The day after Joe Thornton injured his right MCL, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson was not exactly adamant Thornton's injury would change the team's plans ahead of the Feb. 26 trade deadline.
"We'll process it. Probably not," Wilson told reporters on Jan. 24 when asked if his approach would change. "But don't hold me to that. You never know what comes available as you move forward."
Now, Wilson has reportedly tried to get a sense of what will come available, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman:
One of the rumblings around last weekend was that Joe Thornton's injury had San Jose's Doug Wilson being a little more active, seeing what's out there. While I think he did make overtures, I'm not sure it's a guarantee he's going to do much.
The Sharks are also hesitant about eating into their $20 million in salary cap space, unless they acquire "a cornerstone player," and about trading next year's first round pick, according to Friedman.
"[E]specially not for a rental," Friedman wrote.
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San Joes does not have picks in the second or third rounds in 2018, thanks to two separate deals that acquired Roman Polak, Nick Spaling, and James Reimer at the 2016 trade deadline. None of those players were re-signed.
Entering Wednesday, the Sharks were in a three-way tie for second place in the Pacific Division, and held a games played (49) tiebreaker over the Kings (50) and the Ducks (51).
