The San Jose Sharks finally added one of the players they wanted. Goalkeeper Martin Jones was acquired through a trade deal with the Boston Bruins Tuesday.
In exchange for Jones, the Sharks sent a 2016 first-round pick to the Bruins together with the rights for unsigned forward Sean Kuraly.
Jones, 25, was recently traded to the Bruins from the Los Angeles Kings for forward Milan Lucic.
"Martin was at the top of our list of players that we had targeted. We're extremely excited to have him on board," ESPN quoted Sharks general manager Doug Wilson as saying.
ESPN said Wilson had eyed Jones six months ago, but the goalie was still with the Kings. But as soon as Jones was traded to the Bruins, Wilson told Bruins general manager Don Sweeney of his team's desire to have him during draft night last weekend.
Jones' agent, Jarrett Bousquet, said the goalkeeper inked a three-year, $9-million deal with the Sharks. Jones' arrival is huge for San Jose. Former Sharks goalkeeper Antti Niemi was dealt to the Dallas Stars for a seventh-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft last Saturday.
"I've never been traded before, so this is all new to me. It's exciting," the San Jose Mercury News quoted Jones as saying. "It's pretty sad when you're leaving a place like L.A. where I formed a lot of good relationships, but I'm looking forward to taking on a bigger responsibility and playing in San Jose."
Jones also said that wherever he was, he would be working hard during practice to earn playing time. "I'm going to get that opportunity here and I'm going to go into camp and earn every start that I get," he added.
When asked about facing the Kings, Jones quipped: "It's going to be fun. It's fun to play in those types of games."
