Report: Labanc among Sharks players available for trade

The San Jose Sharks are ramping up trade discussions with other teams, and winger Kevin Labanc is the most prominent name among the potentially available players, reports The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

Forward Dylan Gambrell and defenseman Radim Simek have also reportedly been dangled as potential trade bait.

The Sharks would prefer to make deals that involve established NHL players on both sides but are open to gaining more picks for the upcoming draft, Kurz adds.

Labanc recorded 12 goals and 16 assists in 55 games this past season. The 25-year-old produced a career-best 56 points during the 2018-19 campaign. He has three more years left on his contract with an annual cap hit of $4.725 million.

Gambrell, 24, is a pending RFA. The center has registered just 23 points across 110 career NHL games.

Simek is a left-handed defenseman standing at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. He picked up six points in 40 games in 2020-21 while averaging 14:13 of ice time per contest. The 28-year-old has three years left on his contract, which carries an annual cap hit of $2.25 million.

Longtime general manager Doug Wilson announced in March that the team is set to enter a "reset." The Sharks finished the 2020-21 campaign 26th in league standings with a 21-28-7 record.