The Sharks announced today that they’ve re-signed two of their four restricted free agents. Andrew Desjardins was inked to a two-year contract while James Sheppard was signed to a one-year deal. Desjardins was eligible to hit unrestricted free agency next summer, which might explain the extra year.
Both players were useful fourth-liners during the regular season who were asked to take on a greater role at times in the postseason, with Desjardins moved up to the third line alongside Joe Pavelski and Tommy Wingels following Martin Havlat’s injury in the first round against Vancouver while Sheppard occupied that spot playing with Scott Gomez and Wingels after Raffi Torres‘ suspension against Los Angeles. Desjardins excelled at both killing penalties and drawing them all year while Sheppard was a reasonably physical presence despite his lack of offense.
T.J. Galiardi and Jason Demers are the team’s two RFAs who remain as of yet unsigned. We’ll update this post with contract details when they become available.
UPDATE: Per Kevin Kurz, Desjardins’ contract carries a $750,000 annual cap hit while CapGeek has Sheppard’s deal listed for $830,000. Before factoring in Havlat’s LTIR exemption, that leaves the Sharks with a little over $5 million in cap space with at least two forwards, a defenseman and a backup goaltender to sign.
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