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The San Jose Sharks traded goalie Adin Hill to the Vegas Golden Knights this week, in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2024.

Hill was only acquired from the Arizona Coyotes last offseason, with San Jose notably sending a second-round pick (and prospect Josef Korenar) the other way. In his single season with the Sharks, Hill played in just 25 games, posting a .906 save percentage.

While giving up as much as the Sharks did in the initial trade for Hill last season was certainly a gamble, you could at least see the intention behind it. Hill is still fairly young and the hope was that San Jose was potentially acquiring a long-term solution in net. While his first season with the team didn’t go as planned though, giving up on him after a single season seems like the wrong decision.

His numbers weren’t great this year but he was also playing behind a poor team. While there’s no guarantee Hill is going to become a consistent NHL netminder, given the Sharks were banking on him being a long-term solution, trading him after short-term struggles doesn’t look great.

Though Kaapo Kahkonen wasn’t going anywhere, the Sharks opted to hang onto James Reimer, who’s now 34 years old and isn’t going to be a long-term fit. Reimer was great for the Sharks this past season and capitalizing on his strong year to move him for better assets would’ve been the optimal move. Reimer can also be somewhat inconsistent from year and year and by hanging onto him instead of Hill, there’s still no guarantee Reimer will repeat his strong season.

The Sharks aren’t going to contend this year and choosing Reimer over Hill doesn't fit with the team's long-term outlook. Factor in that the team also essentially turned a second-round pick into a fourth-round pick with the two Hill trades in a span of a single year and the Sharks just don’t come away from the deal looking good.

While Hill’s ceiling is still relatively uncertain, giving up on him in favour of Reimer looks like the wrong move.


PollMaker

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