Sharks trade Nico Sturm, seventh-rounder to Panthers for 2026 fourth-round pick

On Thursday, the Florida Panthers acquired center Nico Sturm and a seventh-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the San Jose Sharks. In return, the Sharks receive a fourth-rounder in the 2026 draft.

With the deal, the Panthers take all of Sturm’s $2 million cap hit. He’s in the final season of the three-year contract that he signed with the Sharks in July 2022. The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent.

With the exchanging of picks, the Panthers still have one pick in the fourth round in 2026, which they acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the deal that saw them receive defenseman Seth Jones. The Cats now have two picks in the seventh round in 2027.

While the Sharks no longer have a seventh-round selection in 2027, they now have two in the fourth round in next year’s draft.

Sturm is going to be a solid depth piece for the Panthers, who are gearing up for a run at back-to-back championships. Sturm brings a solid two-way game to Sunrise, including posting a 62.7 faceoff winning percentage that puts him near the top among regular centermen in the NHL.

So far this season, the German product has scored seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 47 games. He’s had to miss several games due to injury, including sitting out over a month due to a lower-body injury.

Across eight NHL seasons, which included stops with the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche, Sturm has appeared in 316 games, scoring 46 goals and 45 assists for 91 points. He’s also posted five points in 22 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

The Panthers (38-21-3) are first in the Atlantic Division, having the tiebreaker with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Sharks (17-37-9) have the worst record in the NHL.