There was a trade involved with two American teams in the Western Conference on Saturday as the San Jose Sharks traded center Mikael Granlund of Oulu, Finland and defenseman Cody Ceci of Ottawa, Ontario to the Dallas Stars for a first round pick and a third round pick in the 2025 National Hockey League Entry Draft according to nhl.com. The trade was expected as the Stars are in the conversation to win the Stanley Cup and had cap space available. They were also looking for a replacement for the injured Tyler Seguin.
Mikael Granlund
Granlund is joining his fifth National Hockey League franchise. He has previously played seven seasons with the Minnesota Wild from 2012 to 2019, five seasons with the Nashville Predators from 2019 to 2023, one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023, and two seasons with the San Jose Sharks from 2023 to 2025.
In 2024-25, Granlund has 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points in 52 games. He is a -8 with 20 penalty minutes, 15 power-play points, one shorthanded point, one game-winning goal, 126 shots on goal, 326 faceoff wins, 37 blocked shots, 37 hits, 13 takeaways, and 57 giveaways.
The game-winning goal came on January 14 in a 6-3 Sharks win over the Detroit Red Wings. Granlund scored a power-play goal from Canadians Macklin Celebrini of Vancouver, British Columbia, (the first round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft), and Tyler Toffioli of Scarborough, Ontario at 7:43 of the third period to put the Sharks up 4-2 at the time.
Cody Ceci
Ceci is joining his sixth NHL franchise. He previously played six seasons with the Ottawa Senators from 2013 to 2019, one season with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2019 to 2020, one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2020 to 2021, three seasons with the Edmonton Oilers from 2021 to 2024, and one season with the Sharks from 2024 to 2025.
In 2024-25, Ceci has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 54 games. He is a -9 with 14 penalty minutes, two game-winning goals, 60 shots on goal, 100 blocked shots, 52 hits, 16 takeaways, and 53 giveaways.
Ceci’s first game-winning goal came on November 30 in a 4-2 Sharks win over the Seattle Kraken. Ceci scored from defenseman Jake Wallman of Toronto, Ontario and Cellebrini on an all-Canadian goal at 8:59 of the second period to put the Sharks up 3-0 at the time. Ceci’s second game-winning goal came on January 4 in a 3-2 Sharks win over the New Jersey Devils. Ceci broke a 2-2 tie from Alexander Wennberg of Stockholm, Sweden with 25 seconds left in the third period.
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