Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Joel Kellman

Joel Kellman Placed On Unconditional Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Dec 15: Kellman has cleared waivers and will see his contract terminated.

Dec 14: The San Jose Sharks are going to part ways with Joel Kellman, as the minor league forward has been placed on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract termination according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Kellman, 27, is on the second season of a two-year deal signed in 2020 after an impressive transition to North American hockey. After going undrafted and playing for years in the SHL, he signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks in 2019 and played in 31 games during 2019-20. He had seven points and looked like he might be a valuable depth piece for San Jose moving forward.

The two-year contract he signed as an RFA carries a cap hit of just $750K but is one-way this season, meaning Kellman is earning $800K no matter where he plays. Given that has been exclusively at the minor league level, it makes sense for both sides to part ways. In 10 games with the Barracuda, he has four points and a contract termination will allow Kellman to return to the SHL or sign elsewhere overseas. Technically, he could also sign with another NHL team, but that seems unlikely in this case.

San Jose Sharks Remove Seven Players From COVID Protocol

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

As suggested by the team’s AHL assignments this morning, the San Jose Sharks have removed seven players from the COVID protocol. Kevin Labanc, Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier, Jacob Middleton, Matthew Nieto, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have all been removed from the protocol and added back to the active roster. Head coach Bob Boughner, head trainer Ray Tufts and equipment manager Mike Aldrich have also all been removed from the protocol.

Sasha Chmelevski, Joel Kellman, Artemi Kniazev, John Leonard, Ryan Merkley, Jaycob Megna, and Nicolas Meloche have all been assigned to the AHL. Nicholas Merkley, who had also been recalled with this group, remains with San Jose for the time being.

It’s obviously a huge moment for the Sharks, as they receive a good portion of their regular lineup back in time for tomorrow’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. The team is sitting at 7-5-1 on the season and is still well within striking range of the division playoff spots. Getting back key options like Labanc, Karlsson and Meier will only help them as they try to chase down the teams ahead of them.

Activating the group from the protocol is also a good sign that the team has this outbreak behind them, or at least contained. The activated players were actually able to skate in recent days, though they would not have been able to join the team in Canada given their recent positive tests. They’ll now be able to join the group in Denver, nearly two weeks after originally entering the protocol.

15 Players Clear Waivers

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Saturday: Aside from Montembeault who was claimed by Montreal, the other 15 players cleared waivers, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link).

Friday: While there weren’t quite as many players placed on waivers today compared to Thursday, it’s still a long list.  Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following players have been put on the waiver wire:

Ben Gleason (DAL)
Joel L’Esperance (DAL)
Zac Dalpe (FLA)
Noah Juulsen (FLA)
Sam Montembeault (FLA)
Kevin Czuczman (MIN)
Joe Hicketts (MIN)
Dakota Mermis (MIN)
Mason Shaw (MIN)
Taylor Fedun (PIT)
Jayden Halbgewachs (SJ)
Joel Kellman (SJ)
Jaycob Megna (SJ)
Nicholas Merkley (SJ)
Teemu Kivihalme (TOR)

James Mirtle of The Athletic adds (Twitter link) that Hurricanes goaltender Alex Lyon is also on waivers today.

Two of Florida’s players stand out among the group.  Juulsen was claimed off waivers by the Panthers from Montreal late in training camp last season but the 26th pick in 2015 was still only limited to four NHL games last season in part due to injury.  As for Montembeault, the 24-year-old didn’t see any NHL action last season but has 25 career appearances under his belt and with the way goalies moved around on waivers last season, a claim can’t be ruled out.

Among the others, Merkley had 10 points in 27 games with New Jersey last season before being traded to San Jose over the offseason while Halbgewachs was a top scorer in the WHL several years ago and has had some success so far in the minors.  Teams will have until 1 PM CT on Saturday to place a claim.

Meanwhile, Johnston adds (Twitter link) that all 21 players that were on waivers yesterday passed through unclaimed.

Toronto’s Aaron Dell, Jason Spezza Among Those On Waivers

at CDT | by 12 Comments

Jan 18: Spezza, Biega, Kellman, and Ritchie have all cleared waivers. Dell was claimed by the New Jersey Devils.

Jan 17: The Toronto Maple Leafs responded after losing rookie forward Nicholas Robertson to injury Saturday by placing a couple of their players on waivers Sunday. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that third-string goaltender Aaron Dell and veteran forward Jason Spezza are among those on waivers. Detroit Red Wings’ Alex Biega and San Jose Sharks’ Joel Kellman also made the list. The Calgary Flames also placed forward Brett Ritchie on waivers after signing him to a one-year deal earlier today.

Toronto’s roster moves all comes back to Saturday night’s injury of rookie forward Nick Robertson, who is expected to miss time. Because of the lack of cap space to recall a replacement for Robertson (other than Travis Boyd), the team was forced to make some roster moves, including risking losing Aaron Dell, who the team has been holding on to as a third-string goalie, waiting for the goalie market needs die down to pass him through waivers. There was talk that Toronto might be able to use the new emergency recall rule, but The Athletic’s James Mirtle shot that down, reporting that rule can only be used in COVID-19 cases. Unfortunately for Toronto, the team will likely lose the former San Jose Sharks’ netminder. Dell, who struggled behind San Jose’s weak defense last season, was brought in to serve as a third option in case either Frederik Andersen or Jack Campbell struggle or are injured during the season. He will almost assuredly be claimed with many experts suggesting that he will be claimed by either the Edmonton Oilers or New Jersey Devils.

Spezza is another interesting candidate. Teams might be interested in bringing in the veteran forward, but Johnston reports that Spezza isn’t interested in playing for any other team other than Toronto as he wants to remain close to his family. The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel reports that the 37-year-old was ready to retire in the offseason had the Leafs not brought him back. He has played in all three of the Maple Leafs games so far this season. NOTE: Spezza’s agent Rick Curran told Johnston that Spezza will retire if he is claimed by any other NHL team.

Biega is no stranger to waivers, but the 32-year-old has served as a sixth/seventh defenseman for years. He played in 49 games with the Red Wings last year and would make a good candidate for the taxi squad as well. He has not appeared in either of the Red Wings two games this year. Kellman appeared in the Sharks’ first game of the season, but was a healthy scratch Saturday and now looks headed for the taxi squad as well. The 26-year-old scored seven points in 31 games for the Sharks last season.

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

Sharks’ Joel Kellman Loaned To Kristianstads IK

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Joel Kellman finally made the jump to North America this season, but now he’s headed back to Sweden. Well, at least for the time being. The San Jose Sharks’ rookie forward has officially been loaned to Kristianstads IK of the Allsvenskan, the team reports, but he will return to San Jose when NHL training camp opens. Kristianstads is the farm team of the SHL’s Karlskrona HK, Kellman’s hometown team who he played parts of five seasons for earlier in his career.

Kellman, 26, just signed a two-year extension with the Sharks late last month after a promising first season. He played the majority of his games with the Sharks, recording seven points in 31 games, but when he did play for the AHL Barracuda produced 16 points in 25 games. A perennial 30+ point scorer in the SHL, Kellman does have room to improve, and at a $750K AAV the Sharks have every reason to give him the opportunity to do so.

Whether Kellman does in fact play for Kristianstads or instead plays up with Karlskrona, he should be well-prepared to battle for a regular role with San Jose next season. Playing in the Allsvenskan, Kellman would have a major leg up on his teammates and competition. In the SHL, Kellman would have the added advantage of tough competition and would also enjoy playing with top 2020 NHL Draft prospects Ridly Greig and Connor McClennon. Either way, the former Swedish standout will fit in well back home and will be ready to go for the Sharks when the new league year begins.

Sharks Re-Sign Joel Kellman To Two-Year Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Aug 31: The Sharks have made the deal official, announcing a two-year contract for Kellman. GM Doug Wilson released a short statement:

Joel has proven himself at the NHL level with his intelligence and responsibility on both ends of the ice. He took a big step last year in his development and growth as a player inside our organization and made an immediate impact after his promotion from the San Jose Barracuda.

Aug 28: The Sharks have agreed to terms with center Joel Kellman on a two-year contract, reports Kevin Kurz of The Athletic (Twitter link).  Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that the deal carries an AAV of $750K and breaks down as follows:

2020-21: $700K NHL salary, $300K AHL salary
2021-22: $800K NHL salary, one-way deal

Those terms means that he’s signing for less than his required qualifying offer which would have checked in at just under $875K.  However, he gets some extra security for his trouble with a reasonable guaranteed salary in the first season before converting to the one-way deal.  Kellman will be eligible for unrestricted free agency when the contract expires.

The 26-year-old played his first season in North America in 2019-20 after signing with San Jose as an undrafted free agent out of Brynas of the SHL in April of 2019.  He spent most of the first half in the minors with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda where he posted decent numbers offensively with 16 points (4-12-16) in 25 games.

Things didn’t go as well with the Sharks, however.  While Kellman got into 31 games and logged over 11 minutes per night, he was only able to muster up three goals and four assists along the way and that production helped keep the price tag on this new deal low.

Kellman will be eligible for waivers next season and if they’re worried about trying to send him down, the two-way portion of his salary for 2020-21 may not even come into play.  At the very least, it appears that San Jose believes he can be a useful player in their bottom six for the next couple of years.  He logged just shy of a minute per game shorthanded with the Sharks this season and if he can show himself to be capable of taking on a bigger role in that area, it would go a long way towards securing a regular spot in their lineup.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top