Sharks general manager Mike Grier made his most significant and perhaps his most contentious move of the season Friday, sending last season’s leading scorer, Fabian Zetterlund, to the Ottawa Senators in a multi-piece deal that was finalized right before the NHL trade deadline.

In return, the Sharks received forwards Zack Ostapchuk and Noah Gregor and a 2025 second-round draft pick. San Jose also sent minor league forward Tristen Robins and its 2025 fourth-round draft selection to the Senators.

The 25-year-old Zetterlund, a pending restricted free agent, led the Sharks last season with 24 goals and had 17 goals and 36 points in 64 games this season, making him the team’s fourth-leading scorer. Zetterlund had played a top-six forward role all season with the Sharks, who will enter today in 32nd and last place in the NHL’s overall standings.

Grier said the key to the deal was the 21-year-old Ostapchuk, who they see developing into a third-line NHL centerman who can grow with a group of young players that includes Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund and their cadre of recently drafted prospects.

While the Sharks feel they have high-end scoring forwards like Quentin Musty, Igor Chernyshov and Kasper Halttunen in the pipeline, they also like that Ostapchuk, listed at 6-foot-4 and 212 pounds, adds a different dimension.

“Just something we felt like we needed to do and have a fit for our roster and roster construction moving forward,” Grier said. “To add a 21-year-old centerman who can fit in behind (Celebrini and Smith) in this league, you can see it. In the long term, that’s three pretty good centers, 21 and under.

“You’ve got to be strong down the middle, and this kid gives us something a little bit different: size, pace, hardness, physicality. You don’t find many of those types of players.”

Ostapchuk, a 2021 second-round pick by the Senators now in his second full professional season, does not have eye-popping numbers, at least not compared to Zetterlund. This year, he had 11 points in 15 games with Belleville of the AHL and four points in 43 games with the Senators, averaging just 9:20 in ice time.

Asked about Ostapchuk’s modest production, Grier said, “You can’t just have all Macklin Celebrinis and Will Smiths. You’re not going to win. That’s pretty obvious to most people who’ve been in the game. You need all types of players, all types of characters, to win in this game. And that’s our job: to put a roster together.”

Ostapchuk is reporting to the Barracuda, who are in Abbotsford, British Columbia, this weekend. Gregor, drafted by the Sharks in 2016 and a veteran of 281 NHL games, could arrive in San Jose this weekend, but it is unclear if he’ll play in tonight’s home game against the New York Islanders.

The Sharks’ trade with the Senators, which reportedly was filed with the NHL less than 30 seconds before the noon (PST) deadline, wrapped up a busy week for Grier. Just this week, he sent six players to contending teams as he continues to reshape the franchise.

The Sharks traded goalie Vitek Vanecek and center Nico Sturm to the Florida Panthers in separate deals on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. In the Vanecek deal, the Sharks received AHL forward Patrick Giles. For Sturm, the Sharks got back a 2026 fourth-round pick while also sending a 2027 seventh-round selection to the Panthers.

On Thursday night, the Sharks traded defenseman Jake Walman to the Edmonton Oilers for a conditional 2026 first-round draft pick and minor league forward Carl Berglund. On Friday, before the Zetterlund trade, the Sharks sent forward Luke Kunin to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a 2025 fourth-round pick that initially belonged to the St. Louis Blues.

Grier said he did not go into this week intending to trade Walman or Zetterlund, but felt the moves, which came together quickly, made sense for the Sharks long term. Walman, 29, had one more year left on his contract.

“This kind of phase is, hopefully, for the most part, over of just sell, sell, sell,” Grier said. “Now it’s time to start building.”