The San Jose Sharks aren’t actively shopping Mario Ferraro.
That’s what Ferraro agent, Peter Wallen, told San Jose Hockey Now yesterday. Wallen, via text, summarized a conversation last week with GM Mike Grier: “Everybody is tradable. But not looking to trade him actively.”
So while that doesn’t guarantee Ferraro will remain with the San Jose Sharks past the Mar. 8 Trade Deadline, there’s a pretty good chance that the alternate captain is going to stay put.
Ferraro, 25, has two years left on his contract after this season with a $3.25 million AAV.
The left-hander is a minute-munching defensive defenseman, who’s averaged over 22 minutes a night over the past four years, and his puck play has improved this season.
He’s also seen as a heart-and-soul player on and off the ice, a true leader, still young enough to grow with the rebuilding Sharks. And while Ferraro has never seen the playoffs, everything about him screams that he’s a winning player.
That said, there are limiting factors to Ferraro’s game.
There’s some industry-wide thought that on a better team, he’s a bottom-pairing blueliner, which makes his current contract a bit rich. Related to that, he’s defense-first with a questionable offensive ceiling. Even defensively, he has a tendency to do too much, though that’s probably closely connected with being a top player on a perennially struggling franchise.
So best guess, the San Jose Sharks will hold on to Ferraro unless they receive an overpayment. Based on my conversations with league sources, at this time, teams would trade a second or third-round pick for the spark plug defenseman. But more than that?
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