The Sharks announced they’ve signed center Ty Dellandrea to a two-year extension. It’s worth a total of $3.25MM for a cap hit of $1.625MM. He could have been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.
Dellandrea, 25, saw his signing rights acquired by San Jose from the Stars for a fourth-round pick in 2024. He inked a two-year, $2.6MM deal a few days later, so today’s news will give him a bit of a pay bump for 2026-27.
The 13th overall pick back in 2018 by Dallas, he rarely punched above a bottom-six role during his time in Texas. That hasn’t changed over the past year-plus in the Bay Area, but it’s worth noting the natural center has been deployed mostly down the middle after starting out his career as a frequent option on the wing.
Dellandrea’s first season in San Jose was one to forget. He’d struggled to find offensive consistency in Dallas but took things to a new low with the Sharks, managing just one goal and eight points in 68 games with a -31 rating.
This season, he’s gotten a bump in minutes, and the results have been slightly better. He’s averaging a career-high 14:24 per game and has been good on draws, winning 52.3% of them, while being used as a defensive specialist. Despite starting nearly 70% of his shifts at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone, he’s upped his production to 11 points in 42 games. His -15 rating and 38.4% Corsi share are still evidence that the Sharks are a long way away from winning his minutes, though.
He’s also been out of the lineup since early January with a lower-body injury. His absence has paved the way for rookie middleman Michael Misa to get more consistent reps in a top-nine role. Considering the 2025 #2 overall pick has four goals and seven points in 10 games since the beginning of February, it’s unlikely they’ll be moving him back down the depth chart. When Dellandrea returns, it’ll likely be to usurp younger stopgap Zack Ostapchuk as the team’s fourth-line center between Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves.
Dellandrea’s new deal will walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2028. The Sharks don’t buy out any UFA years with the contract, instead buying up the rest of his team-controlled seasons.
Image courtesy of Jerome Miron-Imagn Images.
Good for Dellandrea, He’s a hard worker, Aggressive, Never takes a shift off, And, Super entertaining to watch!