FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – For Mike Grier, this was one of the most difficult trades of his short tenure as Sharks general manager.

On Monday afternoon, the Sharks announced they had traded goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and winger Givani Smith to the Colorado Avalanche along with a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to replace young winger Nikolai Kovalenko and goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, a conditional draft pick -2025 fifth-round pick (can be up to a quarter if certain conditions are met) and a second draft pick Round 2026.

“It’s tough because Blacky and I look back together to the time in New Jersey where we were more than just a hockey player. I love the kid,” Grier told San Jose Hockey Now in an exclusive interview.

Grier was an assistant coach for the Devils before getting the job with the Sharks 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 attended the Sharks’ practice earlier in the day before the team left for Raleigh.

“If someone calls you with an offer that you feel like you can’t refuse and that will help build that offer further and set you up for the future, you have to accept it somehow,” Grier said .

Grier talked about how much the Sharks like Kovalenko, how preliminary talks with Blackwood’s agent about an extension for the impending UFA goaltender may have contributed to this trade, what he hopes to get from Georgiev and more.

Opening speech by Mike Grier:

“I had a couple of those (trades) that were tough. (Tomas) Hertl was tough. This one is tough because Blacky and I went back in time together in New Jersey and were more than just a hockey player. I.” I love the boy. He’s a great boy. I’m glad he took advantage of this opportunity.

“It will be tough for our group. Our group really likes the boy and enjoys playing in front of him.”

“We are still in the phase we are in. We look back historically at goalkeeper returns and the season. There are only two players who have ever received a second-round pick, and both of them had Vezina seasons, me.” Believe in Fleury and Robin Lehner. We thought we couldn’t miss this return.

“It’s probably a little sooner than I would have imagined. But the return is a good return of two draft picks as we continue to build.”

“We really like the Kovalenko boy. We talked to Colorado about him last year. He will come and play for us immediately. Give us something a little bit different to what we have, he’s a competitive north-south player.” . He is someone we can hopefully grow with.

“So it’s a tough day for me. I’m sure it’s a tough day for the group, the coaches, everyone. Blacky meant a lot to us.”

“But you’ve seen the last few games where while things are better and we’re improving, I think you all see how far we really are from the championship standard in this league and that’s what we’re doing want to achieve. It is my job to look at the present, but also to keep an eye on the future.

“I wish Blacky nothing but the best. It’s a good team, a good situation. They will have a chance to win, which I think will be important for his future career, not only in the NHL, but also for Team Canada and.” In my opinion, he has the goaltenders to make it to the 4 Nations ( faceoff) team have probably surpassed. But one thing he misses on his resume is playing important games and pressure situations help him.

“If this was two years from now, it would probably be a different story. He wouldn’t be someone you’d want to leave behind, but the fact that he’s a UFA, and you have to give him credit, he probably fought his way out.” Again, it’s about what he’s going to earn, and about what he earns as a UFA. I hope he gets what he’s looking for.

“I think he kind of played out of the set piece that we were looking for, especially with Askarov in the mix as well.”

Grier, on preliminary discussions with Blackwood’s representation about an extension:

“We had a general conversation about what he would be looking for. And like I said, he’s probably played himself out of what we would be looking for, particularly he’s going to want some tenure. He didn’t He didn’t have time and he’ll want some money. And when each player reaches the point where they can be unrestricted, it’s their own decision try to make as much money as possible.

“He deserves this. He played really well for us for two years. Hopefully he goes there and plays really well. Looks good when summer comes.”

Grier on the potential whereabouts of top candidates Yaroslav Askarov and Blackwood:

“There was definitely an opportunity here to have a competition with him and Asky, something like a 1A-1B thing.”

“But like I said, my job is to also look into the future, and how much money do you want to have online? When one defeats the other.”

“I have a lot to thank him for. He did a lot for our team, but it wasn’t easy for a goalkeeper.”

Grier about Nikolai Kovalenko:

“When you watch him you see his competitiveness, his inside game, and that’s come to the fore in the last few games, hasn’t it? They’re big boy games, you have to play inside, you have to win pucks. These teams (Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning) have shown what it takes. And we’re not quite there yet.

“If you look at him, he’s built like a refrigerator, so he gets to the net, goes around the net and wins battles. We need to keep adding that to our group.”

“He can play left or right (wing). A lot of these guys grew up (in Russia) and play on the offside. After talking to our scouts and the guys in Colorado, I think he’s comfortable on both wings.”

Grier on taking over Georgiev:

“It just gives us a little bit, maybe a little bit more time for Asky to play down there and continue to build on what he’s doing down there. I had him in New York for Georgie. He’s a playoff-tested guy. He won a lot of games in this league.

“It’s an opportunity for him, maybe, he’s playing better now, but maybe he gets his game back to where he wants it to be in a less pressured environment. We’ll see what happens in the next few months after that.”

Grier on how the loss of Blackwood impacts the Sharks’ locker room:

“It will be difficult for them and I understand it. That’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 sport, is it? They’re in a situation there where they’re fighting for the playoffs and they needed something and were willing to put in some kind of commitment for what we were looking for. There was no way we were planning on moving Blacky. But when someone calls you with an offer that you feel like you can’t refuse and that will help build that offer further and set you up for the future, you have to accept it somehow, even though the timing might not be is ideal.

Grier, who sees Kovalenko soon as a playoff-caliber winger:

“That is the hope. I think he can play with all types of players. He can do some of the dirty work with our top players or play more of a controlling role. He’s pretty versatile.”

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