Sharks trade for Duclair to fill scoring void at forward

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2023-24 regular season, which starts Oct. 10. Today, the San Jose Sharks:

2022-23 season: 22-44-16, seventh in Pacific Division; did not qualify for Stanley Cup Playoffs

Key arrivals

Anthony Duclair, F: The 27-year-old was acquired in a trade with the Florida Panthers on July 1 for forward Steven Lorentz and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Duclair can become an unrestricted free agent after this season and will look to inject life into an offense that cratered after forward Timo Meier was traded to the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 26. He was limited to 20 games last season (nine points; two goals, seven assists) because of a torn Achilles but had 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 20 playoff games to help Florida reach the Stanley Cup Final. … Mackenzie Blackwood, G: The 26-year-old was acquired from the Devils on June 27 and signed a two-year contract July 1. Blackwood was 10-6-2 with a 3.20 goals-against average and .893 save percentage in 22 regular-season games (20 starts) last season and did not play in the postseason. … Filip Zadina, F:The 23-year-old signed a one-year contract July 10, seven days after he was placed on waivers by the Detroit Red Wings. Zadina had seven points (three goals, four assists) in 30 games last season, missing about three months after being hit on the right leg by a shot Nov. 5. He said he'd love the chance to play with Tomas Hertl as his center and should get it.

Key departures

James Reimer, G:Signed a one-year contract with the Red Wings on July 1 after going 12-21-8 with a 3.48 GAA, .890 save percentage and three shutouts in 43 games (41 starts) last season. … Steven Lorentz, F: Had 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 80 games last season.

On the cusp

Video: Anthony Duclair joins San Jose Sharks via trade, F: The 20-year-old forward said during development camp that he'll be ready for training camp following surgery March 30 to repair a torn labrum on his left shoulder. Eklund was doing on-ice work and planned to soon begin skating. The No. 7 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft had three points (two goals, one assist) in eight NHL games and 41 points (17 goals, 24 assists) in 54 games for San Jose of the American Hockey League last season, his first in North America. … Video: Anthony Duclair joins San Jose Sharks via trade, F: The 21-year-old has seven assists in 16 NHL games and completed his first full professional season in 2022-23 with 41 points (22 goals, 19 assists) in 65 AHL games. … Video: Anthony Duclair joins San Jose Sharks via trade, F:The 18-year-old was chosen with the No. 4 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Smith led all players and tied a United States record held by Jack Hughes with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in seven games to win a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship. He's committed to Boston College this season. … Video: Anthony Duclair joins San Jose Sharks via trade, D:The 21-year-old was acquired in the Meier trade. Mukhamadullin had 25 points (six goals, 19 assists) in 67 games for Ufa in the Kontinental Hockey League and 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 12 AHL games in 2022-23, his North American regular-season debut.

What they still need

More offense and reliable goaltending. They traded Meier, a 31-goal scorer, and Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson (101 points; 25 goals, 76 assists) could be sent to a Stanley Cup contender. Also, forward Luke Kunin may not be ready for the start of the season after having surgery for a torn ACL in December. Injuries have derailed Blackwood's NHL career since he was an established starter with the Devils. Kaapo Kahkonen was 1-7-2 with a 4.82 GAA and .871 save percentage in 10 games from March 1 until the end of last season after a 2.41 GAA and .929 save percentage in seven February games.

They said it

"It's been a good summer for us as an organization. We're really happy with all our additions. We were talking about (how) in a year how much better we feel about the organization and the direction we're going, some of the changes we made." -- Sharks coach David Quinn

Fantasy focus

Duclair has bounce-back appeal this season. He had an NHL career-best 58 points (31 goals, 27 assists) in 74 games for the Panthers in 2021-22 and has individual upside if he plays on a line with either Logan Couture or Hertl. His ceiling increases with a likely larger role in San Jose's top-six forward group, along with time on the power play. -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

William Eklund -- Tomas Hertl -- Filip Zadina

Alexander Barabanov -- Logan Couture -- Anthony Duclair

Jacob Peterson -- Nico Sturm -- Video: Anthony Duclair joins San Jose Sharks via trade

Oskar Lindblom -- Thomas Bordeleau -- Kevin Labanc

Mario Ferraro -- Erik Karlsson

Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Matt Benning

Jacob MacDonald -- Radim Simek

Mackenzie Blackwood

Kaapo Kahkonen