LAS VEGAS – The San Jose Sharks continued their busy offseason and alleviated some of the logjam that had built up on their blue line, trading defenseman Kyle Burroughs to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday for forward Carl Grundstrom.
The Sharks acquired defenseman Jake Walman on Tuesday, giving them seven defensemen on one-way contracts at the time. The Sharks also have pending restricted free agents Henry Thrun and Ty Emberson, who still need new deals.
Burroughs signed a three-year, $3.3 million deal with the Sharks as a free agent last year. After Thursday’s trade, the Sharks now have just over $30 million in salary cap space, per CapFriendly, with several pending RFAs still unsigned.
By dealing Burroughs, the Sharks now have Jan Rutta, Matt Benning, Thrun, and Ty Emberson on the right side, and left-shot defensemen Walman, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Mario Ferraro. Fellow left-shot defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nikolai Knyzhov will also be in the mix for roster spots this upcoming season.
Grundstrom, 26, a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights, had 12 points in 50 games with the Kings last season. The year before, he set career highs with 19 points, including 12 goals, in 57 games.
Grundstrom, who is listed at 6 feet and 200 pounds, has 67 points in 236 NHL games in his career. He represented Sweden at the 2022, 2023, and 2024 World Championships, most recently winning a Bronze Medal earlier this year. He was originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Burroughs, 28, played in 73 games with the Sharks in 2023-24 and had eight points. He ranked eighth among San Jose defensemen in scoring, led the group with 71 penalty minutes, and was fifth among team blue-liners with 19:09 time on ice per game.
At 6-foot and 198 pounds, Burroughs can hardly be considered an enforcer, but he also filled a certain role with the Sharks with three fighting majors this past season.
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