Anthony Duclair #10 of the San Jose Sharks is congratulated by teammates after he scored against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first period at SAP Center on Feb. 17, 2024 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks on Thursday traded forward Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round selection to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2024 third-round selection and minor league defenseman Jack Thompson.
Duclair was one of a handful of pending unrestricted free agents on the Sharks roster and figured to be one of general manager Mike Grier’s most attractive trade pieces.
Duclair entered Thursday with 16 goals and 27 points in 56 games but had been playing his most productive hockey of the season over the last three-plus weeks since the Sharks returned from their bye week on Feb. 12.
In the last 10 games before Thursday, Duclair led the Sharks with seven goals 10 points, and 26 shots on net. With Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture both unavailable, Duclair has been playing mainly on a line with Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund.
Those three combined for nine points, with Duclair collecting two goals and two assists, in the Sharks’ 7-6 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. The Sharks led 6-3 before they allowed three third-period goals.
Thompson, 21, has appeared in 46 American Hockey League games this season for the Syracuse Crunch, recording 32 points and 12 penalty minutes.
Thompson was a third-round draft choice by the Lightning in 2020 and made his NHL debut with Tampa Bay on Jan. 6, 2024, in his lone game for the team.
Thompson ranked second on Syracuse in points and assists, and led the team’s defensemen in both categories. Over two AHL seasons, he played in 118 games, scoring 56 points (13 goals, 43 assists).
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Originally published at Curtis Pashelka