27-year-old forward could be on the way out of San Jose before March 3rd's deadline

Over recent weeks, the one name we've heard talked about the most regarding the San Jose Sharks is Swiss-born forward Timo Meier, who's a pending restricted free agent at season's end. It's growing more and more likely that the 26-year-old will be traded by the deadline on March 3rd.

But after being a healthy scratch for four games in a row, Kevin Labanc is another Sharks forward that could find his way out of San Jose leading up to the deadline. The difficult part of trading Kevin Labanc would be his salary, as he has a cap hit of $4.725 million for one more year following the 2023-24 season.

Labanc, 27, is trying to bounce back this season after missing the majority of the 2021-22 campaign with a dislocated shoulder and subsequent surgery. In 43 games this season, the Brooklyn (New York) native has 25 points (ten goals, 15 assists), 22 penalty minutes and is a minus-four.

Along with Meier and Labanc, another name to keep an eye on for the San Jose Sharks is 22-year-old defenceman Ryan Merkley. The 2018 first-round pick submitted a trade request to Sharks general manager Mike Grier in early January.

Marek on 32TP mentions players on the Sharks other than Meier that could be moved, Ryan Merkley has already demanded a trade, throws Kevin Lebanc's name out there as well, has been a healthy scratch in 4 straight games now but has another year at $4.725M, could complicate things.— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) January 23, 2023

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