Swimming With Sharks

Back on May 10, 2023, it was reported that former Manitoba Moose standout defenceman Leon Gawanke had left North America and signed a deal with Germany's Adler Mannheim Eagles two days before he was to suit up for Germany at the 2023 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championship. At the time, I wasn't very pleased with the effort that Kevin Cheveldayoff had given in trying to keep good young talent, and it seems that he tried to make the best of the very problem he caused by trading the pictured Leon Gawanke to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defender Artemi Kniazev. If you have never heard of Kniazev, that's ok because most of North America hadn't heard of him either, but he reportedly played for the AHL's San Jose Barracuda on their third pairing. Great work in getting the most for an asset, Chevy.

Almost immediately following the trade, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now contacted Gawanke's agent, Claude Lemieux, about the possibility of Gawanke joining the Sharks, and he assured Peng that "Gawanke can get out of that contract for an NHL deal" if there was one to be made by July 15. Lemieux also texted, "He is signing with the Sharks."

All the kid wanted was a shot to play in the NHL. All he did was show the Winnipeg Jets organization that he could be a contributor. And all the Jets did was trade away another promising young player for a guy who appears to be a career AHL player.

Artemi Kniazev is a 22 year-old who was a San Jose Sharks' 2019 second-round pick. Like Gawanke, the Russian-born defender played in the QMJHL as well as he skated with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, and he was selected three spots ahead of Winnipeg's selection of Simon Lundmark. He has 56 points in 121 AHL games, has played in one NHL game, and appears to have a decent skating and a desire to battle despite being on the small size at 5'11" and 180 pounds. In short, he's Leon Gawanke without the superior offensive skills.

If you're impressed with the return Chevy got for an asset in Gawanke that was mismanaged so poorly that he was never returning to the franchise, congratulations on being an eternal optimist. I was almost surprised that Chevy didn't make the trade for former Moose forward CJ Suess, so maybe I should credit Chevy with avoiding bringing back a guy with whom is already familiar as that seems to be his play. I guess getting something for nothing-that-was-something is a skill that Chevy can add to the resumé.

There was a goalie that, had I been Chevy, I would have taken a serious shot at acquiring, and that's Finnish netminder Eetu Makiniemi. The former Chicago Wolves netminder was a fourth-round pick of the Carolina Hurricanes out of the Ilves Tampere system in Finland before they flipped him to San Jose as part of the Brent Burns deal. In 36 AHL games to date, Makiniemi is 19-12-4 with 2.59 GAA and a .909 save percentage. Those numbers are significantly better than those of both Arvid Holm and Oskari Salminen who played the majority of games for the Manitoba Moose last season, and it's not like the Jets are flush with exceptional goaltending in their system.

After giving 15-goal, 31-point, 150-penalty-minutes man Jeffery Viel a one-way deal to leave AHL San Jose and join NHL Winnipeg on July 1, Chevy went back to the Sharks to pick up a longshot NHL defender in Kniazev. I don't know what the Jets saw in the sixth- and seventh-highest scoring players on the Barracuda last season, but they must have some significant advanced scouting that differs from everything everyone else has seen. With all the good talent out there and available to be signed or via a trade, it's hard to see why Chevy was enamored with these two players that San Jose made very little effort to keep in their tank.

Honestly, trading a potential NHL player for a guy who may not even skate on your AHL franchise's top defensive pairing is another baffling move by a GM who seems entirely lost when it comes to evaluating and keeping talent. For Mike Grier who is working to rebuild the Sharks, getting a puck-moving defenceman for a guy who may not even crack an NHL lineup in his career is a solid move as he works to make the Sharks a contender once again.

For Leon Gawanke, it appears he'll get a shot to swim with the Sharks this fall while the Jets will do whatever they can to try to tread water once again. Be ready for a long winter in the Manitoba capital.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!