Fantasy Take: San Jose Sharks Acquire Jake Walman; Detroit ...

One thing that the Detroit Red Wings assuredly had on their agenda for the offseason was to clear some cap space. If there is something that the San Jose Sharks assuredly wanted to do in the offseason, it was to add capable NHLers to the lineup as they ostensibly get set to welcome both Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith to the squad. Both teams got the ball rolling on that as the Sharks acquired defenceman Jake Walman from the Red Wings:

Eagle-eyed readers will notice there is no return given in that tweet, and that's because there wasn't one. It was Walman and a second for future considerations. Alrighty, let's get into it (additional data from Natural Stat Trick).

What San Jose Gets

Walman was originally sent to Detroit from St. Louis in a trade that looked lopsided 12 months ago. The blue liner had a good 2022-23 season with the Wings, amassing 9 goals and 9 assists in 63 games, totaling 121 blocks and 47 hits with 140 shots along the way. The team also outscored the opposition 44-39 in his even strength ice time and AllThreeZones had him not committing a lot of turnovers in the defensive zone, allowing the Wings to get up the ice with the puck:

Notice that he had a very high rate of exits per 60 minutes, so he did a lot of the heavy lifting for the Red Wings getting up the ice. It was a good real-life and fantasy season for him.

The 2023-24 campaign, meanwhile, was not a good season. His production went up with 12 goals and 21 points in 63 games, managing 151 blocks and 42 hits, but his shot total plummeted to 108. Detroit was outscored 58-49 in his even strength time, and the team really struggled to get the puck out of the zone when it was on his stick:

Not only was the defensive zone work worse, but he contributed even less playmaking than before, and he wasn't a great offensive zone playmaker to begin with. He does love to jump into the play, but it wasn't leading to the same levels of success.

At his best, Walman is a rearguard that loves joining the rush. The problem is the 2023-24 Red Wings created the second-fewest shots off the rush per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, with only the Sharks faring worse. Maybe his new team, with a re-tooled lineup, will allow him more freedom to get the puck up the ice. It would certainly play to his strengths.

The big question is about the power play. San Jose has a couple of young players that took some top minutes last season, but no one has a firm grip on the role. It is there for Walman if he gets the chance, and he probably will at some point, but it's hard to see him staying there for the vast majority of the 82 games. It might be the difference between a 25-point and a 35-point defenceman, and that matters for someone who usually thrives in peripheral stats.

This does open up a spot for Simon Edvinsson to have a much bigger role for the Wings, but this seems like the first move in a series this summer, so we'll have to really wait a few weeks to see how their defence corps shakes out.

Who This Helps

Simon Edvinsson

William Wallinder

Ben Chiarot

Jake Walman

Who This Hurts

Henry Thrun

Kyle Burroughs

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