Maybe the best news for Sharks fans so far at this trade deadline wasn’t a trade at all but the announcement of a contract extension. The San Jose Sharks announced on Friday that Alex Nedeljkovic signed a two-year contract extension with a $3 million per season AAV. The deal would, presumably, keep the netminder in teal for the next two seasons, giving Yaroslav Askarov a veteran backup while the younger goaltender finds his way in the NHL.
Update: According to Puckpedia, the first season will include a $2 million contract with a $1 million signing bonus. Nedeljkovic has a modified no-trade clause with a three-team trade list. In the second season, he has a $3 million contract and there are no trade restrictions.
For his part, Nedeljkovic has been everything that Shakes fans could have hoped for in a backup goaltender. He’s been a positive lockerroom presence, a supportive teammate to Askarov and a happy role player on the up and coming Sharks team. He’s also performed the backup job admirably, coming in when the Sharks needed him and winning games when the team needed it. Make no mistake, it was Ned that outdueled Connor Hellebuyck on March 1 to secure the 2-1 win in overtime.
Nedeljkovic’s 11-9-2 record, 2.83 goals against average and .902 save percentage is certainly a good part of the reason the Sharks are in the playoff hunt this season. Knowing that that a team has a reliable backup on any given night is important, especially one that can be relied upon for 30 games in a season.
The Sharks had been rumored to be in on Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and while anything can change between now and the trade deadline, this contract certainly feels like those trade rumors can be put to rest.
