Mailbag: Carlsson’s role with Ducks, impact of Penguins moves

The San Jose Sharks have had some rough years recently. What is GM Mike Grier’s plan? They have some blue-chip prospects, mainly William Eklund. Where do these players fit in this year? What is on the horizon for veterans like Logan Couture and company? — @theashcity

The Sharks are rebuilding, and Grier really hasn’t made that a secret. That’s why they traded Karlsson to the Penguins. That’s why they traded forward Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils in February. It’s why they traded defenseman Brent Burns to the Hurricanes before last season. They’ll try to remain competitive this season, relying on forwards Couture and Tomas Hertl to lead them, but make no mistake, this is a full-on rebuild. Couture has four years left on his contract. Hertl has seven years left on his. They’re going to be a part of this rebuild. The Sharks likely would prefer to move on from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, but he has three years left on his contract, making it difficult to part ways with the defenseman. But the Sharks also might be two or three years away from being a playoff contender. They aren’t going to rush it.

Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau each has a big opportunity this season to become a full-time, impactful NHL forward. Eklund was the No. 7 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft; Bordeleau was a second-round pick (No. 38) in the 2020 NHL Draft. Will Smith will be out of sight but not out of mind. The forward, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, is entering his freshman season at Boston College. He may be two or three years away from being a player for San Jose, but he’s a huge part of the rebuild, just like Eklund and Bordealeau. The Sharks are hoping defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin, a first-round pick (No. 20) in the 2020 draft who was acquired from the Devils in the Meier trade, and forwards Filip Bystedt (first round, No. 27, 2022 NHL Draft) and Ozzy Wiesblatt (first round, No. 31, 2020 draft) will also be a big part of their future. Mukhamadullin, Bystedt and Wiesblatt are not ready for the NHL yet. The same can be said for forward Quentin Musty, a first-round selection (No. 26) in the 2023 draft. San Jose also has four picks in the first two rounds of the 2024 NHL Draft: two in the first and two in the second, though two of those picks are conditional.

Will the Maple Leafs be able to keep Max Domi for more than a year or keep his dad out of the picture? He changes teams every year. What do you think? — @podoc15

Not sure why you have to bring his dad, Tie Domi, into the conversation here. The fact is a lot of players signed one-year contracts this offseason mostly because of NHL salary cap constraints being felt across the League’s 32 teams, but also because some players were betting on themselves that a one-year deal could be parlayed into a multiyear contract starting next season, when the salary cap could rise by between $4 million and $5 million. Domi got a one-year, $3 million contract from the Maple Leafs. It’s a fair contract for a versatile…