Offseason Checklist: San Jose Sharks
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. First up is a look at San Jose.
As expected, it was another tough year for San Jose. They integrated two of their top prospects into the lineup in forwards Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith while acquiring their goalie of the future in Yaroslav Askarov. From a long-term prospect standpoint, they’re doing well. But the on-ice product this year didn’t yield many points with the Sharks finishing last in the standings once again. That means that GM Mike Grier has a big checklist to take care of this summer.
Add A Veteran Goalie
While Askarov is their goalie of the future, their goalie of the present has been in flux in recent years. Mackenzie Blackwood, Kaapo Kahkonen, Vitek Vanecek, and Alexandar Georgiev all had opportunities over the last couple of seasons but none of them were able to get the job done. The first three have since been traded or let go in free agency while Georgiev won’t be retained either. Meanwhile, although Georgi Romanov has shown some promise, he’s far from being ready to take on a full-time role in the NHL. As a result, they’re going to need to look outside the organization to fill this spot.
Askarov will be starting a two-year, $4MM bridge contract next season and while he’s their long-term solution between the pipes, he only has 16 games of NHL experience while injuries have limited him to 35 games so far (though that will go up at least a bit more in the AHL playoffs). With that in mind, he may not be getting penciled in as their undisputed number one goalie. That means that they’ll enter free agency as one of the teams potentially looking for a short-term starter.
The good news for the Sharks is that there shouldn’t be too many teams looking for that type of goaltender. The bad news is that there aren’t many, if any, of those players out there. Consider that there is just one pending UFA who played more than 41 games (half the schedule) this season. That was Georgiev and we know he’s not coming back.
Someone like Jake Allen would make sense for the Sharks. He’s used to being in a rebuilding environment already from his time with Montreal and could theoretically be the strong-side platoon goalie next season before flipping roles with Askarov the following year. Ilya Samsonov didn’t have a great market last summer but if there’s a shot at a short-term path to being a starter, he could be intrigued by the Sharks while if they want a bit of potential upside, Daniel Vladar is the youngest UFA goalie on the market as he won’t turn 28 until August. It’s not a deep list to choose from by any stretch but Grier should be able to land a short-term partner for Askarov to get through the next year or two.
Eklund Extension Talks
If it feels like William Eklund has been around for a while, he has. He saw close to the maximum NHL time without starting his contract in his first two seasons so he already has 174 career appearances at the top level under his belt. He still has one year left on his deal which means he will be eligible for an extension on July 1st.
In 2023-24, the 22-year-old had his first full NHL campaign and did pretty well, notching 16 goals and 29 assists in 80 games. Had he been eligible, he likely would have received some down-ballot Calder Trophy voting but by virtue of playing more than six games in the previous two seasons, he was no longer eligible for the award. He improved on those numbers this year, tallying 17 goals and 41 helpers in 77 appearances, finishing second to Celebrini in team scoring. Drafted seventh overall in 2021, the hope was that Eklund could become a core center for the Sharks. Things haven’t gone well when he has played down the middle but he has settled in nicely as a core winger and is someone Grier will likely look to get locked up now.
While there are some big-ticket contracts coming in a couple of years from now, San Jose’s cap situation is about as clean as they come; only one player is signed past the 2026-27 campaign. In other words, there’s ample room for Eklund and the two rookies (Celebrini and Smith) to ink long-term deals without needing to be worried about complicating things cap-wise down the road.
Finding the right price tag will be interesting. The projected increases to the salary cap for the next few years bring a new element into play that we haven’t seen before and it’s one that’s going to make contracts like this go higher than they have before. Under the older system that didn’t have projections, an AAV starting with a seven on a long-term deal would seem like a reasonable range for Eklund. But with the quicker increases, it wouldn’t be surprising to see his camp aim higher than that to get him to put pen to paper on a new deal early.
Leverage Cap Space
Let’s dig into their cap situation a little further. Per PuckPedia, the Sharks have nearly $44MM in cap room for next season. Their most expensive pending restricted free agent is Klim Kostin ($2MM) but he’s a non-tender candidate. Most of their other RFAs are coming off entry-level deals and are likely heading for bridge contracts that won’t be too cost-prohibitive. They only have a handful of spots to fill on their roster and a lot of spending to do simply to get to the spending floor of $70.6MM, a number they’re nearly $20MM below at the moment.
Unfortunately for San Jose, acting as a third-party retainer in a trade is probably off the table. Two of their three retention slots are encumbered through 2026-27 (Tomas Hertl’s runs through 2029-30) and while the Brent Burns one will come off the books, that will only happen on July 1st. The bulk of the heavy trade activity tends to happen before free agency opens up so they probably won’t be able to use it early. Additionally, they probably will want to keep a spot available to help facilitate a trade in-season closer to the trade deadline as they’re likely to be sellers once again next season.
But teams looking to offload a pricey contract should be calling the Sharks. They can easily absorb a big-ticket expiring contract or two and pick up some future assets (likely draft picks) for doing so. They could also look to take on a multi-year deal like they did with Barclay Goodrow last spring if they feel the player can be part of their medium-term plans. Again, in most of those instances, they’d be compensated for alleviating the other team’s cap concern. It’s low-hanging fruit, so to speak, but utilizing some of their cap space to take on some unwanted deals will garner them some future assets and assuming the player isn’t injured, the moves would also upgrade their roster as well.
Add A Bridge Center
One area that they might have to turn to free agency to try to fill is center. Mikael Granlund logged heavy minutes for them to take some pressure off Celebrini while allowing Smith to ease in on the wing. Following his trade to Dallas, Smith stayed away from his natural position with Alexander Wennberg taking on a bigger role. Wennberg isn’t a true top-six option at this point while it appears that they weren’t comfortable putting Smith there yet. We also know Eklund has settled in on the wing so they’d likely prefer to keep him there as well. Accordingly, there’s a top-six opening to be filled.
The challenge here for the Sharks will be selling themselves in a market where a lot of teams, including some very competitive ones, will be trying to fill that particular role. This is where their cap space can be an asset as they can comfortably overpay on a shorter-term offer or if they find someone they like longer-term, they’ll be more comfortable than most adding a year or two if it helps get something done.
In terms of who they’d likely consider, the top veterans are probably out of reach. Granlund makes a lot of sense and he didn’t close the door on a return following his trade to Dallas. Sam Bennett is one they’d likely be interested in but it would be surprising to see San Jose be the top bidder there if he makes it to the open market. Ryan Donato could be more of an upside swing if they think his breakout year with Chicago could be repeatable. Brock Nelson is one they could afford but they might have to overpay on term to get something done. There are some options out there but they won’t be the easiest to get.
On top of trying to fill that spot, adding a bottom-six option as well would be useful with both Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin being shipped out at the deadline. Ty Dellandrea and Zack Ostapchuk finished out the year in those spots but it wouldn’t be shocking to see them try to upgrade on the third line at a minimum. This one could be filled via the trade route but it’s a bit easier to land these types of players in free agency. Either way, while the Sharks are still in a spot where they don’t need to be loading up with several additions, they will want to look for some help down the middle in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.
Snapshots: Shore, Jets, Cull, Devils
The Wild announced that they’ve recalled center Devin Shore from AHL Iowa. It’s the seventh recall of the season for the 30-year-old who actually spent the bulk of the regular season with Minnesota. Shore got into 55 NHL games this season, his highest total since the 2018-19 campaign. However, production was hard to come by as he was limited to just one goal and four assists in those outings while logging just 8:39 per contest of ice time. Shore was more productive in the minors, picking up two goals and eight assists in 15 appearances with Iowa. With Iowa not making the AHL playoffs, more recalls will likely be coming in the next few days.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Jets winger Gabriel Vilardi returned to practice in a non-contact jersey, relays TSN’s John Lu (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has missed the last four weeks with an upper-body injury, bringing a career year offensively to an early end. Vilardi had 61 points in 71 games this season but may still be a few days away from returning. That’s also the case for center Rasmus Kupari. Murat Ates of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that he has been cleared to return from his concussion but will need a few practices with contact before being an option to suit up. Meanwhile, Ates adds that defenseman Ville Heinola is also dealing with a nagging injury. That has been a familiar refrain for the blueliner who was limited to just 18 games this season due to injury trouble.
- The Flames announced that interim assistant coach Trent Cull is returning to AHL Calgary and will return to his duties as head coach of the Wranglers heading into the playoffs. Cull was moved behind the bench with the Flames following assistant coach Brad Larsen’s indefinite leave of absence due to family reasons. Joe Cirella had been serving as interim head coach of the Wranglers and will now resume his assistant coach duties while Martin Gelinas, who was named as an interim assistant with them following Cull’s promotion, will remain in that role for the playoffs.
- It would be a surprise to see defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler suit up for the Devils in their series against Carolina, relays team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link). The 27-year-old has missed the last two-and-a-half months with a lower-body injury and had initially been ruled out for the rest of the regular season. Clearly, Siegenthaler, who logged nearly 20 minutes a night before being injured, will need more time to recover. Meanwhile, Stein relays in a separate tweet that defenseman Brenden Dillon was eager to return to play today after exiting in the second period but was held back by team doctors. Nonetheless, that’s an encouraging sign for his availability heading into Tuesday’s second game. However, there was no update on center Cody Glass who exited the game after taking a slash from teammate Jacob Markstrom.
Maple Leafs Recall Artur Akhtyamov
The Maple Leafs added some goaltending depth before puck drop in Sunday’s series opener against Ottawa. The team announced (Twitter link) that they recalled netminder Artur Akhtyamov from AHL Toronto to serve as their third goaltender for the time being.
The 23-year-old was a fourth-round pick by the Maple Leafs back in 2020, going 106th overall. He spent the next three seasons primarily playing at the VHL level (one tier below the KHL) with his 2022-23 performance being a stellar one that saw him post a 1.73 GAA and a .943 SV% in 39 regular season games with Neftyanik Almetievsk before improving on those in six postseason outings.
That was enough for Toronto to sign Akhtyamov to a three-year, entry-level deal back in July 2023 although they loaned him back overseas last season. That allowed him to see some regular KHL action, getting in 17 games with Ak Bars Kazan along with 19 outings with Neftyanik before coming to North America this season.
This year, Akhtyamov played in 26 games for the Marlies, second among their goalies with the team largely running through three netminders this season. In those outings, he posted a 2.81 GAA along with a .901 SV%. The other two goaltenders – Dennis Hildeby and Matt Murray – will remain with the Marlies for their playoff run which gets underway on Thursday in Cleveland.
Avalanche Sign Zakhar Bardakov To Entry-Level Deal
The Colorado Avalanche announced that they have signed forward Zakhar Bardakov to a one-year, entry-level deal, per a team release.
In 53 games this season for SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL, Bardakov posted 17 goals and 35 points. The 24-year-old set career highs in goals and assists this season (while nearly doubling his previous career high in points) and served as an alternate captain. He added two points in six KHL playoff contests. In 209 regular season games in the KHL, he scored 79 points. The Russian native also spent three seasons in the MHL, scoring 70 points in 104 games.
Bardakov plays center and utilizes his 6’2, 210-pound frame to fend off defenders. He was originally drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the seventh round in the 2021 draft, but acquired by the Avalanche in a trade with the Devils last season.
While the Avalanche continue with their Stanley Cup aspirations, the club’s prospect pool has quite a few promising forwards, including Maxmilian Curran, Cooper Gay, and Taylor Makar, younger brother of superstar Cale Makar. There is also forward Christian Humphreys, whose rights belong to Colorado although he remains unsigned. After 10 games at the University of Michigan this previous season, Humphreys joined the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, where he posted 33 points in 28 games.
For Bardakov, he appears to have the physical traits to break camp with the Avs to start next season, although he’ll likely start in the AHL as he acclimates to a North American style of play.
Mathew Barzal, Semyon Varlamov Expect To Be Ready For Training Camp
New York Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov and forward Mat Barzal both expect to be ready for the start of next season, per Ethan Sears of the New York Post.
Varlamov has been out since November with an injury that required season-ending surgery. The 36-year-old appeared in only 10 games on the season, finishing with a 3-3-4 record and an undesirable .889 save percentage. Speaking to reporters, Varlamov noted the injury is something that he’s been dealing with for quite some time. He added that he is looking forward to returning to action next season.
If healthy, Varlamov should provide the Isles with a solid backup option behind star Ilya Sorokin. Marcus Högberg ended up appearing in 15 games this year, but didn’t make the most of his opportunity, finishing with a 2-6-3 record to pair with a .878 save percentage. Varlamov has two years remaining on his contract, paying a $2.75MM AAV. Despite a rough 2024-25 season, he’s just one year removed from providing New York with a .918 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average. If he can rediscover that type of play, the combination of him and Sorokin should help the club’s efforts to return to the playoffs.
Barzal, who suffered an injury to his knee back in early February, also expects to be 100 percent for next season. In fact, had the Isles made the playoffs, there’s a chance Barzal could have played. In 30 games on the year, he posted six goals and 20 points. The three-time All-Star is coming off of an 80-point season and has produced 190 points in the three seasons prior to this year. The 27-year-old still has six years remaining on his $9.125MM AAV deal.
Capitals Notes: Fehervary, Protas, Chychrun
Martin Fehervary and Aliaksei Protas did not practice for the Capitals today, per NHL.com reporter Tom Gulitti. He adds that defender Jakob Chychrun did practice despite a puck deflecting into his face at practice yesterday.
Fehervary appeared in 81 games in the regular season but missed the final game of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an ankle injury. The 25-year-old defender scored 25 points on the year to go along with a plus-18 rating, 150 blocked shots and 139 hits. He also averaged 19 minutes of ice time per game, so his return will play a major factor in the team’s Stanley Cup aspirations. The same can be said for Protas, who burst on the season this year and produced 30 goals, 66 points, and an incredible plus-40 rating. He’s been out since April 4 with a foot injury.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was vague in discussing the potential return of Fehervary and Protas, recently stating: “I’m just going to leave it as we’ve got a bunch of guys working through some things, progressing, potentially playing on Monday, potentially not. Once we get going in the series, I can give you more updates as guys are obviously warming up and in the lineup or not.”
Chychrun has appeared to avoid any serious injury after being struck with a puck in practice yesterday. His return to practice today is obviously a great sign for the Capitals, especially considering the unknown return of Fehervary. Chychrun produced 20 goals and 47 points from the blueline on the season and serves as a key member of the team’s top power play unit.
Kings’ Tanner Jeannot Remains Out Week-To-Week
While the Kings are relatively healthy heading into their first-round matchup against the Edmonton Oilers, forward Tanner Jeannot remains out week-to-week, per Mayor’s Manors. It appeared Jeannot hurt his ankle on a no-contact injury while setting up to block a shot in March 25th’s win over the New York Rangers, and he’s been out of the lineup ever since. He has not begun skating and isn’t expected to play in the first round.
Jeannot scored seven goals and 13 points in 67 games on the season but served the Kings well as a physical presence on the fourth line, where the 6’2″, 220-pounder produced 211 hits. In 294 career games, Jeannot has delivered 1,083 hits, good for a 3.7 average per game. However, the 27-year-old has never been able to match the offensive production of his rookie year during the 2021-22 season, when he scored 24 goals and 41 points.
He also hasn’t been able to produce much offensively in 16 career playoff contests, where he’s produced just three assists and a minus-nine rating. However, he has showcased his physicality with 65 hits in those contests while averaging 13:04 of ice time. His return would provide the team’s bottom-six with a high-energy presence that can change the momentum of a game.
In his absence, rookie center Samuel Helenius and depth winger Jeff Malott have received more minutes. Helenius produced seven points in 50 regular season games but also doled out 150 hits in his rookie campaign. Malott produced well in the AHL this season, scoring 51 points in 61 games, but only secured one assist in 12 NHL games on the year.
Oilers To Activate John Klingberg, Evander Kane And Trent Frederic Close
The Edmonton Oilers are expected to activate defenseman John Klingberg off of long-term injured reserve before Monday shares Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic. Klingberg will be a Game 1 option for the Oilers as they prepare for a first round series against the Los Angeles Kings, after missing 20 of Edmonton’s last 21 games with a lower-body injury. Nugent-Bowman added that Evander Kane and Trent Frederic will also be close to full health in time for Game 1, though neither forward has been confirmed just yet.
Klingberg signed with the Oilers in late January. He took some time to get up to speed, but worked his way into the daily lineup through much of February. Head coach Kris Knoblauch rotated Klingberg through reps on all three defensive pairings. The 11-year-veteran averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time each game and found his way to four points, 13 blocked shots, and five hits. But Klingberg’s run at the Oilers’ lineup was short-lived, and he fell to injury after just 10 games. His departure came just ahead of the Trade Deadline, and could have been part of why Edmonton paid the lofty price of Carl Berglund and a first-round draft pick to acquire Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks. That’s proved the expert’s bet as the season’s second-half wrapped up, with Walman netting eight points in 15 games before the end of Edmonton’s season.
Klingberg attempted to return from his injury on March 27th – two weeks after he left the lineup. But he needed a longer recovery window, keeping the Oilers back from rostering a much-needed right-shot defenseman. Edmonton will get that benefit back just in time now – and at a perfect time too. The Oilers have already ruled out top-four defenseman Mattias Ekholm for the entire first round. Walman was also questionable for the start of the first round, though the defender told media on Friday that he feels ready to go. Walman will instantly assume a top-four role on Edmonton’s left-side, while the club decides between icing Klingberg – or one of Brett Kulak or Ty Emberson on their off-hand – to round out their right-side.
The Oilers could get more good news out of Frederic or Kane soon. The former was another Trade Deadline pickup, but has only managed one appearance with the Oilers since March. Frederic has been coping with an ankle injury, but made his return to full practice in the skates leading up to the first round. If he is indeed headed back to the lineup, he’ll bring a mix of shooting luck and heavy-frame physicality needed to back up Edmonton’s superstars. Kane could bring the same mix, though he missed the entirety of the regular season with a mix of injuries and surgeries. Frederic recorded eight goals and 15 points in 57 games with the Boston Bruins prior to his trade to Edmonton; while Kane scored 24 goals and 44 points in 77 games last season. It seems Frederic will be the healthier of the two, though both could factor into Edmonton’s bottom-six over the course of round one.
Adam Boqvist, Kyle Palmieri Nearing Extension With Islanders
The New York Islanders are looking to stay busy as their season comes to an end. The team is closing in on extensions for winger Kyle Palmieri and defenseman Adam Boqvist, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast. The pair of moves would go a long way towards solidifying New York’s early look for next season, by holding onto longtime lineup pillars and bringing back new additions.
Boqvist and Palmieri are two of 12 pending free agents on the Islanders’ roster. Palmieri joins the camp of five unrestricted free-agents, while Boqvist is one of seven restricted-free agents with arbitration eligibility. That standing will likely earn the former a hardier payday.
Palmieri is coming off of a four-year, $20MM contract signed ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. That deal guaranteed his long-standing with the Islanders organization, after he joined the team via a mid-season trade from the New Jersey Devils in the shortened 2020-21 season. Palmieri was a routine 25-goal, 50-point scorer in the Devils lineup, but struggled to carry that momentum over to the Islanders. He scored 33 points in each of his first two seasons on the Island, through 69 and 55 games respectively. But New York was soon rewarded for hanging onto the aging winger, as Palmieri sprung back to form with 30 goals and 54 points last season. He kept it up with 24 goals and 48 points this season – made better by the fact that Palmieri hasn’t missed a game since January of 2023.
Palmieri has performed well enough to maintain a high price tag on his next deal, but he’s not likely to get much of a raise. At 33 years old, any multi-year extension will very likely carry Palmieri into retirement. Even better, Palmieri is only 100 games off of his 1,000th appearance in the NHL. The right term could make sure he enters both of those gates as a member of the Islanders, though New York will hope he doesn’t face the same scoring slump he went through after signing his last contract.
News of Boqvist’s extension is a bit more encouraging. The 24-year-old defenseman landed with the Islanders via waivers from the Florida Panthers in January of this season. He had previously signed a one-year, one-way, league-minimum contract with Florida this summer, and scored six points in 18 games with the club. Boqvist boosted those numbers to eight points in 17 games in a second-half run with the Islanders. He found strong footing on New York’s bottom pairing and became the choice pick over fellow new addition Scott Perunovich.
A new contract will be a bode of confidence in the young Boqvist. He was a top-10 selection in the 2018 NHL Draft, but has since played for four different clubs. Boqvist has only ever signed one extension with a club – in 2022, when he inked a three-year re-up with the Columbus Blue Jackets before being bought out two years later. A new deal with the Islanders will be a rare chance for the young defender to find his footing in an everyday lineup role behind the heavy-hitters of New York’s top-four.
Canucks’ Filip Chytil Healthy Entering The Offseason
Vancouver Canucks centerman Filip Chytil missed the last 16 games of the season after sustaining a concussion in the team’s March 15th win over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was yet another concussion for the 25-year-old, after brain injuries limited his 2023-24 season to 10 games and forced a brief return to his native Czechia. But good news has finally crested, with Chytil sharing that he’s feeling back to 100 percent and even skated at Canucks practice last week, per Sportsnet’s Brendan Batchelor.
Were the Canucks able to make up the six-point difference between their final result and a playoff entry, they could have been entertaining the thought of working Chytil back into the lineup soon. Even then, his return to full health is encouraging. Chytil’s career has been marred by persistent injuries – including no fewer than three suspected long-term concussions. He has never played in more than 75 games in a single season – with that mark set in his rookie season, which was ended early by a suspected concussion. Upper-body injuries forced Chytil out of long stretches through each of the next three seasons, before he returned to mostly-good health in 2022-23. That was a breakout season for Chytil, marked by a career-high 22 goals and 45 points. But he couldn’t hold his footing through either of the last two seasons.
The constant injuries are made extra frustrating by just how bourgeoning Chytil’s game seems. He seems to be emerging as a proud second-line center capable of reaching 20 goals and 50 points. Even through injury this season, Chytil totaled 13 goals and 26 points in 56 games this season – an 82-game pace of 19 goals and 38 points. The performance was evidence of a stride forward in his offensive output, after he scored 22 or 23 points in every season between 2018 and 2022 regardless of how many games he played.
Reaching full health at the cusp of the offseason could be perfectly timed for Chytil. He’s signed to the Canucks roster through the end of the 2026-27 season, and should have a clear path to a top-six center role pending any summer additions. That stability and projection will let Chytil focus solely on training and nursing his persistent injuries. With a summer of dedicated effort, next season will hopefully be the year that Chytil can embrace a year of good health.