A Sharks pending unrestricted free agent has decided to forego testing the open market to head home instead. Djurgardens in the SHL announced that they’ve signed defenseman Lucas Carlsson to a four-year deal that begins next season.
The 28-year-old spent the last two seasons in San Jose’s organization although it didn’t amount to a lot of playing time at the top level. Carlsson played in 13 games down the stretch in 2024-25 and held his own while picking up four points in over 19 minutes per night of playing time. But after the Sharks overhauled their back end over the summer, he was on the outside looking in again. This season, he played exclusively with the AHL’s Barracuda, collecting 12 goals and 14 assists in 58 appearances.
Over his career, Carlsson has played in 73 NHL games between San Jose, Florida, and Chicago. He has spent the bulk of his career in the minors and has been quite productive down there, tallying 219 points in 359 games over parts of eight seasons.
With that in mind, Carlsson would almost certainly have received interest in another two-way contract this summer from teams looking for a quality veteran blueliner who can hold his own in a pinch in the NHL. But instead of seeing what offers might have materialized, he decided that it’s time to turn the page and head home. That likely will close the book on his time in North America unless a strong performance overseas yields one last opportunity down the road.