines), but no other defenseman has more time on the blue line with Megna than Erik Karlsson. Megna has played 81% of his time on ice (672:02) with the San Jose Sharks' 2023 NHL All-Star.

Jaycob Megna recorded 18 fights in teal. Below are the skaters who were on the opposite side of the 5-minute majors (per HockeyFights):

Adam Lowry

Ben Harpur

Marcus Foligno

Sam Carrick

Hunter Drew

Nicolas Deslauriers

Garnet Hathaway

Jan Jenik

John Hayden

Alexander Romanov

Mark Borowiecki

Mark Kastelic

Sam Carrick

Dennis Gilbert

Mathieu Olivier

Marcus Pettersson

Nathan Beaulieu

Mathew Dumba

Jaycob Megna joins Matt Nieto and Ryan Merkley as Sharks who were traded prior to this season's March 3rd Trade Deadline. This transaction may not have been foreseen in Sharks Territory, especially with names like Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson constantly being headlined in trade rumors, but the Sharks moving the defenseman makes sense.

Megna has been performing slightly under his potential of a 2nd-line NHL defenseman since his years with the San Diego Gulls. After two and a half seasons in San Jose, it doesn't appear as if he'll reach it (at least not with the Sharks' camp). On a positive note, Megna has shown that he can play quality minutes with the league's best (Erik Karlsson) and a 4th Round pick is a net positive considering Megna is a former 7th Rounder, 30 -years old, and has only 5 years of NHL experience.

For Sharks fans, the vacancy on the blue line now offers an opportunity to see Nikolai Knyzhov re-enter the lineup or the newly acquired Jacob MacDonald receive more minutes. Knyzov was paired with Erik Karlsson during his rookie season, while MacDonald has played on the 3rd line with Mario Ferraro since being acquired on January 25th. MacDonald has shown the potential to be a 1st Line NHL defenseman the past couple of seasons with the Colorado Eagles, scoring the most goals by an AHL Defenseman in 2019-2020. Knyzhov was activated from his long-term conditioning loan and re-assigned to the San Jose Barracuda earlier today.

Megna's departure from San Jose offers somebody a chance to jump to the 1st or 2nd line defensive pairing while also offering fans the grim reality that more transactions are on the horizon. With the NHL All-Star Weekend behind us, all eyes in the NHL trade market will be on Sharks Territory as the hockey world wonders if the Sharks will trade away their top defenseman or winger in the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline.