Although he’s going from the Stanley Cup finalists to the team that just picked first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, Cody Ceci must feel like the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders after what he described as an “unsettling” summer of trade rumours.

Ceci, who spent the last three seasons with the Oilers and skated in 24 playoff games with the club this past spring, became a member of the San Jose Sharks through a salary cap-clearing move on Sunday night.

The Oilers sent Ceci and a 2025 third-round pick to the Sharks in exchange for 23-year-old defender Ty Emberson, who skated in his first 30 NHL games with San Jose last season. The deal cleared $2.3 million in cap space for the Oilers, giving them more flexibility to potentially fit Philip Broberg or Dylan Holloway onto their roster.

After having a night to sleep on the trade, Ceci spoke to the media in San Jose for the first time on Monday afternoon and talked about his excitement to join the Sharks. San Jose Hockey Now‘s Sheng Peng shared a helpful transcript of some of Ceci’s quotes on Monday evening.

“I just found out late last night,” Ceci said. “I think it was around 10:30, we were just cleaning up dinner at the cottage, and then, I just saw I had a missed call from Jeff Jackson, so I gave him a call back, and he broke the news to me.

“Initially, [I was] just a little shocked. I mean, you always see the rumors floating around, but shocked at first, but waking up today, excited to be part of the Sharks organization.”

Ceci, 30, has appeared in 786 career NHL games since being drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the No. 15 overall pick in 2012. He still has one year left on the four-year, $3.25 million AAV contract he signed with the Oilers as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

In his media availability on Monday, Ceci acknowledged the challenges of having his name in trade rumours throughout the summer.

“It’s always a little unsettling,” Ceci said. “You see all the rumors pop up on your phone, and you try and ignore them as much as you can, just stay focused in your training. At the same time, we all have families and stuff. You’re always curious where you’re going to end up playing the season. It is always in the back of your mind, but try and ignore it as best as possible.”

In San Jose, Ceci will join a defensive group that includes veterans Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jake Walman, Jan Rutta, and Matt Benning, as well as up-and-comers Mario Ferraro, Henry Thrun, Jack Thompson, and Shakir Mukhamadullin.

Additionally, Ceci will get the opportunity to reunite with Tyler Toffoli, who was his teammate with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s for three seasons during his junior career.

The Sharks signed Toffoli to a four-year contract as a UFA on July 1, and they evidently hope veterans like him and Ceci will help them improve upon their often calamitous performance last season.

“I think the thing [that] could be beneficial to our young guys on this team to kind of pick my brain on [is] what guys like Connor [McDavid] and [Sidney Crosby] and Auston [Matthews] are doing,” Ceci said. “So I think I have a lot to bring, bring that way. And like I said earlier, I think I have a lot to offer as well through my play.”