Landing Mario Ferraro early before the 2025 NHL trade deadline

San Jose Sharks defender Mario Ferraro has generated a ton of trade interest last season. Ferraro had a great season on one of the worst teams in hockey in 2023-24. I he entered 2024-25 as the Sharks’ top trade candidate. From 2025 NHL Trade Deadline in about a month and a half, Ferraro remains a trade candidate.

Ferraro had another solid season with the Sharks. He is not playing the first few minutes for San Jose this year. The Sharks traded for Jake Vollman in the offseason to fulfill that role. Either way, he remains a pretty strong defender for San Jose.

Ferraro isn’t the only trade candidate on this team. In fact, he’s not even the only defensive player surrounding him in trade rumors. Veteran defensive end Cody Ceci is also a trade candidate ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.

Ferraro does not have the experience that Ceci has. Especially in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. In saying this, he has youth on his side. He’s only 26, making him a longer-term option. By that point, Ferraro was signed for the 2025-26 season, unlike Ceci.

Mario Ferraro will have a market this spring. It remains to be seen which teams will decide on him. With that in mind, here are two early landing spots for the Sharks backcourt ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline.

Oilers, Sharks have trade history

The Edmonton Oilers had a decision to make during the summer. Edmonton had two players — Phillip Broberg and Dylan Holloway — receive offer lists from the St. Louis Blues. The Oilers didn’t have enough cap space for both offers. As a result, they invited the Sharks.

The Oilers traded Ceci to the Sharks during the summer. In the end, Edmonton decided not to match any offer sheets. And it gave them some salary cap flexibility for the 2025 NHL trade deadline.

It also happens that the Oilers are interested in a trade for the defenseman. Moreover, they investigate all their optionsaccording to the Fourth Period. Mario Ferraro is an interesting option for this team. He can kill penalties and hold his own in the defensive zone. He’s not an offensive threat, but Edmonton has plenty of those.

Ferraro could help Edmonton defensively in their Stanley Cup playoff run. And he could continue to help the team beyond this season. The Oilers are certainly a group to watch in this sweepstakes.

The Lightning could trade for Mario Ferraro

The Tampa Bay Lightning trade Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club in the 2024 NHL Draft. This trade was shocking to say the least. Part of the return to Tampa Bay was defensive end JJ Moser. Moser became quite a fixture on Tampa’s blue line until an injury sidelined him.

The Lightning certainly missed Moser’s presence in the lineup. Tampa is still playing well, but the difference is noticeable. Unfortunately, Moser won’t be back anytime soon. As a result, the Lightning are looking to add a defenseman.

Mario Ferraro is a left-footed defenseman like Moser. He doesn’t score as many points, but the Lightning could live with that. Ferraro can stabilize things defensively and improve the penalty kill. He could certainly prove valuable in the postseason as well.

Sharks and lightning may need to get creative to succeed financially. Either way, there is a clear matchup for Ferraro in Tampa Bay. It will certainly be interesting to see how Lightning hits the trade market before the deadline.