Tampa Bay Lightning acquire Anthony Duclair from San Jose Sharks

The Tampa Bay Lightning have acquired winger Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round pick from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for prospect defenceman Jack Thompson and a third-round selection in this year's draft.

Duclair, 28, is a pending unrestricted free agent in the final season of a three-year, $9-million deal that carries a $3-million cap charge. The Sharks do not appear to have retained any of his salary as part of this trade.

This was Duclair's first and only season with the Sharks, after they acquired him in the 2023 offseason for Steven Lorentz and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft. He fared admirably in San Jose too, with 27 points to show for his 56 contests while driving strong offensive underlying results. He also brings a speed dimension to the table that the Lightning seem to covet at the deadline.

Anthony Duclair, acquired by TB, is a speedy scoring winger who briefly forgot how to score in 2022-23 but has since figured it out again. Some playmaking upside too, fun bet for the Bolts. #GoBolts pic.twitter.com/zcNiPzvV7Q

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 8, 2024

Going the Sharks way is a pair of futures highlighted by Thompson. A former third-round pick himself, Thompson has come along nicely since the Lightning took him in the 2020 draft. The right-shot defensive prospect had 32 points in 46 AHL contests in only his second season with the Syracuse Crunch as the trade call came in, an exceptional number for someone at his position.

This trade now pushes the Sharks war chest of draft picks to five in the first three rounds of this year's draft, nine total. And there's still another day to collect futures tomorrow, too.