DONE DEAL: San Jose and New Jersey Make a Trade

The San Jose Sharks and New Jersey Devils pulled off a trade on Monday as the two teams swapped a couple of young players who needed a change of scenery. Forward Nick Merkley heads to San Jose, meanwhile defenseman Christian Jaros heads to San Jose.

Hearing Christian Jaros from SJ to NJ for Nick Merkley. New homes for a couple of players.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 26, 2021

Christian Jaros has signed a 1-year contract with #NJDevils after trade from #SJSharks
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) July 26, 2021

Merkley is a 24-year-old former first-round pick who hasn't been able to find his legs in the show quite yet. He's currently a restricted free-agent without a contract and will surely be given one from the Sharks sometime soon. Last season he made $874,125 and recorded 10 points in 27 games with the Devils.

As for Jaros, the 6'3 defender is still 25 years old and signed a fresh contract immediately with the Devils. New Jersey is trying to move on from P.K. Subban so there could be some more minutes coming available on the right side for Jaros. Last season he appeared in seven games, recording one point and enjoyed his best season in 2018-19 with the Ottawa Senators when he played 61 games and recorded 10 points.

Photo credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports