NHL Trade Deadline: Sharks Wise Not to Break the Bank for Rick Nash

In the days and hours leading up to NHL's trade deadline, the big question concerning the San Jose Sharks was whether the team would make a trade for Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash.

The Sharks did end up making a deal on deadline day...but not for Nash.

As reported by the San Jose Mercury News, the Sharks acquired wingers Daniel Winnik and T.J. Galiardi from the Colorado Avalanche. They gave up a handful of players, including Jamie McGinn.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson says the trade satisfies the team's need for "speed, grit, tenacity and penalty-killing." If he's right, the Sharks will snap out of their recent funk in no time at all.

Wilson did not admit that he was in the mix to land Nash, but it was widely reported by several publications (including the Sporting News) that the Sharks were interested in acquiring Nash. His price tag was reported to be very hefty.

That's not at all surprising. The Blue Jackets knew they had the best player on the market, so why give him up for anything short of a top-notch package?

"It's based on supply and demand," Wilson said of the trade market. "The prices seemed to be very high."

To get Nash, an established star, Wilson would have had to give up Logan Couture, a star on the rise. Giving Couture up to acquire Nash would have meant a relatively minor short-term upgrade, and a significant downgrade for the Sharks concerning the long-term. Wilson was wise not to give in to Columbus' demands.

Instead of trading out a young star for an established star, Wilson has kept his young star and strengthened the team's depth with the acquisitions of Winnik and Galiardi. Winnik is a renowned penalty-killer, and Galiardi is a speedster that just about any team in the league would like to have in its corner. 

Are the Sharks a Stanley Cup-caliber team after this trade? Honestly, it doesn't look like it. They don't stack up next to the upper echelon of teams in the Western Conference, and the loss of McGinn will be felt. The Sharks will need a lot of things to go right to advance far in the postseason this year.

But Sharks fans should look on the bright side. Monday's trade bolsters the Sharks' chances of making the playoff cut, for one, and that's obviously a good thing seeing as how the Sharks have been trending in the wrong direction. For two, they wouldn't have been a Cup-caliber team even if they had added Nash, and they would have been in worse shape going forward with Couture out of the picture.

So in the end, everything worked out for the best.