Stars acquire Granlund and Ceci from the Sharks in the latest move in flurry of NHL trades
The Dallas Stars acquired center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks on Saturday in the latest in a flurry of trades around the NHL.
Dallas sent a 2025 first-round pick and a conditional third-round pick to San Jose for Granlund and Ceci just over a week before the league takes a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The pick becomes a fourth-rounder if the Stars do not reach the Stanley Cup Final.
“We are excited to welcome both Mikael and Cody to Dallas,” Dallas general manager Jim Nill said. “We see both players as addressing immediate needs for our team. Mikael is a proven scorer who will bolster our forward group at both even strength and on the power play, and Cody will add a stabilizing and physical presence to our blueline. Both players will bring valuable postseason experience to our group, and we are looking forward to seeing their contributions to the Stars as the season continues.”
The move Saturday came less than 24 hours after Vancouver traded J.T. Miller to the New York Rangers and acquired Marcus Pettersson and Danton Heinen from Pittsburgh in a pair of connected deals. On Thursday night, Calgary got forwards Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost from Philadelphia.
Last week, Colorado, Chicago and Carolina completed a three-team blockbuster that got the Hurricanes Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall, with Martin Necas going to the Avalanche.
“You’ve kind of seen all the trades that have happened within the last week," Sharks GM Mike Grier said on a video call with reporters. “Things have heated up around the league, for whatever reason it may be, the break coming. You get out of the break and you’re basically at the deadline, so I think teams are just trying to get ahead of it.”
Granlund, who turns 33 on Feb. 26, gives the banged-up Stars some dependable depth down the middle with Tyler Seguin out long term following hip surgery. Winger Mason Marchment also went on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Dec. 31.
The 31-year-old Ceci also provides much-needed help on the blue line with No. 1 defenseman Miro Heiskanen considered week to week with a lower-body injury. Further to the injuries on defense, Nill announced Nils Lundkvist underwent season-ending shoulder surgery.
“They were aggressive for going after both guys,” Grier said. “Lots of teams logged some interest. They’re two good players, two good people, but we just kind of felt we were able to get what we wanted, so it’s something we kind of had to do.”
Grier said the possibility of Granlund being injured playing for Finland in the 4 Nations is “kind of maybe in the back of your mind a little bit,” but the return was the reason he made the move.
“In a perfect world, I maybe would’ve held on to ‘Granny’ and ‘Cece’ closer to the deadline so our group could have them for a little bit longer," Grier said, referring to trading Mackenzie Blackwood in December ahead of schedule to Colorado in a similar vein. "But it doesn’t always work out that way and the market just kind of heated up over the last week. We kind of took advantage of the opportunity that came my way.”
After the trade, the Sharks now have eight selections in the draft later this year, including two in the first round. They would get Winnipeg's fourth-rounder if Dallas loses before the final.
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