{"id":2381,"date":"2026-06-17T22:38:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2381"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:38:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:38:45","slug":"kurtenbach-sharks-mike-grier-keeps-proving-hes-the-best-gm-in-the-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2381","title":{"rendered":"Kurtenbach: Sharks’ Mike Grier keeps proving he’s the best GM in the Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mike Grier is the best general manager in the Bay Area sports scene right now.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not even particularly close.<\/p>\n

John Lynch is in a steady jog called \u201ccollaboration\u201d while the 49ers\u2019 rivals are lapping him in the race.<\/p>\n

Read more GM Dunleavy: Warriors open to options in draft, free agency, but getting older \u2018unlikely\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Mike Dunleavy Jr. is desperately applying expensive spackle to an aging, creaky Warriors roster, going as far as to say on Wednesday, \u201cwe need everything.\u201d He\u2019s working with tax write-offs, prayers and Steph Curry\u2019s unmatched patience.<\/p>\n

And all this while Buster Posey is out here letting everyone know that he will, in fact, trade them the mistakes he\u2019s made over the last two years. (If he can get one of them to waive the full no-trade clause Posey foolishly gave him.)<\/p>\n

Please, someone, return his call.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Grier.<\/p>\n

No, the Sharks haven\u2019t made the playoffs under Grier\u2019s watch, but that is poised to change soon.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Because Greir isn\u2019t just rebuilding a hockey team \u2014\u00a0he\u2019s teaching a masterclass.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Grier proved his absolute supremacy once again, swinging a deal to land defenseman Michael Kesselring from the Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n

The cost? The mathematical equivalent of a second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Yes, all the Sharks had to do to land a player who checks nearly every box for them was slide down a measly seven spots in the upcoming NHL draft \u2014 No. 20 to No. 27.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

That\u2019s better than good business, especially when you consider the dominoes that can fall now that the Sharks have Kesselring on the roster.<\/p>\n

First, let\u2019s temper expectations of those not in the know:<\/p>\n

Is Kesselring going to singlehandedly drag San Jose to a Stanley Cup parade next season?<\/p>\n

Absolutely not. He isn\u2019t even a true No. 1 defenseman yet.<\/p>\n

But he is exactly the kind of plug-and-play piece this Sharks roster needed to land this offseason.<\/p>\n

Unlike Chase Reid, the consensus top defensive prospect in this year\u2019s draft (and a player I remain very high on), Kesselring provides immediate, tangible help.<\/p>\n

Reid has miles of tantalizing potential. Kesselring has actually done many of those things at the NHL level.<\/p>\n

Again, had the Sharks made a wishlist for this offseason, No. 1 on the list would have been undebatable:<\/p>\n

A right-shot defenseman with phenomenal skating ability and a heavy, punishing shot that can quarterback a top power-play unit.<\/p>\n

Reid will probably be that \u2014 and perhaps more \u2014 in a few years.<\/p>\n

Kesselring is that right now. Plus, he\u2019s 6-foot-5. Size matters to Grier. It\u2019s hard to disagree if you watch the Western Conference.<\/p>\n

Read more California fires back at AT&T\u2019s bid to get feds to let it stop providing landline service<\/a><\/p>\n

Naturally, the cynics will want to naysay. Fair enough. They\u2019ll quickly point out that Kesselring\u2019s stint in Buffalo was a dud.<\/p>\n

And they aren\u2019t wrong. Lindy Ruff\u2019s system was a tough fit, and a nasty ankle injury derailed his initial momentum in upstate New York.<\/p>\n

So Kesserling doesn\u2019t arrive in San Jose without risk or flaws, but I feel confident he can reach his potential for Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, seeing as Kesserling was absolutely outstanding while playing for him and Team USA at the World Championships last year.<\/p>\n

Grier received the kind of elite recon that all great heists need.<\/p>\n

Granted, the Sharks still need to sign roughly half a dozen more defensemen this offseason. The San Jose blue line remains an active, hazardous construction site.<\/p>\n

But they are no longer desperate for that elusive PP1 quarterback. That pressure valve has been completely released.<\/p>\n

That simple fact should fundamentally alter the team\u2019s draft strategy later this month, if this wasn\u2019t a manifestation of the decision already:<\/p>\n

Adding Kesserling frees Grier to take Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall.<\/p>\n

Not that the Sharks\u2019 boss needed anyone\u2019s permission to pull the trigger on that kind of dynamic offensive talent. To some talent evaluators, Stenberg is the top player in this entire draft class \u2014 it\u2019s nearly impossible to find a fatal flaw in his hyper-aggressive, high-octane game. His only real crime is playing the wing instead of center.<\/p>\n

But if the debate was between taking need and taking the best available, the former no longer qualifies.<\/p>\n

For those keeping score at home:<\/p>\n

Grier just added a giant power-play quarterback. In the process, he paved the frictionless runway needed to draft a dynamic, elite scoring winger.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s two expectation-changing, immediate-impact pieces without trading away a single active player.<\/p>\n

Better yet, he didn\u2019t even have to surrender his second first-round pick in this month\u2019s draft to pull it off. He still has free agency to play around, too.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all next-level executive maneuvering. It\u2019s the kind of ruthless efficiency that earns you a statue, or at least a hefty raise.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re the kind of moves that, when stacked up and in due time, get you to raise something else, too.<\/p>\n

Read more In rare relief appearance, Ray leads SF Giants to win in Game 1 of split doubleheader<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks: Grier’s trade for defenseman Michael Kesselring is an outstanding start to what will be a big offseason<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nKurtenbach: Sharks’ Mike Grier keeps proving he’s the best GM in the Bay - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2381\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kurtenbach: Sharks’ Mike Grier keeps proving he’s the best GM in the Bay - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"San Jose Sharks: Grier's trade for defenseman Michael Kesselring is an outstanding start to what will be a big offseason\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2381\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T22:38:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Kurtenbach: Sharks’ Mike Grier keeps proving he’s the best GM in the Bay\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T22:38:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381\"},\"wordCount\":872,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/679fb57890b278e5c52c6b36dd02d20b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=2381\",\"name\":\"Kurtenbach: Sharks’ Mike Grier keeps proving he’s the best GM in the Bay - 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