Trade grades: Urgent Granlund swap benefits everyone

The Dallas Stars prolonged the NHL's trading spree by poaching the last-place San Jose Sharks' top scorer.

Dallas acquired veteran forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci on Saturday for a pair of 2025 draft selections. San Jose receives the Stars' first-round pick, as well as a conditional third-round pick that becomes a fourth-rounder should Dallas bow out before the Stanley Cup Final.

Let's evaluate the deal for both teams.

Stars

Reinforcements are en route to Dallas, a Central Division contender that's won four straight yet needed to make a move to counteract the loss of several injured regulars, most notably Miro Heiskanen.

Granlund wouldn't lead many squads in points, but he's a slick puck carrier and playmaker who deepens the Stars' enviable complement of offensive weapons. He sniped two nice goals, then dished three assists in recent back-to-back Sharks defeats to the Nashville Predators (the aggregate score was 13-10). He's going from a defensive trainwreck to a fortress - Dallas ranks third in goals allowed - and could elevate any combination of skilled linemates.

Few NHL defensemen can simulate Heiskanen's impact. Ceci isn't in the same stratosphere. But he's able to tread water in a depth role, sacrifice his body (100 blocked shots this season), and eat shorthanded minutes. The Edmonton Oilers' 94.3% penalty kill blanked Dallas and was never scored on in Ceci's shifts during the 2024 playoffs.

This trade fits a new trend. Powerful and desperate teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers in January, are swapping premium picks for top talent earlier in the season. Rather than be complacent and pay the same price to outbid competitors at the March 7 deadline, Dallas gets to rent Granlund's services for an extra 10 games.

Grade: B+

Sharks

Two years ago, Granlund's bloated contract was a negative asset the Sharks absorbed to minimize their retention on Erik Karlsson's big ticket.

Now a pending unrestricted free agent, Granlund rehabilitated his image at the top of San Jose's lineup. Since the start of last season, he ranks 33rd in the league in assists (78) and is 60th in points per game (0.87, 105 in total). He contributed to a third of goals tallied in the span by the Sharks, who extracted full value from his respectable stint.

Granlund's basement-dwelling former teammates have 28 games left to endure without him. That outcome is tolerable because the objectives of their rebuilding year - catapult Macklin Celebrini to stardom and chase another first overall pick - are well on track.

General manager Mike Grier used picks obtained in the Karlsson and Timo Meier blockbusters to trade up in 2024 for star prospect Sam Dickinson, a future pillar on defense. After moving Granlund, Grier wields an additional first-round selection in a third straight draft.

Grade: A

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.