The Sharks have sent defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad
Lukowich to the Vancouver Canucks for two prospects in a trade that
sacrifices a veteran presence to give San Jose some breathing room
under the NHL’s salary cap.
SAN JOSE
The Sharks have sent defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Vancouver Canucks for two prospects in a trade that sacrifices a veteran presence to give San Jose some breathing room under the NHL’s salary cap.
The Sharks had been right up against the NHL’s $57.8 million cap with center Torrey Mitchell and at least one other forward yet to be signed. By trading Ehrhoff and Lukowich, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson knocks a combined $4.67 million off the team payroll.
Center Patrick White, Vancouver’s first-round pick in the 2007 draft who plays at the University of Minnesota, and defenseman Daniel Rahimi, the Canucks’ third-round pick in 2006 who played last season with the Manitoba Moose, are the prospects acquired by the Sharks.
The trade creates training camp competition at the blue line with rookies such as Derek Joslin, Jason Demers, Mike Moore and Nick Petrecki among those vying for at least one Top Six opening on defense.
“This trade speaks to the confidence we have in the young players coming up through our system who have earned the right to compete for a spot on this team,” Wilson said in a prepared statement. “It also creates some flexibility in our team payroll for potential future transactions as the season progresses and adds two more talented players to our reserve list that can help this organization in the future.”
Ehrhoff, 27, spent his entire NHL career with the Sharks after being the team’s
fourth-round pick in the 2001 draft. Last year he was the team’s third-highest scoring defenseman with eight goals and 42 points in 77 games.
Lukowich, 33, came to the Sharks a year ago as part of the deal that brought Dan Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lightning. More of a stay-at-home defenseman, he had eight assists in 58 games.
