Sharks Re-Sign Three Players

Friday: The Sharks have officially announced all three contracts. They no longer have any restricted free agents left to sign.

Thursday: It has been a busy day for the Sharks and GM Doug Wilson.  After re-signing Dylan Gambrell and Antti Suomela earlier in the day, the team has also agreed to terms with defenseman Nick DeSimone on a two-year contract, CapFriendly reports.  The deal is worth the league minimum of $700K in each season.  San Jose also has inked defender Kyle Wood and center Maxim Letunov to one-year, two-way pacts worth $700K, per CapFriendly.

The 24-year-old DeSimone signed as an undrafted free agent with San Jose back in 2017 and is coming off a very strong showing in the minors.  Last season, he posted career bests across the board, collecting 12 goals and 32 assists in 65 games.  His 46 points were good enough for a tie for seventh place among all AHL blueliners.

With the Sharks carrying three blueliners who make a combined $26.5MM, it’s safe to suggest that they will be looking for cheaper players to round out the roster over the next couple of seasons.  By taking the minimum salary (which was less than his qualifying offer), DeSimone has certainly increased his chances of getting a look with the big club before much longer and should be in the mix for a roster spot in training camp with Joakim Ryan moving on in free agency.

Wood will also be hoping to get into the mix for a spot on San Jose’s back end after a good season with the Barracuda.  His first season with the Sharks organization saw him rebound offensively, collecting six goals with 29 assists, a nice jump over the 19 points he posted the year before.

As for Letunov, he had a decent showing in his first professional season.  He actually matched his output from his senior year at the University of Connecticut (12 goals and 16 assists) although it took him 57 games to reach that mark.  He’s likely to return to the minors for next season with the hopes of working his way up to being a recall at some point during the season.