So a quick glance at their capfriendly.com page shows the San Jose Sharks are potentially going to be a VERY different team in a few years. Are any of these guys heading up The 5 to Seattle?
(My guidelines are here and the aforementioned capfriendly.com and hockeydb.com are invaluable to my efforts)
While there's guys like Joe Pavelski or Logan Couture who will probably re-sign with the team in the near future, there's only four guys signed past the 2020/2021 cutoff line for eligibility.
Forwards: Evander Kane
Defensemen/Defencemen: Brent Burns, Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Goalies: Martin Jones
So I have good news and bad news.
The Good News: Any of these guys would be an awesome pick for Seattle. Kane is a power forward really going into his own after some, uh, rough patches. Vlasic and Burns would be great top-four defenders. Jones is a above-average goalie with decent success in the playoffs. Heck, Burns could even fill in for Squatch if the NBA comes back!
The Bad News: Vlasic has a No-Move Clause and the other three have modified No-Trade Clauses, so they would have to be convinced to go.
Realistically, it's almost assuredly NOT going to be one of these four. That said, the CHEAPEST guy here is making almost six million bucks a year, so it's not like there wouldn't be an incentive to at least try if you're San Jose. For all the new contracts they have to dole out in the next few years, any of these guys could provide no small amount of space under the cap. So of these long shots which is the, um, least long?
Probably not Kane, since they literally just signed him yesterday. Considering they gave up a first-round draft pick for him and signed him for seven years at seven million, it strains credulity to think they're going to move on from him less than halfway through that contract.
Burns and Vlasic are sing for a combined fifteen million through the 2024/2025 season. They make a great pair, one of the best in the league beyond question. I hope for their sake that's still the case six years from now or that money will be problematic.
Jones is noticeably less expensive ("only" 5.75 million a year), and he's already on his third NHL team. While highly unlikely, it's certainly not impossible he could get crowded out in a numbers game in the crease. The lack of available roster spots were a large part of why he was traded from Los Angeles in the first place. So I'm going to go with
Martin Jones (Goalie)
Why San Jose Would Make Him Available: If he loses his crease in this rather hypothetical situation, it's almost assuredly to someone cheaper. That's really the only thing that makes this plausible.
That's something that's happened more than a few times in NHL history, but it's hardly something you can see coming this far out.
Why Seattle Would Want Him: While he's no Marc-Andre Fleury, he's certainly good enough to give Seattle's NHL team a decent chance those first few years. And being signed through 2023/2024, you're not only stable in the near-term at the most important position on the ice but you're giving whatever goalie prospects Seattle starts out with an ideal time frame to develop. No need to rush anyone up before they're ready for NHL action.
Bonus Pick: Brenden Dillon (Defense/Defence)
I don't make these bonus picks for every team, but Dillon proved irresistible. He's a former Seattle Thunderbird, so he's "going home" to some extent. He's making less than three-and-a-half million so any contract he signs between now and then won't break the bank. He's a perfectly adequate bottom-pair defensemen with enough #grit to his game to become a quick fan-favorite.
Perhaps most important for an expansion roster, he made the NHL without being drafted. That example of perseverance would be really useful in a locker room full of guys deemed expendable by their former teams. Wanting to show your former team(s) they made a mistake letting you go can take you really far sometimes.
