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Dylan Gambrell

Ottawa Senators Sign Dylan Gambrell To Extension

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Forward Dylan Gambrell has agreed to a one-year extension with the Ottawa Senators, as announced today by the team. The deal carries a cap hit of $950,000 and will make him a restricted free agent again in 2023.

Ottawa acquired Gambrell from the San Jose Sharks a few weeks into the 2021-22 season in exchange for a 2022 seventh-round pick for some additional forward depth. San Jose’s second-round selection in 2016 didn’t exactly pan out in Ottawa either, scoring just three goals, four assists, and seven points in 63 games. Aside from the games played, those were all career lows for Gambrell in a full NHL season, of which this was his third.

Gambrell is a decent defensive specialist and could succeed alongside offensively-inclined linemates in a limited role, but he’s struggled considerably in pretty much every other area of the game at the NHL level. It’s certainly not anywhere close to the upside Gambrell had when the Sharks drafted him after his 47-point freshman season at the University of Denver.

The Washington native will stick around in Ottawa for another season, likely in a mirrored role to last season.

Snapshots: Senators Injuries, Kastelic, Teravainen, Kuzmenko

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The Senators will get some help on the injury front for their game against New Jersey on Monday as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports (Twitter link) that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev, winger Connor Brown, and center Dylan Gambrell will all return to the lineup.  Zaitsev has been out for nearly two months due to a heel injury, Brown has missed just under a month with a broken jaw, and Gambrell has been out for a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury.  Gambrell and Zaitsev will need to be activated off injured reserve but the Sens carried a minimum-sized roster through the All-Star break so no corresponding moves will need to be made.

More from around the hockey world:

  • Still with Ottawa, the Senators announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled center Mark Kastelic from Belleville of the AHL. The 22-year-old made his NHL debut late last month and has played in three games for Ottawa this season, averaging just under eight minutes a game while winning over 72% of his faceoffs.  Kastelic has a dozen points in 34 games at the AHL level.
  • While the Hurricanes were hoping that winger Teuvo Teravainen would be good to go following the All-Star break, it appears his lingering lower-body injury hasn’t healed as well as the team hoped. Instead, as Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer notes (Twitter link), Teravainen is listed as a game-time decision for their game against Toronto on Monday.  He has missed the last two games due to the injury.
  • Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko will miss the Olympics due to an unspecified injury, relays Steven Ellis of The Hockey News. The 25-year-old wrapped up the KHL season in second place in KHL scoring with 53 points in 45 games with SKA St. Petersburg and is expected to make the jump to North America next season and sign with an NHL team.  While the KHL called the rest of their regular season yesterday, their playoffs will get started after the Olympics so that announcement won’t affect when Kuzmenko will sign.

Connor Brown, Dylan Gambrell Placed In COVID Protocol

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The Ottawa Senators canceled practice today for precautionary reasons, suggesting that there was more bad COVID news coming down the pipe. The team has now announced that Connor Brown and Dylan Gambrell have both been placed in the COVID protocol and are unavailable. In their place, the team has recalled Scott Sabourin and Egor Sokolov from the AHL.

The two Senators forwards join teammates Austin Watson, Nick Holden, and coach Jack Capuano in the protocol, though the team has not confirmed any additional positive results. Ottawa is set to take on the Boston Bruins tomorrow, and though that game is still scheduled for the moment, it’s unclear who will actually be available for the Senators.

For Sokolov, it would be his NHL debut should he enter the lineup tomorrow. The 21-year-old forward was a second-round pick in 2020, picked after going undrafted in previous years. He quickly showed that his combination of size and scoring ability was good enough to make up for any skating concerns at the AHL level, scoring 15 goals and 25 points in his rookie season. This year he’s been even better for the Belleville Senators, getting off to a strong start with six points in nine games.

Meanwhile, losing Brown for any length of time is a big hit for the Senators, given how big a role he plays for the team. Averaging more than 20 minutes a night, the 27-year-old forward actually sees more short-handed ice time than even any of the team’s defensemen. He’s also a regular contributor on the powerplay and one of the group’s most reliable offensive players. In 11 games, he has seven points on the year.

The concern now is how widespread these breakthrough infections will be, and how many other players will be affected. After games tomorrow and Thursday, the Senators have a back-to-back over the weekend, games that hopefully they will have some good news for.

Senators Acquire Dylan Gambrell

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The Senators had been looking to add some forward depth even before Shane Pinto was placed on IR.  They’ve now done so, acquiring center Dylan Gambrell from San Jose for a 2022 seventh-round pick.  The selection going to the Sharks is actually their own seventh-rounder that was previously acquired in January for defenseman Christian Jaros.  Both teams have announced the deal.  Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement on the move:

Dylan’s a player whose progress we’ve monitored since his collegiate career at the University of Denver. He’s a good-skating centre, a strong checker and a responsible penalty killer. We have a void at centre on account of some recent injuries and Dylan will help us with that need.

The 25-year-old has reached double digits in points in each of the last two seasons while also logging over 16 minutes per game in 49 contests with the Sharks last season.  That helped earn him a one-year, $1.1MM contract from San Jose this offseason.  However, he failed to earn a spot on the roster in training camp having been beaten by Jasper Weatherby for the spot on the fourth line he was expected to occupy and actually cleared waivers two weeks ago.

While Ottawa could have had him for free back then, they also didn’t have three regulars out with injuries as Pinto is joined by Colin White and Austin Watson on injured reserve.  As a result, they’ve decided to part with a seventh-rounder to bring in someone with 110 career games under his belt, primarily in the checking role that Dorion alluded to trying to fill.  It’s a low-cost pickup for the Sens and if Gambrell pans out, he’s controllable for two more years through restricted free agency where he will have arbitration rights.

14 Players Clear Waivers

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Sunday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that all 14 names from yesterday have cleared waivers.

Saturday: As expected, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire with opening rosters being submitted to the NHL on Monday.  Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following 14 players are on waivers today:

D John Moore (BOS)
F Chris Wagner (BOS)
F Byron Froese (CGY)
F Justin Kirkland (CGY)
G Calvin Pickard (DET)
D Thomas Hickey (NYI)
F Richard Panik (NYI)
F Anthony Angello (PIT)
F Dylan Gambrell (SJ)
F Logan Brown (STL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (STL)
D Alex Biega (TOR)
F Kurtis Gabriel (TOR)
D Michal Kempny (WSH)

As expected, today’s list is a little more interesting as teams get closer to making their final cuts with more notable players.  Several veterans are on the wire today, headlined by Kempny and Moore on the back end.  Both players are coming off injury-plagued seasons (Achilles for Kempny, hip for Moore) and could benefit from some regular action in the minors to get back into playing shape.  If they clear, Washington and Boston would only receive $1.125MM in cap relief; Kempny carries a $2.5MM AAV for this season while Moore is at $2.75MM for the next two seasons.

Up front, Panik and Wagner are a pair of veterans that have considerable NHL experience.  Panik split last season between the Capitals and Red Wings, picking up 13 points in 48 games.  Detroit is retaining half of his $2.75MM AAV, meaning that if he was claimed, the team that picks him up would only be carrying him at $1.375MM.  Wagner is in the second season of a three-year deal with a $1.35MM AAV and while his production tumbled last season to just five points in 41 games with the Bruins, he has been one of the more physical players in the league in recent years.  Again, if they clear, those teams would only get $1.125MM in cap space.

Brown’s stint with his hometown team didn’t go particularly well evidently with him being on waivers so quickly.  As part of the trade from Ottawa, the Senators will send a fourth-round pick to the Blues if the 2016 first-round pick doesn’t play in 30 games with St. Louis.  All of a sudden, that pick looks a lot likelier to transfer.

Among the other forwards, Angello and Gambrell are somewhat interesting as well.  Angello played in 19 games on the fourth line with the Penguins last season, picking up four points along with 51 hits and actually carries a cap hit that’s $25K below the league minimum which could be appealing to cap-strapped teams.  As for Gambrell, he has played in 99 games with the Sharks over the last two seasons and logged over 16 minutes a game for them last season.  He was a highly-speculated candidate to be selected by Seattle in expansion although they went with Alexander True instead.  Gambrell makes $1.1MM this season and is controllable through arbitration through 2024.

Dylan Gambrell Re-Signs With San Jose Sharks

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The San Jose Sharks today re-signed center Dylan Gambrell. CapFriendly reports that the contract is a one-year deal worth $1.1MM, all paid in base salary. It’s worth noting that Gambrell, who’s still 24 years old, will again be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the conclusion of the 2021-22 campaign.

Gambrell was drafted 60th overall as an overager by the Sharks at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft after a strong freshman campaign at the University of Denver, where he posted 47 points in just 41 games. But after turning pro at the end of the 2017-18 season, Gambrell has struggled to produce offensively at the NHL level. With just 10 goals and 23 points in 110 career NHL games, Gambrell’s struggled to find the scoring touch that even carried over to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

The center saw a sharp increase in responsibility this season due to San Jose’s lack of forward depth. Playing over 16 minutes a night, he struggled both offensively and defensively against tougher opponents. While there’s reason to believe that Gambrell might blossom in a more sheltered role due to the potential he showed in college, he likely won’t get that chance with the Sharks as they continue to rebuild. Gambrell might have to continue to work to develop his game on the fly in a top-nine or even top-six role. But despite the poor numbers, general manager Doug Wilson appeared impressed with Gambrell’s progress this season:

Dylan appeared in his first full-time role last season with us and showed he is a reliable player. He played in a lot of different situations and utilized his speed to be an effective player.

But even with the extension today, there’s not a guarantee that Gambrell will be wearing a Sharks jersey next season. As he’ll likely be left exposed for July 21st’s Seattle Expansion Draft, the native of Bonney Lake, WA might draw the eye of his new hometown team. With lesser responsibility and a different development staff, Gambrell may begin to showcase the potential that got him drafted in 2016.

Snapshots: Sharks, Killorn, Neal, Chiasson

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With the pre-expansion trade freeze now just a week away, trade talk will be picking up around the league.  Kevin Kurz of The Athletic notes (subscription link) that the Sharks are a team that is active in those discussions with winger Kevin Labanc, defenseman Radim Simek, and center Dylan Gambrell at the forefront of those discussions.  Labanc underwhelmed in the first season of a four-year, $18.9MM deal with 12 goals in 55 games, Simek is on the expensive side for a third-pairing defenseman with a $2.25MM price tag, while Gambrell, a pending RFA, didn’t produce much this season – just 12 points in 49 games despite averaging over 16 minutes a game.  Kurz adds that San Jose’s preference is to make a player for player swap; speculatively speaking, any deal involving the first two players would be seeking to bring in a cheaper replacement to give them some more financial flexibility.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • Lightning winger Alex Killorn should be fully recovered for training camp, relays Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times. The veteran fractured his fibula blocking a point shot in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final and has already undergone surgery.  While he was hoping to get back into the lineup later in the series had it gone that far, the recovery time for this injury is closer to three to four weeks.
  • After Edmonton was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Oilers GM Ken Holland strongly suggested a buyout or two was in the cards for his roster. However, his agent Kent Morris told Postmedia’s Jim Matheson that he hasn’t received a notification from the team yet about veteran winger James Neal heading down that path.  A buyout of the final two years remaining on the contract for the 33-year-old is likely with Neal notching just five goals and five assists in 29 games this season but such a move may not come until after expansion.
  • Morris also spoke about another Oilers client, telling Matheson in that same column that pending UFA winger Alex Chiasson would like to stay and that the team hasn’t yet shut a door on his return. Having said that, it seems likely that they’ll look at their options in free agency before potentially circling back to the 30-year-old who has managed just 20 goals over the last two seasons combined after scoring 22 times in his first season with the team.

Expansion Draft Issues: Several Teams Have Moves To Make Before July 17

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The trade deadline may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more trades over the courses of the remainder of the league year. The NHL Expansion Draft is right around the corner, with protection lists due on July 17, ahead of the draft on July 21. By that time, all 30 participating teams must be able to submit a protection list that complies with the exposure requirements of the draft. As a reminder, teams may protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie or eight skaters and a goalie. However, they must also expose two forwards and one defenseman signed beyond this season and who have played in 27 NHL games this season or 54 games over the past two seasons, as well as a goaltender under team control beyond this season.

For many teams, this is easier said than done though. Long-term forwards and defensemen with considerable games played who are also deemed expendable are not all that common. With the trade deadline completed, teams are stuck with the group that they have unless they decide to make a trade in the time between their regular season end or postseason elimination and the week of the draft. Some can solve their problems internally, while others may be more hard pressed. Based on their most likely protection scheme, here are the teams with work to do:

Calgary Flames

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: The Flames may be having a difficult season, but they have a talented top-six who are all signed long-term. Except, that’s where the term forwards end. If Calgary cannot convince Milan Lucic to waive his No-Movement Clause, the team will be missing both of their required forwards for exposure by protecting Looch and the top-six. Even if Lucic does waive, the team will need to make another forward available to Seattle. RFA Dillon Dube meets the games played criteria, but the team is likely to protect the young forward or, if not, will not do anything to make him more attractive to the Kraken. That leaves fellow RFA Dominik Simon and impending UFA’s Derek Ryan, Josh Leivo, and Joakim Nordstrom, as well as Brett Ritchie with six more games played, as other names who could earn extensions due to otherwise meeting the exposure criteria.

Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. With so many affordable, bottom-six role players that the team could hand new one-year deals, the Flames have options. However, if Lucic does not waive and the team feels pressured to re-sign two of those players, they may look for outside help rather than bring back too much of a forward corps that has underachieved this year.

Colorado Avalanche

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: As one of the top scoring team’s in the NHL, the Avalanche will want to keep as much of their forward corps as they can and with the likes of Gabriel Landeskog and Brandon Saad heading to free agency and not in need of protection, the team can do just that. However, if Colorado does protect their top nine scoring forwards minus Landeskog and Saad, that leaves them with, at best, one forward to expose and zero if they choose to protect both Valeri Nichushkin and J.T. Compher. If the Avs do choose to protect the duo, that should leave RFA Tyson Jost unprotected, who they could extend in order to meet the exposure requirement. However, Jost has arbitration rights and may not rush into a new deal. Other candidates to re-sign would be UFA’s Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Carl Soderberg, or Matt Calvert. Fortunately, the Avalanche have an even easier internal fix and that is simply playing Logan O’Connor five more times before the end of the season.

Likelihood of a Trade: Low. Between playing O’Connor and exposing one of Nichushkin or Compher, Colorado may not have to make any move at all. If they do, they have options. Who wouldn’t want to re-sign in Colorado right now, even if its only for the purpose of being expansion draft fodder.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: It’s easy to guess six forwards that the Blue Jackets will protect, but the seventh is a bit trickier. Do they expose star Gustav Nyquist, who has missed the whole season due to injury and is on a substantial contract and on the wrong side of 30? Or do they expose Eric Robinson, who has been a hard-working depth presence this season but has limited upside? Well, if they choose to protect either one, it only leave the other as meeting exposure criteria. Only if both are exposed is Columbus good to go and that scenario seems unlikely. However, the only forward currently meeting the requirements other than term is RFA Kevin Stenlund, though UFA Mikhail Grigorenko requires only two more games played (and a new contract).

Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Blue Jackets surely want to bring Stenlund back, but he has arbitration rights and may not be keen to sign quickly just to help with expansion requirements. If a Stenlund deal can’t be reached sooner rather than later, Columbus may not have a choice but to bring someone in from the outside. A Grigorenko extension seems unlikely, as does exposing both Nyquist and Robinson.

Dallas Stars

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Solutions: The Stars’ protection scheme at forward is fairly obvious, as they have seven core forwards who stand out above the rest. However, those seven are also the only regular forwards with term on their contracts. Of all other expansion-draft eligible forwards for Dallas, only Joel L’Esperance has additional time on his current deal and he cannot reach the games played requirement. As a result, the Stars must find two forwards to expose, whereas most of these other problematic teams can at least scrounge up one forward. Among the options to re-sign are veteran UFA’s Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano or younger UFA’s Tanner Kero and Justin Dowling. However, it may be easier to re-up an RFA like Jason Dickinson or, with three more games, Nicholas Caamano. 

Likelihood of a Trade: Medium. The Stars have a number of options, many of whom will likely re-sign at some point anyhow or else Dallas will have to rebuild their bottom-six from scratch. However, with two slots to fill there is always a chance that acquiring a player could be easier than negotiating a pair of early extensions.

New Jersey Devils

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: A rebuilding Devils team has a number of regular forwards who are ineligible for the draft and many others, protected or not, who are restricted free agents. What they lack is many term forwards, especially of the the expendable variety. While New Jersey could go in a few different direction with their protected list, the reality is simply that they have only five draft-eligible forwards who are signed beyond this season and at least four of those are locks to be protected. The x-factor is Andreas Johnsson. The first-year Devil has fallen well short of expectations and it would not be a surprise to see him exposed, leaving the team with just one spot to fill to meet the quota. However, if they are determined to give Johnsson a second chance and not lose him for nothing, then that becomes two slots that must be filled. The other problem in New Jersey is that the team doesn’t want to give Seattle any added incentive to steal some of their promising young players. Michael McLeod, Janne Kuokkanen, Yegor Sharangovich, and Nathan Bastian would all meet the exposure criteria if extended, but it’s safe to assume that the Devils will protect two or three of that group and may not be too excited to lose any of the others. Nick Merkley, who requires seven more games played and a new deal, could be seen as more expendable and may be okay with accepting a quick extension, even if it just for expansion purposes.

Likelihood of a Trade: High. With the possibility that New Jersey could protect Johnsson and, in any scenario, will want to steer the Kraken away from their young forwards if at all possible, the Devils seem like a prime candidate to bring in some outside help with meeting exposure criteria.

San Jose Sharks

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: Much like the Stars, the Sharks are not an elite team right now, but possess a solid group of top-six forwards who will all be protected. Also like Dallas though, the team has complete lack of long-term commitment to any forward outside of that group. The only other eligible forward signed beyond this season is Jayden Halbgewachs, who has not played a single NHL game, nevertheless enough to meet the requirement. There is not a great list of internal options to re-sign either. Of the players who would meet exposure criteria with an extension, Patrick Marleau is likely to retire, Marcus Sorensen seems to need a fresh start in free agency, and one of Rudolfs Balcers and Dylan Gambrell is likely to be the seventh forward protected. That really leaves UFA Matt Nieto as the lynchpin. If the Sharks can re-up Nieto and whoever they don’t protect between Balcers and Gambrell, they are good to go. If Nieto isn’t keen to re-sign and if Balcers or Gambrell wish to pursue arbitration, the Sharks will be stuck without any forwards to expose.

Likelihood of a Trade: High. The Sharks are in as tough a position as any team on this list. If left exposed, Washington native Gambrell seems like a very likely pick by Seattle, but San Jose needs to meet the exposure quota all the same. That could involve bringing in one if not two forwards before the draft. There simply aren’t many other options on the roster.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Problem Area: Forward OR Defense (Scheme-Dependent)

Internal Options: It should come as no surprise that a team build entirely on a small, expensive core group and veterans on affordable, one-year deals is not well-prepared for the expansion draft. Of the ten Toronto skaters who currently meet the exposure criteria, four are forwards that will be protected in any scenario and three are defensemen that will be protected in any scenario. This leaves Alex Kerfoot at forward and Justin Holl on defense(with Pierre Engvall as the odd man out will likely be exposed regardless); only one can be protected and the other is the most likely Leaf to be selected. If the Maple Leafs value Holl more than Kerfoot, they will go with eight skaters in their protection list. In this scenario, they will not have any defensemen who meet the exposure criteria. Fortunately, any of RFA Travis Dermott or UFA’s Zach Bogosian or Ben Hutton could re-sign and fill that role. Alternatively, if the team values Kerfoot more than Holl, they will go with the standard 7-3 protection scheme. This would allow them to protect Kerfoot as well as extend and protect others like Zach Hyman, Joe Thornton, or Jason Spezza. Those three would all meet exposure requirements as well with a new deal, but Toronto will not offer them up to Seattle. Wayne Simmonds, Riley Nash, or Alex Galchenyuk could be more likely though. Unfortunately, these are all unrestricted free agents and not as easy to re-sign before the off-season as a restricted free agent. The Leafs could find themselves in a bind as a result.

Likelihood of a Trade: Low. There is still so much to be determined about the Leafs’ approach to the draft and they have options either way and player who would likely be eager to re-sign. It’s not a straightforward situation by any means, but they should be able to figure it out without taking the risk of adding salary that they can’t spare by making a trade.

Winnipeg Jets

Problem Area: Forward

Internal Options: The Jets are known for their depth at forward and eight of their top-nine meet the exposure criteria as a result, with RFA Andrew Copp not fitting the bill but almost certain to be protected anyway. The decision for the seventh and final protection slot is likely between the recently-extended Adam Lowry and upstart Mason Appleton. Whoever isn’t protected fills one of the two exposure roles. However, no one else is currently eligible. Extension candidates include UFA’s Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis, and Nate Thompson, but Winnipeg may not necessarily want to commit further to any of those three. The solution: Jansen Harkins is signed through next season and requires just four more games to meet exposure level.

Likelihood of Trade: Low. Just play Harkins and move on. The list of teams in trouble is already long enough.

 

Trade Deadline Primer: San Jose Sharks

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We are now less than a week away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the San Jose Sharks.

Earlier this season, it appeared as if the San Jose Sharks were in for another disappointing year. The club wanted to use the shortened 2020-21 campaign to evaluate their core and the early returns were not encouraging. However, the past few weeks have changed everything. The Sharks are 6-3-1 in their past ten games, including four straight wins. In the meantime, the St. Louis Blues have continued to slump while four of the Sharks’ recent wins have come against the Los Angeles Kings. Suddenly, San Jose finds themselves in contention for a playoff spot in the West Division, just three points back with a game in hand on the fourth-place Arizona Coyotes.

With that said, some recent luck is not going to change the Sharks’ plans for the season. The team is not going to give up major assets for short-term help just on the off-chance that they can sneak into the playoffs where the West’s daunting top three teams await. The core is still in the process of proving themselves and San Jose likely wants to see if they have the pieces in place to be a playoff team once again, knowing that rentals will not put themselves over the top this season. This does not mean that the Sharks will sit back at the deadline though; the club has some fringe pieces on expiring contracts that they could look to deal away and there are some needs beyond this season that they may discover a chance to address. In short, San Jose is unlikely to stand pat, but don’t expect them to sell off anything more than rental pieces or to acquire any major rental help of their own.

Record

17-16-4, .514, T-5th in East Division

Deadline Status

Light Seller/Opportunistic Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$2.41MM in full-season space ($10.74MM at the deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 48/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: SJS 1st, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 5th, SJS 6th, SJS 7th
2022: SJS 1st, SJS 2nd, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 6th, MIN 7th

Trade Chips

In terms of rentals, the Sharks do not have much to offer other buyers. However, for that same reason they will probably not hesitate to move any of their expiring contracts if there is interest. None of the Sharks’ impending UFA’s are anything more than depth pieces, in San Jose or elsewhere. The Sharks’ ability to retain salary if need be could result in some better trade returns, but there isn’t much to get excited about.

Among the rental group, veteran goaltender Devan Dubnyk is likely their most valuable trade chip, if only because he is one of a small number of available net minders with postseason experience. The Sharks’ plan to combine Dubnyk and Martin Jones and hope one will rediscover their starter status has not really worked out. Jones has improved marginally this year, but Dubnyk has been a bust. The 34-year-old has an .898 save percentage and 3.18 GAA thus far, resulting in just three wins on the year. Dubnyk will not command much of a return unless the scarcity of goalies creates a bidding war. There are certainly those in San Jose who would like to see Jones traded, but that move won’t happen at the deadline, if it ever happens at all.

Up front, Patrick Marleau is the biggest name, but not likely to be the most valuable. Sure, Marleau brings more experience and leadership than most in the game, but he did not work out as a rental for the Pittsburgh Penguins last year and that was even after finding decent success with the Sharks pre-trade. The 41-year-old has been a non-factor this season with just six points 37 games and may not even have any suitors. Making the playoffs one last time with the Sharks would probably mean more than another go-round as a rental for the respected veteran. The real name to watch among San Jose’s expiring forwards is Marcus Sorensen. Although his production has been poor this season, Sorenson is a good two-way forward and notched 17 goals and 30 points just two years ago. Contenders looking for fourth line options could do worse than Sorenson. Matthew Nieto and Kurtis Gabriel are other bottom-six forwards who could have value, but Nieto is currently injured and Gabriel has become a well-liked locker room presence for the Sharks this year, so neither is a lock to leave.

Others to Watch For: D Fredrik Claesson ($700K, UFA), F Fredrik Handemark ($925K, UFA), F Stefan Noesen ($925K, UFA), F Antti Suomela ($700K, UFA), D Nick DeSimone ($700K, Group 6 UFA)

Team Needs

1) Term Forward – Even if the Sharks don’t venture into true “buyer” territory, they still need to keep their eyes open for possible forward additions for next season – or more accurately, for the Expansion Draft. San Jose is in a tough situation when it comes to meeting the exposure requirements of the impending draft. Currently, they have just five forwards who meet the games played and term criteria and all five will almost certainly be protected: Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Kevin Labanc. They have zero forwards who can meet the exposure requirements simply by playing more games this season. This means that the Sharks must add two forward before the draft, either by re-signing or acquisition. Their extension candidates, who would qualify by only signing on for another year, include Sorenson, Marleau, and Nieto – any of whom could be traded and none of whom appear to be part of the Sharks’ future – and Dylan Gambrell and Rudolfs Balcers, who would seemingly be competing for the seventh and final protection spot. As a result, it seems more likely than not that San Jose will need to make an addition before June and they may as well add some additional help before the deadline, especially if the likes of Sorenson, Marleau, or Nieto head out of town. The Sharks could honestly use another long-term top-six forward, especially with the futures of Kane and Hertl in doubt, if they do decide to take a bigger swing at the deadline.

2) Goaltender – If the Sharks do trade Dubnyk, they won’t have much choice but to add another goaltender. The club likes young keepers Alexei Melnichuk and Josef Korenar, but the duo’s AHL numbers show that they are not ready for NHL backup duty this year and probably not next year either. San Jose could look for a cheaper rental to replace Dubnyk or they could look for a goalie with term or an impending free agent that would warrant an extension. The Sharks have previously been linked to the Florida Panthers’ Chris Driedger.

3) Prospect Defensemen – If the Sharks are not successful in landing valuable draft picks in exchange for their rentals, they should target defensive prospects. While San Jose has some nice young defensemen at the NHL level, the pipeline is all but bare behind polarizing Ryan Merkley. The team desperately needs to add bodies on the blue line, especially with an aging core in the NHL and the potential to lose a roster defenseman in the Expansion Draft.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

at CDT | by 8 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avert 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 see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2020-21 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 CapFriendly.

San Jose Sharks

Current Cap Hit: $79,146,667 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

D Mario Ferraro (two years, $925K)
F Danil Yurtaykin (one year, $925K)
F Lean Bergmann (two years, $837K)
F Fredrik Handemark (one year, $793K)
F Noah Gregor (one year, $768K)
F Alexander True (one year, $763K)
F Joachim Blichfeld (one year, $737K)

Potential Bonuses:

Ferraro: $213K
Bergmann: $133K
Handemark: $133K
Gregor: $65K
True: $20K
Blichfeld: $20K

Total: $584K

The Sharks are overloaded with plenty of prospects on entry-level deals. The team sampled many of those players last year in hopes of finding some bottom-six depth, but very few players were able to make their mark last year. The most obvious success was the play of Ferraro, who established himself as an NHL defenseman after spending two years at the University of Massachussets-Amherst playing alongside Cale Makar, and now will battle for a top-four spot in the Sharks’ lineup this year. While his offense is still coming around, the defenseman is a hard-worker and impressive locker room presence already after one season and should only get better.

Another player who should get a legitimate opportunity at center for San Jose is Handemark. The 27-year-old SHL veteran has been solid presence in Sweden for years and now will bring his talents over to San Jose in hopes of adding to the team’s bottom-six depth. Handemark had career highs of 14 goals and 38 points in 52 games and should replace the spot formerly held by Joe Thornton. The rest are less likely to make the squad unless one of them can prove they can handle a bottom-six role.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

G Devan Dubnyk ($2.17MM, UFA)
F Ryan Donato ($1.9MM, RFA)
F Marcus Sorensen ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($925K, UFA)
F Patrick Marleau ($700K, UFA)
F Matthew Nieto ($700K, UFA)
F Antti Suomela ($700K, UFA)
F Dylan Gambrell ($700K, RFA)

*- Minnesota is retaining an addition $2.17K of Dubnyk’s cap hit and salary

One of the most interesting acquisitions this offseason was bringing in both Dubnyk and Donato from Minnesota. Both be free agents in a year, although Dubnyk will be an unrestricted free agent. The team brought in the long-time Wild starter with the hopes that the 34-year-old might push for the starting goalie spot next season. Dubnyk is coming off one of his worst seasons in Minnesota after many solid seasons. The team hopes he can bounce back and solidify a weak position last year. The other piece to the trade with Minnesota was Donato, a highly-touted college prospect who is already on his fourth team in just three years. The Sharks hope that dropping him into a top-six situation might set the young forward off after scoring 14 goals last season.

For a minimum deal, the team will bring back Marleau, who has the opportunity to pass Gordie Howe for first place in the NHL in games played this season. Sorensen and Noesen should establish themselves in the bottom six. Sorensen looked on the verge of joining the top six after a 17-goal season in 2018-19, but came down to earth instead, scoring just seven goals. Noesen scored 13 goals in 2017-18 with New Jersey, something that San Jose hopes he can re-create this season. The same sentiment goes for veteran Matt Nieto signed out of Colorado.

Two Years Remaining

F Tomas Hertl ($5.63MM, UFA)
F Joel Kellman ($750K, UFA)
D Jacob Middleton ($725K, RFA)

Not much went right in San Jose last year and a major injury to Hertl, who tore his ACL and MCL in his left knee in January and had surgery in February to repair them. However, when healthy, Hertl was one of the team’s top players. He made the all-star game after posting 16 goals and 36 points in 48 games before the injury and was coming off a 35-goal season the previous year. If the team can get him healthy and have him bounce back in 2020-21, the team should be in good shape and have two seasons to observe his play before having to make a decision on a long-term deal.

Three Years Remaining

F Timo Meier ($6MM, RFA)

The 24-year-old forward has proven to be a solid, dependable goal scorer for the Sharks as he posted 22 goals and 49 points in 70 games last year. That’s a touch less than the 30 goals and 66 points he had in 78 games in 2018-19, but considering the type of season that San Jose had, he is still one of the core pieces for the next three years.Read more

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