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Snapshots: Kucherov, Pageau, Red Wings, Ehlers, Hinds

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Prior to their game against Toronto tonight, the Lightning found themselves without their top scorer.  Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times relayed (Twitter link) that winger Nikita Kucherov is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.  The 31-year-old led the league in scoring last season, notching 44 goals and 100 assists, both career highs, in 81 games.  While Kucherov isn’t producing at quite that level this year, he came into the night tied for fifth in scoring with 12 goals and 22 assists in 34 games, a 127-point pace.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The Islanders didn’t have center Jean-Gabriel Pageau in their lineup tonight against Buffalo. Ethan Sears of the New York Post notes (Twitter link) that the veteran is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury.   The 32-year-old has five goals and five assists in 23 games so far this season while averaging 17:47 per game, his highest ATOI since the 2019-20 season.  A specialist at the faceoff dot, Pageau is winning just over 60% of his draws early on, a mark that would be his best if he can maintain it.
  • Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon won’t accompany the team on their two-game road trip, mentions Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). He’s dealing with a lower-body injury with no timeline for his return.  Lyon has a 2.74 GAA and a .911 SV% in nine appearances so far.  Meanwhile, St. James notes that winger Patrick Kane will miss his fourth straight game on Sunday due to an upper-body injury but there is a chance he’ll be available to return on Tuesday in Boston.  The veteran is off to a quiet start by his standards, collecting just three goals and seven assists in 20 games.
  • Though he left Friday’s game with a lower-body injury, Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers is listed as questionable for Sunday’s contest in Dallas, per team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 28-year-old is off to a solid start in the final year of his contract, with nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games.  With 25 points, Ehlers sits third on Winnipeg in scoring.
  • The Ducks announced that they’ve re-assigned defenseman Tyson Hinds back to AHL San Diego. The 21-year-old was brought up twice by Anaheim over the last couple of weeks but didn’t see any game action.  Hinds, a third-round pick in 2021, has two goals in 13 games so far this season for the Gulls.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Seattle Kraken

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Kraken.

Seattle Kraken

Current Cap Hit: $90,108,465 (above the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Ryker Evans (one year, $898K)
F Tye Kartye (one year, $859K)
F Shane Wright (three years, $887K)

Potential Bonuses
Kartye: $57.5K
Wright: $3.0625MM
Total: $3.12MM

Seattle was slow-playing Wright’s development in his first couple of seasons and even into his first full NHL campaign, his ice time is being managed carefully.  Accordingly, he’s not on track to reach any of his bonuses and is probably heading for a bridge contract barring a big offensive breakout over the next year or two.  If he stays on the slower development path, that bridge agreement should come in around the $3.5MM range.  Kartye had a solid rookie season in the bottom six and is in that same role this year.  His bonuses are based on games played so that’s something he should be able to reach if he stays healthy.  Given his role and limited offensive numbers, he’s also looking at a short-term second contract, one around the $1.5MM mark.

Evans is in his first full NHL season after impressing in partial duty last season.  He has locked down a spot in Seattle’s top four and is tied for the team lead in scoring among blueliners.  If that holds up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Ron Francis try to work out a long-term deal, one that would check in a bit below their top veterans who are making a little over $7MM per season.  A bridge agreement, meanwhile, would likely fall in the $4MM range.  Either way, a big raise is coming his way this summer.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

D William Borgen ($2.7MM, UFA)
F Yanni Gourde ($5.167MM, UFA)
D Josh Mahura ($775K, UFA)
F Daniel Sprong ($975K, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($3.5MM, UFA)

For most of his contract, Gourde has been well worth the contract, generally producing above a 40-point pace.  But he struggled last season and is off to a similar start offensively this year which will hurt his value.  Now that he’s being deployed as more of a third-line option, it would be difficult to see him command a similar price tag at 33.  But a multi-year deal around $4MM per season should still be within reach.

Tanev’s contract felt like a steep overpayment at the time for someone who had only reached 20 points once at the time it was signed.  However, he has produced enough offensively (when healthy) on this deal to at least reasonably justify the cost while providing plenty of physicality and enough defensive acumen to make it a fair deal overall.  While most teams want to cut salary from their bottom six, he could be an outlier and land another contract around this price point.  Sprong didn’t have much luck on the open market last summer despite his second straight year of over 40 points and things haven’t gone well for him this year.  Accordingly, another dip might be coming his way.

Borgen had two straight seasons of at least 20 points coming into this one but his production and playing time have slipped through the first quarter of this year.  Heading into the year, a jump to the $3.75MM range seemed possible, especially as a right-hand shot but that might come down more toward the $3.5MM level on a multi-year deal now.  Mahura was only able get a minimum contract after being non-tendered by Florida and with the limited role he has had so far, he’s unlikely to command more than that next summer.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5.4MM, UFA)
F Jordan Eberle ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Jamie Oleksiak ($4.6MM, UFA)
F Jaden Schwartz ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Eeli Tolvanen ($3.475MM, UFA)

Schwartz was one of Seattle’s first free agent additions, a move that hasn’t panned out as well as they hoped.  When healthy, he’s a capable second-line forward but staying healthy has been a serious challenge thus far.  He’ll be 34 when his next contract starts and it’d be surprising if he came in at this price tag next time.  Something in the $4MM range on a medium-term deal might be more likely.  Bjorkstrand was acquired as a cap dump from the Blue Jackets in 2022 and he has given Seattle two straight 20-goal seasons plus a 59-point effort last year.  If he can keep near 60 points, he could land another million or so on his next deal.  But if he reverts to a point total more in the 40s, Bjorkstrand might have to settle for a bit less than his current salary in 2026.

Eberle signed this deal last season, taking himself off the trade block in the process.  He’s still a capable secondary scorer but considering he’ll be 36 on his next deal (subject to 35-plus provisions on a multi-year contract), it wouldn’t be surprising if he went year-to-year from here on out, allowing for the possibility for a lower base salary with reachable performance bonuses to allow the signing team more flexibility.  Tolvanen has turned into one of the better waiver claims in recent memory, picking up 41 points last season while being on pace for 20 goals this year.  Still, he’s a bit inconsistent which has kept him out of a full-time top-six role.  If that continues and he settles in as more of a middle-six option, his open market value will take a hit although he could still get a small increase if he stays in that 40-point range.

There was definitely some risk in the contract the Kraken gave Oleksiak after selecting him in expansion.  He had been a third-pairing player up to that point with the exception of one year, the one that landed him this agreement.  But Oleksiak has been able to maintain a top-four slot throughout his time with Seattle while even chipping in with a career year offensively in 2022-23.  Of course, his offensive numbers don’t land him this role or this type of money but rather his defensive game (and being one of the tallest players in the league).  The market isn’t as strong for the more stay-at-home type of players and Oleksiak will turn 34 early in the 26-27 season but even so, a small boost to the $5MM range on a medium-term pact could still be doable.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Philipp Grubauer ($5.9MM, UFA)
D Vince Dunn ($7.35MM, UFA)
F Jared McCann ($5MM, UFA)

Burakovsky was another notable splash in free agency that hasn’t worked out particularly well thus far.  Signed off a career year, he hasn’t been able to produce close to those numbers since then, nor has he stayed healthy.  Lots can still change in the back half of the deal but he looks like someone heading for a cap hit closer to the $4MM range, if not less next time out.  McCann, on the other hand, averaged 30 goals and 62 points over his first three seasons in Seattle, two of which were played on this contract.  That’s a solid return for this price point and if those numbers continue, he could land closer to $7MM next time out, especially with the ability to play center.

Dunn is the other player who could challenge McCann as being the best of their original expansion picks.  With a bigger role than he had with St. Louis, he has emerged as one of the better offensive blueliners league-wide while playing in all situations.  In essence, he has the numbers of arguably a number one defender, if not a top-pairing piece.  He’ll be turning 31 early in the 2027-28 season so a max-term contract is a very realistic possibility and if Dunn remains as impactful as he has been, he could add a couple million per season on that next deal.

Grubauer was a free agent acquisition that carried some risk given that he was coming off a breakout year with a career-high in games played of 40.  Paying him to be the undisputed starter for that long had the potential to bust.  And bust it has.  After putting up a .922 SV% in his best year with Colorado, he has yet to reach the .900 mark since then.  Along the way, Grubauer has gone from being their number one goalie to a part-time backup and is off to a dreadful start this season.  Barring a change in fortunes, Seattle will need to seriously consider buying out the remainder of this deal this summer, even with it carrying close to a $2MM dead cap charge next season, nearly $3.1MM the following year, and close to $1.7MM for two years after that.

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Kraken Recall Mitchell Stephens, Activate Vince Dunn Off LTIR

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Prior to their game tonight against San Jose, the Kraken announced (Twitter link) that forward Mitchell Stephens was recalled from AHL Coachella Valley.  Additionally, defenseman Vince Dunn has been activated off LTIR according to the NHL’s media site.

Stephens is in his first season with Seattle after signing a two-year, two-way deal with them early in free agency back in July.  The 27-year-old is a veteran of 95 career NHL appearances between Tampa Bay, Detroit, and Montreal.  Stephens got into 23 appearances with the latter last season, notching three points while winning over 55% of his faceoffs in a little over nine minutes a night of playing time.

It’s his first recall of the season and it comes following somewhat of a slow start to his season.  Stephens has three goals and an assist in 11 games so far with the Firebirds.  By comparison, he had 35 points in 49 games with AHL Laval just last season.

Meanwhile, the return of Dunn is a welcome one for the Kraken.  He has been one of the more impactful blueliners league-wide in recent years, especially on the offensive side of things after putting up 110 points in 140 games between 2022-23 and 2023-24 while logging over 23 minutes of ice time each night.  Prior to suffering an upper-body injury that kept him out for nearly six weeks, Dunn was off to a good start on that front this season as well, notching three points in his first four outings.

Dunn’s return gives Seattle now three above-average threats from the back end which will help an offense that’s near the middle of the pack in terms of goals scored.  Brandon Montour is off to a solid start in his first season with the Kraken while Ryker Evans has helped pick up the offensive slack in Dunn’s absence.  Both players enter tonight’s action with 15 points, good for a tie for third in team scoring.

While there has been no announcement from the team, the only way that Seattle could have activated Dunn and recalled Stephens was by transferring winger Jordan Eberle to LTIR.  The captain is expected to be out for at least the next three months after undergoing pelvic surgery a little more than a week ago.

Multiple Teams Showing Interest in Nils Hoglander

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It wasn’t long ago that Canucks winger Nils Hoglander looked like an important part of Vancouver’s long-term plans.  But things haven’t gone as well this year for him and it appears that teams are starting to kick the tires to see if he’s available.  ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Capitals, Penguins, and Blue Jackets are among the teams who have explored the possibility of acquiring Hoglander.

Hoglander made an early impact with Vancouver, picking up 13 goals and 14 assists in 56 games in the shortened 2020-21 season.  However, his output dipped in the next two seasons, capped off by him spending the bulk of the 2022-23 campaign in the minors with AHL Abbotsford.

However, Hoglander took a big step forward last season.  The 23-year-old set new career highs in goals (24) and points (36) despite playing almost exclusively in the bottom six, averaging just 12:06 per game.  Still, he was a regular throughout the season and the playoffs, restoring some value along the way.

That was enough for the Canucks to hand him a three-year, $9MM contract extension that will begin next season.  While it walks Hoglander right to UFA eligibility at 27 in the 2028 offseason, it looked as if he was going to be a capable bottom-six option for them for a while.

But things haven’t gone anywhere near as well this season.  He has been limited to just two goals and three assists in 21 appearances so far despite basically having the same role.  Along the way, his shooting percentage has dropped from 20%, a mark that’s hard to maintain, down to 8.7% which is a little below league average.

While Hoglander’s price tag will be $3MM next season, it’s a much more manageable $1.1MM this season as he wraps up his bridge deal.  That’s especially important for Washington, a team that is effectively capped out and well into LTIR.  Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has ample cap space after moving Lars Eller to the Caps earlier this month while Columbus is at the bottom of the league in spending this season.  All three teams make some sense for Hoglander’s services as a player to potentially help their bottom six group while being young enough to still be in the plans if those teams wind up having to pivot to a rebuild down the road.

Despite his slow start, there still should be a fairly strong market for his services beyond those three Eastern Conference teams should GM Patrik Allvin decide to make him available which could make his trade value higher than it might seem.  If the Canucks decide to try to shake things up, Hoglander is a potentially viable candidate to move.

Injury Updates: Stanley, Arvidsson, Kochetkov, Kylington, Chinakhov

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The Jets welcomed back Logan Stanley to their lineup tonight with the team announcing (Twitter link) that the blueliner has been activated off injured reserve.  The 26-year-old has been banged up this season, missing time with a knee issue and most recently a mid-body injury that kept him out for the last eight games.  Between those, Stanley has three points, 17 blocks, and 12 hits in 11 games while averaging 15:13 per night, the second-highest ATOI of his career.  With his activation, Winnipeg now has a full 23-player roster.

Other injury updates from around the NHL:

  • Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch told reporters including Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic (Twitter link) that winger Viktor Arvidsson won’t suit up on their current road trip, meaning he’ll miss the next three games. The 31-year-old has missed the last six games due to an undisclosed injury and is currently on injured reserve.  Arvidsson is in his first season with Edmonton after signing a two-year, $8MM contract over the summer.  However, he’s off to a quiet start with just two goals and three assists in 16 games.
  • Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against Florida, team reporter Walt Ruff reports (Twitter link). Kochetkov remains in concussion protocol but head coach Rod Brind’Amour wants to get him in a practice before getting him back into a game.  Kochetkov has a 2.42 GAA and a .909 SV% in 13 games so far this season.  With him and Frederik Andersen out, Spencer Martin and Yaniv Perets are Carolina’s tandem between the pipes for the time being.
  • The injuries continue to pile up for the Avalanche. Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Oliver Kylington is dealing with an injury and isn’t with the team in Dallas.  The 27-year-old has had a quiet start to the season for Colorado, missing time due to illness and being healthy scratched at times.  Overall, Kylington has suited up in eight games so far, picking up a goal and an assist but his playing time is just 12:10 per night, more than five minutes below his ATOI with Calgary last season.
  • Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov was scratched in today’s victory over Calgary due to an upper-body injury, notes team reporter Jeff Svoboda (Twitter link). After a breakout performance last season that saw him record 16 goals and 13 assists in 53 games, the 23-year-old is on pace to beat those numbers as he has seven goals and seven helpers in 21 appearances so far, good for fourth on Columbus in scoring.  Cole Sillinger returned from his upper-body injury to take Chinakhov’s spot in the lineup.

Golden Knights Recall Victor Olofsson From Conditioning Loan, Assign Two To AHL

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The Golden Knights have made a trio of roster moves heading into tonight’s game against Winnipeg.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Victor Olofsson has been recalled from AHL Henderson with his conditioning loan now complete.  Meanwhile, winger Mason Morelli and blueliner Robert Hagg have been re-assigned to the Silver Knights.

Olofsson signed with Vegas in free agency over the summer, inking a one-year, $1.075MM deal in the hopes of rebuilding his value after a tough final couple of years in Buffalo.  The 29-year-old got off to an impressive start with two goals in the season opener while adding another tally in his fourth outing.  However, that was his last appearance with them thanks to a lower-body injury that landed him on LTIR.

Olofsson was sent down on November 18th but didn’t see any game action with Henderson.  That trend will continue for the time being as he’s not expected to suit up against the Jets.

Morelli, meanwhile, has been recalled three times recently but it hasn’t resulted in much playing time as he has just one appearance with Vegas this season, one that saw him play just 7:31.  He has been productive with the Silver Knights though, notching five goals and four assists in 13 games thus far.

As for Hagg, he also has been shuffled back and forth quite frequently over the last week and a half.  The veteran has suited up twice for the Golden Knights this season, making it nine straight years with appearances at the top level.  However, he’s averaging just over 11 minutes per game while also recording 11 hits in those outings.  He has gotten off to a nice start offensively in the minors, however, picking up eight points in 14 games with Henderson.

With the moves, Vegas has once again exited LTIR and is back to banking a small amount of cap room.  Ben Hutton is presently on LTIR so if the Golden Knights need to bring anyone up later on, they will have the flexibility to do so by using Hutton’s $975K buffer.

Flames Place Ilya Nikolaev On Unconditional Waivers

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Nov. 29: The Flames announced Friday that Nikolaev has been released from his contract, confirming that he cleared unconditional waivers. They now have five open contract slots.

Nov. 28: It appears that the Flames will be parting ways with one of their prospects.  James Mirtle of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the team has placed forward Ilya Nikolaev on unconditional waivers, a move that is generally made to pave the way to terminate a player’s contract.

The 23-year-old was a third-round pick by Calgary back in 2019, going 88th overall.  Nikolaev spent the next two seasons in Russia before coming to North America for the 2021-22 campaign where he joined USHL Tri-City.  A strong showing there that saw him record 23 goals and 49 assists in 58 regular season games helped earn him an entry-level deal soon after.

However, things haven’t gone well for Nikolaev since then.  He spent his first two professional seasons split between AHL Calgary and ECHL Rapid City.  In 2022-23, he played the bulk of his outings with the latter while last season, it was the other way around.  The hope was that he’d at least be able to move up to the AHL level full-time this year but that didn’t happen.  Nikolaev got into a pair of games with the Rush plus nine more with the Wranglers where he had four assists but clearly, he hadn’t cemented a full-time spot with them yet.

Nikolaev is in the final season of his entry-level contract and with how things had been going to this point, he was likely heading for a non-tender in June.  Assuming that he clears waivers on Friday, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and will likely look for another opportunity overseas.  Once the deal is terminated, he’ll come off Calgary’s contract list which will bring them down to 45 out of the maximum of 50.

Oilers Recall Drake Caggiula

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As expected, Drake Caggiula’s stint in the minors was short-lived.  The team announced today (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled the veteran forward from AHL Bakersfield.

Edmonton re-assigned the 30-year-old back to the minors on Monday alongside defenseman Josh Brown (who notably wasn’t brought back up this time around).  With the Oilers off until Friday, the demotions allowed them to exit LTIR for a few days and bank a bit of cap space.  While Caggiula is on a contract for the league minimum of $775K, his remaining money is still more than the $382K they can afford per PuckPedia which means they’ll be back into using LTIR once the recall officially hits their books on Friday.

Caggiula has played in four games with Edmonton so far this season, all within the last four weeks.  He has one assist in those outings while averaging a little over eight minutes a night of playing time while also spending time in a reserve role.  He’s likely to still have a limited role on this stint with the Oilers as well.  While he was held off the scoresheet on Wednesday, Caggiula has been much more productive with the Condors, recording five goals and four helpers so far.

With the recall, Edmonton’s roster now stands at 22 players, one below the limit.  With them now back in LTIR, it wouldn’t be surprising to see that spot get filled in the near future.

Senators Hoping To Have First-Round Pick Forfeiture Reduced

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Last November, the NHL ruled that the Senators must forfeit one of their first-round selections in either the 2024, 2025, or 2026 drafts due to their failure to disclose Evgenii Dadonov’s no-trade clause when they traded him to Vegas in 2021.  The issue came to light less than a year later when the Golden Knights tried to flip him to Anaheim at the 2022 trade deadline, a team that was on that no-trade list.  (He eventually was moved to Montreal later that summer.)  Management in Vegas was understandably displeased about the matter and asked the league to investigate, eventually leading to the penalty to Ottawa.

The last time the NHL took this step was with New Jersey and their initial 17-year contract to Ilya Kovalchuk, a deal that was later reworked to a 15-year agreement.  The Devils were fined $3MM and stripped of a first-round pick between 2011 and 2014.  They elected not to forfeit in the first three years and in 2014, after Kovalchuk left the team, New Jersey successfully lobbied the league for a lesser penalty; half the funds were returned and instead of losing the first-rounder outright, it was moved to the back of the first round.

It appears that Senators owner Michael Andlauer is hoping that history will repeat itself with his franchise.  In an appearance on Amazon’s Monday Night Hockey earlier this week (video link), he lobbied for similar relief when it comes to Ottawa’s penalty:

It is what is it, we move forward, it was before my time. I accept a lot of deliberation went through. I just hope that being good citizens we can get the same type of relief New Jersey did some years ago with a similar situation.

The team elected not to forfeit the pick in this year’s draft, instead selecting defenseman Carter Yakemchuk seventh overall in June.  The Sens currently sit 25th in the overall standings and if they wind up finishing the season somewhere around there, it stands to reason that they’ll keep their 2025 selection, push the penalty to 2026, and hope for relief from the league at that time.

However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters including Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch earlier this month that he has no inclination to lessen the penalty on the Senators.  Of course, things can change between now and then but it certainly doesn’t appear to be trending in that direction for now.

It’s worth noting that the pick that Ottawa has to forfeit must be their own selection and not one acquired from another team.  That means that if they trade one of their 2025 or 2026 picks, it would lock in them forfeiting the other one as things stand.  That will likely play an impact in trade talks as they look to acquire help on their back end as those selections are trade chips that are probably off the table in discussions.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia.  We’re currently covering the Pacific Division, next up is the Sharks.

San Jose Sharks

Current Cap Hit: $81,214,232 (below the $88MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

G Yaroslav Askarov (one year, $925K)
F Macklin Celebrini (three years, $975K)
F William Eklund (two years, $863K)
F William Smith (three years, $950K)
D Jack Thompson (one year, $828K)

Potential Bonuses
Askarov: $850K
Celebrini: $3.5MM
Eklund: $850K
Smith: $850K
Total: $6.05MM

Celebrini is off to a good start to his career though injuries have cost him playing time already.  While that won’t hurt in the long run, it could make a Calder Trophy push a little harder which is one of the potential ‘A’ bonuses, of which he has four of.  While it’s still extremely early, the Sharks are hoping that he’s their top center of the future and we’ve seen the price tag for those players hover around $8MM per season, an amount that will probably need to go higher by the time this deal is up.

Smith has stayed healthy early on but has struggled in his first taste of the pros.  While they’re probably unconcerned long-term and still view him as the second option behind Celebrini, this start likely takes him out of reaching most, if not all of his ‘A’ bonuses.  If he lives up to his potential, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Smith in that $8MM range on his next deal.  Eklund had an impressive first full NHL season last year and is on a higher pace this year.  They’re hoping he has top-line potential which could get him in the $8MM range long-term as well although the fact he’s primarily being deployed on the wing could shave a little off his price tag.

Thompson was seeing regular action for the Sharks after an early-season recall before today’s demotion, albeit primarily on the third pairing.  If he can reclaim that roster spot before too long, he could land in the $1.3MM range on a bridge contract in the summer.

Askarov has already signed his second contract and we’ll get to that later on.  For this section, let’s focus on the bonuses.  Given that he was just recalled this week and that they’re running a three-goalie rotation, it’s hard to see him playing enough to reach any of his four ‘A’ bonuses.  He needs to get to 1,800 minutes (or 25 appearances with at least 30 minutes of playing time) to have a shot at qualifying for them.

Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level

G Mackenzie Blackwood ($2.35MM, UFA)
D Cody Ceci ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Mikael Granlund ($5MM, UFA)
F Klim Kostin ($2MM, RFA)
F Luke Kunin ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Givani Smith ($800K, UFA)
F Nico Sturm ($2MM, UFA)
G Vitek Vanecek ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Fabian Zetterlund ($1.45MM, RFA)

Granlund opted to sign with the Sharks in 2023 on what amounted to a pillow deal to try to rebuild some value.  He might have done just that.  With an expanded role, he reached the 60-point mark last season and is producing more than a point per game in the first quarter of this season.  As far as straight value goes, the Sharks have done pretty well with this deal.  How things go on his next contract remains in some question, however.  While Granlund is playing well in a top-line role, he’s not a top-line center on most teams and he has struggled with lesser roles at times in the past.  With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising if his market wasn’t as strong as his numbers might indicate although another deal around this price point should be doable.

Kunin was a speculative non-tender candidate after a down showing last year but the two sides settled on this deal.  He’s capable of being a versatile utility forward but hasn’t been able to produce with enough consistency thus far.  Still, someone who can play all three forward positions, kill penalties, and play with an edge will be of interest on the open market and a contract around this price point on a multi-year agreement could happen.  On the flip side, Kostin has not played well in either season of this contract and is more of a depth forward than a regular one.  His 2021-22 efforts appear to be the outlier at this point and as a result, most of his offers in the summer are likely to be at the league minimum or very close to it.

Sturm was primarily a depth player before joining San Jose but became a capable middle-six option over his first two seasons which had him on track for a decent raise next summer.  However, his early-season usage has him back in his old spot on the fourth line which won’t help his market.  That said, given the demand for middlemen, he could still get a small increase on his next deal.  Zetterlund wound up with a bridge deal after struggling upon being acquired in the Timo Meier deal.  His first full season with the Sharks was a strong one with 24 goals and 20 assists and he’s on pace to eclipse those numbers this year.  With arbitration rights, he’s on pace to triple this deal at a minimum if he can keep it up.  Smith, meanwhile, has been more of a depth player over the years and is likely to stay around the league minimum again on his next deal.

Ceci was acquired from Edmonton in a cap-clearing move mid-offseason.  He’s getting an opportunity to play a bigger role but most teams know his best role is in more of a fourth or fifth role.  As someone who is a right-hand shot and can log 20-plus minutes a night, another deal in this range for a few years is a likely outcome.  Rutta’s first season with San Jose last year wasn’t bad in a third-pairing role but he has struggled this season.  If things stay as is, he probably won’t be able to land this much in the summer if he winds up playing a role on a team going deep into the playoffs, that could boost his value back up to around this price point.

Vanecek was brought in at the trade deadline last season to give them another veteran to try to help stabilize things to a point.  He hasn’t fared too poorly all things considered but coming off a rocky year in New Jersey, his value has taken a hit.  He could be a candidate for a one-year pillow deal but a two-year agreement at a price tag starting with a two is more likely.  Considering how poorly San Jose’s back end has been at times, Blackwood has fared relatively well since joining the Sharks last summer.  However, his overall numbers won’t be high enough to land him any sort of sizable raise.  Something around this price tag should be doable though.

Signed Through 2025-26

F Ty Dellandrea ($1.3MM, RFA)
D Mario Ferraro ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Carl Grundstrom ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Timothy Liljegren ($3MM, UFA)
D Henry Thrun ($1MM, RFA)
D Jake Walman ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Alexander Wennberg ($5MM, UFA)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7MM, UFA)

Wennberg was a beneficiary of the Sharks wanting some veteran center depth and the demand for middlemen on the open market, yielding an above-market contract for a player who hasn’t eclipsed the 40-point mark since 2016-17.  If he stays in the 30-plus-point range as he has since then, a more realistic price tag would be closer to $4MM in 2026.

Grundstrom was acquired over the summer after it looked like he might be non-tendered by Los Angeles.  While he has shown a bit of a scoring touch in the past, he hasn’t been able to do so with enough consistency, resulting in him playing a lot on the fourth line.  This price tag is on the high side for someone in that role; he’ll need to find a way to produce more if he wants any sort of notable raise.  Dellandrea was acquired from Dallas in the hopes that a change of scenery would get him going.  That hasn’t happened yet and he finds himself in the same limited role he had with the Stars.  If that continues, a non-tender could be on the table.

Vlasic has been a long-time core defender for the Sharks over his 18-year career, earning himself some Norris Trophy votes in the prime of his career.  However, that prime was a long time ago.  At his best, Vlasic was a key shutdown defender who could play on the top pairing and he signed this contract while being in that role.  But for the most part since then, he has been more of a depth piece, either on the third pairing or as a healthy scratch.  This season, he has yet to play due to a back injury but even when he returns, it’s likely to be in a limited role.  He’s a buyout candidate next summer if San Jose decides to open up some cap space and if he was to hit the open market and consider going elsewhere, it’d be a minimum-salary agreement.

Walman was another cap casualty over the offseason, this time coming from Detroit.  After being more of a fourth option with the Red Wings, he’s often on the top pairing and is doing well in that role.  If that keeps up, he could make a case to push past the $5MM per season mark in 2026.  Ferraro has been a speculative trade candidate for a while given his reasonable cap charge and his shutdown role.  Limited offense will limit his earnings upside on the open market but we’ve seen players like that land around $4.5MM recently and that could be a reasonable price point for his next deal.

Liljegren was brought in from Toronto in yet another cap-clearing move (though this one came just recently).  There was some risk had he made it to arbitration last summer, resulting in the two sides settling on this deal.  Now, Liljegren needs to prove he can be a top-four player if he wants to beat this deal in his first trip through the open market.  Thrun, meanwhile, is still looking to establish himself as a must-play top-six blueliner.  Offensively, he can hold his own but he has scuffled in the defensive zone, resulting in him being more of a third-pairing player this season after being a top-four piece last year.  He’s a safe bet to be qualified as things stand but he’ll need to show some improvement if he wants to get past the $2MM mark on his next deal when he’ll have arbitration rights.

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