- Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — For Mike Grier, this was one of the toughest trades of his short tenure as Sharks general manager.
On Monday afternoon, the Sharks announced that they traded goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and winger Givani Smith, along with a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, to the Colorado Avalanche for young winger Nikolai Kovalenko, goalie Alexandar Georgiev, a 2025 conditional fifth-round draft pick (can go up to a fourth if specific conditions are met), and a 2026 second-round draft pick.
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“This one's tough because Blacky and I go back to the New Jersey days together, been more than a hockey player. I love the kid,” Grier told San Jose Hockey Now in an exclusive interview.
Grier was a Devils assistant coach before landing the Sharks job in the summer of 2022. The next summer, he acquired Blackwood from New Jersey for a sixth-round draft pick.
Grier spoke at length with SJHN about the trade after informing Blackwood, who turned 28 on Monday. Blackwood participated in Sharks practice earlier in the day, before the team departed for Raleigh.
“When someone calls you with an offer you feel like you can't refuse, and it's going to help continue to build this and set you up for the future, you have to kind of take it,” Grier said.
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Grier shared how much the Sharks like Kovalenko, how preliminary chats with Blackwood’s agent about an extension for the pending UFA goalie might have contributed to this trade, what he’s hoping for from Georgiev and more.
Mike Grier’s opening statement:
"I've had a couple of these [trades] that have been tough. The [Tomas] Hertl one was tough. This one's tough because Blacky and I go back to the New Jersey days together, been more than a hockey player. I love the kid. He's a great kid. I'm happy that he's kind of taken this opportunity and he's kind of ran with it.
"It'll be tough for our group. Our group really likes the kid and enjoys playing in front of him.
"It's kind of still in the stages of where we are. We look back historically on returns for goalies and in season. There's only two guys that have ever gotten a second-round pick, and both of them were coming off Vezina seasons, I believe, in Fleury and Robin Lehner. It was a return we thought we couldn't pass up.
"It's probably a little earlier than I would have envisioned doing it. But the return, it's a good return of two draft picks as we continue to build.
"We really like the Kovalenko kid. We had talks about him with Colorado last year. He's going to come in and play for us right away. Give us something a little bit different than what we have, he's a competitive, north-south player. He's someone we're hoping we can grow with.
"So it's a tough day for me. I'm sure it's a tough day for the group, coaches, everyone. Blacky has meant a lot to us.
"But as well as you've seen these last couple games, where as much as things are better and we're improving, I think you guys all see how far we really are away from what the championship standard is in this league, and that's what we're trying to get to. It's my job to look at the present but keep an eye on the future as well. We got to keep building it.
"I wish Blacky nothing but the best. It's a good team, good situation. You're going to have a chance to win, which I think will be important for his career going forward, not only in the NHL but for Team Canada and things like that. In my view, he's probably outplayed the goalies that made that 4 Nations [Faceoff] team. But one thing he's probably missing on his resume is playing important games and pressure situations. This is something for him, I think that will help him.
"If this was two years from now, would probably be a different story. He'd be not someone to be looking to move on from, but the fact that he's a UFA, and to his credit, he probably outplayed his way out of here too, for what he's gonna earn. Speaking with his agent and everything, what he's going to be looking for, and what he's rightfully earned as a UFA to make. I hope he gets what he's looking for.
"I think he kind of played his way out of probably the ballpark figure of what we were looking for, especially with Askarov coming up as well."
Grier, on preliminary chats with Blackwood’s representation about an extension:
"We had a conversation about, just in general, what he'd be looking for. And like I said, he probably played his way out of what we would be looking for, especially, he's going to want some term. He hasn't had some term, and he's going to want some money. It's his first chance to make money. And every player, if they get to that point where they can be unrestricted, that's up to them and it's more power to them. They should try and earn as much money as they can.
"He's earned this. He's played really well for us for two years. Hopefully goes there and plays really well. Does well when the summer comes."
Grier, on potentially keeping both top prospect Yaroslav Askarov and Blackwood:
"There was definitely a possibility here of having a competition with him and Asky and kind of a 1A-1B type of thing.
"But like I said, my job is to look down the road too, and how much money do you want in the net? If one guy happens to beat out the other.
"Owe him a lot. He's done a lot for our group, and not easy circumstances for a goalie.
Grier, on Nikolai Kovalenko:
"When you watch him, the competitiveness, the inside game he has, and it's come to the forefront these last couple games, right? They're "big boy" games, you got to play inside, you got to win pucks. Those teams [Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning] showed what it takes to do it. And we're not quite there yet. I think he has the ability to do that.
"When you see him, he's built like a refrigerator, so he gets to the net, gets around the net, and wins battles. We have to keep adding that to our group.
"He can play left or right [wing]. A lot of those guys grow up [in Russia] playing on their off-side. From talking to our scouts and the guys in Colorado, I think he's comfortable on either wing."
Grier, on acquiring Georgiev:
"It just gives us a little, maybe a little bit more time for Asky to play down there and keep building on what he's doing down there. For Georgie, I had him in New York. He's a playoff-tested guy. He's won a lot of games in this league.
"For him, it's an opportunity to maybe, he's playing better now, but maybe get his game back to where he wants it in a less pressure-filled environment. We'll kind of see what happens during the next couple months after that.
Grier, on how losing Blackwood affects the Sharks' locker room:
"It's gonna be difficult for them, and I understand it. It's the bad part of the business.
In an ideal world, it would have happened later in the season. But that's not the reality of sports, right? They're in a situation there where they're battling for the playoffs and they needed something and they were willing to kind of ante up for what we were looking for. By no means were we looking to move Blacky. But when someone calls you with an offer you feel like you can't refuse, and it's going to help continue to build this and set you up for the future, you have to kind of take it, even if maybe the timing is not ideal.
Grier, on seeing Kovalenko as a playoff-caliber middle-six winger soon:
"That's the hope. I think he can play with all different types of players. He can do some of the dirty work with our top guys or play more in a checking role. He's pretty versatile."