The San Jose Sharks were slow to make news on the first day of NHL Free Agency, but ultimately, the team made some noise and filled some of its most glaring needs and, possibly more importantly, helped the team get a little closer to that cap floor. But the biggest news on the first day of free agency wasn’t a free agent signing at all, but the re-signing of forward William Eklund. Before announcing any new players, the Sharks announced that William Eklund had signed a contract extension.
The new deal is three years with a $5.6 million AAV. It will keep Eklund with the Sharks through the 2028-29 season, and he’ll still be a restricted free agent when it expires. The crazy thing is, it doesn’t even kick in until next season, though it would be better for the Sharks’ cap troubles if it started now.
Sharks grab right-shot defenseman team desperately needed
Okay, to the signings.
The Sharks weren’t expected to add any of the big names on the draft board, but the General Manager Mike Grier did manage to add one of the medium names out there, and more importantly, one of the names in the highest demand positions, right-shot defenseman John Klingberg.
Klingberg signed a one-year deal worth $4 million. It’s a good deal for both sides. For San Jose, the team gets a puck-moving defenseman on the right-side who will help break the puck out of the defensive zone. San Jose only had two (three if you count Jack Thompson, who still needs a new contract) right-shot defensemen under contract, so adding Klingberg solidifies the right side of the defensive lineup.
The deal is good for Klingberg, as well. He gets to pad his stats on a bad team. He’ll get to play on the power play with young, dynamic players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund. Then, when the trade deadline rolls around, Grier will trade him to a playoff-bound team where Klingberg will get to compete for a Stanley Cup.
It’s a win-win.
Sharks trade for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic
The Sharks also nailed down the backup goaltender position, trading a 2028 third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic played 38 games for the Penguins last season and did okay with a 3.12 goals against average and 0.894 save percentage.
There were some goaltenders on the free agent market that the Sharks could have signed instead of trading for Nedeljkovic, but during his news conference, Grier said that Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky was familiar with Nedeljkovic. Both were with the Charlotte Checkers in 2018 and 2019.
Grier said Evgeni Nabokov and Ryan Miller had also watched tape on Nedeljkovic, so this was clearly a player that the team had targeted prior to free agency.
Sharks take a shot on Philipp Kurashev
One of the first signings of the day for the Sharks was Philip Kurashev, a forward who was not given a qualifying offer by the Chicago Blackhawks. The Sharks signed the 25-year-old to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million.
The Sharks are hoping that Kurashev might be able to turn things around with a change of scenery, but it’s clearly a gamble. On a bad team like Chicago, Kurashev’s numbers weren’t great. He had a total of 14 points, but he was a minus-28.
That said, he’ll take on a depth role with the Sharks this season.
Sharks add depth center Adam Gaudette
The Sharks also added a depth center in Adam Gaudette, signing the 28-year-old to a two-year deal worth $2 million per season. Gaudette played for the Ottawa Senators last season and had 26 points for the Sens. He’s definitely a depth forward, but the Sharks are going to be fine with that, and he’ll add to the competition to make the younger players earn their spot on the roster.
San Jose Sharks’ cap status
So with all of these additions, where do the Sharks stand in terms of the cap?
According to Puckpedia, the Sharks have now used $61.1 million in cap space (that’s including Logan Couture’s $8 million). That puts the Sharks $9.5 million (give or take a few hundred thousand) away from the cap floor with 19 of 23 roster players signed.
There are currently 11 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders signed. That means there needs to be one more defenseman on the roster. As of now, it looks like that will either be Jack Thompson or Sam Dickinson, neither of whom will get the Sharks close to the cap floor.
A forward might do it, and that might be addressed in free agency. I guess it depends on whether the Sharks believe that Michael Misa is that forward or not. The point is, the Sharks need to add at least one more piece to get close to the cap floor, and even then, unless it’s a big fish, they’re still going to need to make a trade to make it happen.
