Jonathan Dahlen

Jonathan Dahlen Signs In SHL

August 31, 2022 at 8:22 am CDT | by Gavin Lee Leave a Comment

It’s not often that a player becomes a full-time NHLer for the first time at a young age, only to immediately go overseas to continue his career. But that’s what has happened with Jonathan Dahlen, who has signed a five-year contract with Timra IK in the SHL, the club team that developed him.

The 24-year-old forward played in 61 games with the San Jose Sharks last season, scoring 12 goals and 22 points but will return to the club he captained in 2020-21 and has twice helped reach the SHL level. In European hockey there is a relegation/promotion system, and Timra has bounced back and forth between the SHL and the Allsvenskan over the last few years.

Dahlen, who has played in the Timra system since 2014, helped them to promotions in 2018 and 2021 but has never actually played in the SHL.

Perhaps his desire to return home was part of the reason why the Sharks decided not to qualify him his summer – a possible arbitration award another potential explanation – as a five-year deal would have allowed his RFA rights to expire anyway.

An unrestricted free agent again when this deal expires, Dahlen will be an interesting name to keep an eye on down the road, as he will still be only 29.

Jonathan Dahlen Linked To Timra

August 22, 2022 at 6:51 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 5 Comments

Free agent winger Jonathan Dahlen is one of the more intriguing players still on the open market after a decent rookie campaign. But a suitable NHL contract hasn’t materialized and that has his old team calling as Johan Svensson and Adam Johansson of Sport-Expressen report that Timra has shown interest in bringing Dahlen back for a third stint with the organization while teams in Switzerland have also inquired about his willingness to go back overseas.

The 24-year-old played in 61 games with the Sharks last season, putting up 12 goals and 10 assists, decent numbers for his first taste of NHL action. However, with San Jose tight to the salary cap and Dahlen having arbitration eligibility, the team opted not to tender him a qualifying offer which made him an unrestricted free agent last month.

Svensson and Johansson report that a one-way NHL contract has yet to be offered despite Dahlen’s performance last season; that has likely resulted in him looking at other alternatives. A long-term offer is believed to be on its way in the coming days from Timra, the team he has had two previous stints with in their Allsvenskan days although they’ve since moved up to the SHL. Dahlen had a good first year in the NHL but it appears it might be his last campaign at the top level for a while.

Free Agent Profile: Jonathan Dahlen

August 11, 2022 at 9:02 pm CDT | by John Gilroy 2 Comments

When the list of pending RFAs who were not being tendered a qualifying offer came out shortly after the deadline for teams to make the offer passed, plenty of interesting names headlined the list, such as Sonny Milano, Haydn Fleury, Brendan Lemieux, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Dominik Kubalik, and Dylan Strome, just to name a few. Some of those players went on to sign relatively strong free agent contracts with other teams, Strome being the prime example; some returned to their teams at a cost more palatable to the organization, like Lemieux who signed for $1.35MM over one year, less than the $1.65MM qualifying offer he was due; and some players have yet to find a home.

One of those players yet to find a home is forward Jonathan Dahlen, who was non-tendered by the San Jose Sharks. While there are some non-tendered players for whom it be clear why they haven’t found a home for 2021-22, with Dahlen, it may be a bit puzzling. At 24, Dahlen just wrapped up his rookie season in the NHL, where he scored 12 goals to go with 10 assists in 61 NHL contests. Dahlen’s rookie season wasn’t the most impressive in history, or even this season, however it did represent a capable and overall solid season from a player who has taken some time to develop and adjust to the North American game.

A second-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2016, Dahlen was traded twice before he ever had the chance to make his NHL debut. Less than a year after he was drafted, Ottawa moved him to the Vancouver Canucks in the deal that sent Alexandre Burrows to the Senators. Almost two years to the day later, Vancouver dealt him to San Jose for Linus Karlsson. Prior to his North American debut, Dahlen established himself as a reliable scoring threat in Sweden, with 29 points in 51 games as an 18-year-old for Timra in Sweden’s second-highest league in his draft year. The forward broke out and built on his performance with 44 points in 45 games and 44 points in 44 games over each of the next two seasons.

With the Swedish success bolstering his development, Dahlen came to North America, playing his first full season in 2018-19, where he had 33 points in 57 games split between the Utica Comets and San Jose Barracuda in the AHL. Although it was far from a poor performance, it wasn’t the step forward imagined for Dahlen, who would return to Sweden and Timra for another season. Here, Dahlen became a star, putting up a whopping 36 goals and 41 assists in a mere 51 games, following that up with 25 goals and 46 assists in 45 games the year after.

Powered by his stardom with Timra, Dahlen returned to North America for the 2021-22 season and much like his first go of it, it was good, but it just wasn’t the next step of repeating the Swedish performance over here. His 22 points ranked him 11th among all NHL rookies, his average time-on-ice also ranking 11th among rookies who had at least 40 games played. More concerning, however, was a -25 rating which was lower than his entire point total and came with a relatively good 52.0 CF%, all of which put together raises some concerns about Dahlen’s game. Considering the flat-out elite performances he’s had in Sweden, it’s easy to understand why Dahlen’s NHL debut was underwhelming, if not disappointing. But, that said, if he is in fact interested in staying in the NHL, it’s interesting to see that he remains unsigned roughly a month after he hit the market.

Stats:

2021-22/Career: 61 GP, 12 G, 10 A, 22 pts, -25 rating, 12 PIMs, 105 shots, 52.0 CF%, 13:48 ATOI

Potential Suitors:

Given some of Dahlen’s struggles, most highlighted by the -25 rating, many teams could be wary about giving opportunities to a player that may struggle this much in his own zone, as compared to the offense he does bring. On the other hand, for some teams that risk may be worth taking if they view Dahlen’s 22 points as something that is less than his capability in the NHL and something that their organization can help to grow.

Regardless of whether a team can develop his game or not, Dahlen could be a target for an older team with less payroll flexibility that’s looking to add a spark. Unlike many of the players profiled in this series, Dahlen is rather young, still just 24 for another four months and could, even as a depth player, add some energy when he is on the ice that players perhaps 10 years his senior can’t physically bring anymore.

Another option for Dahlen, one that may be fairly enticing at this point, would be to return to Sweden, or another European league. History shows that Dahlen can handle the North American game and produce when he’s on the ice, but in Sweden’s second league, he becomes and MVP caliber star. For a player like Dahlen, the opportunity to be at the forefront of a league close to home, playing first line minutes, could be an extremely attractive opportunity, especially if the alternative is a more limited role far from home, perhaps not even in the NHL.

Projected Contract:

The forward made $750K last year as a rookie and with that figure being the minimum salary in the NHL for 2022-23, the Sharks were seemingly unwilling to bring back Dahlen even at that number. If Dahlen is to secure a contract for next season, the most likely opportunity will be on a two-way deal or a PTO, and the result of the PTO may still be a two-way deal. This reality still wouldn’t be a bad thing, a two-way deal possibly affording him chances to play in the NHL next year, and given his age and former prospect status, teams would still give close consideration to his progress and skillset looking for a bargain.

Snapshots: Gibson, Dahlen, Brink, Oilers

July 10, 2022 at 8:27 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 3 Comments

With the Maple Leafs being one of the teams that still need to add a starting goaltender, some have speculated that Ducks goaltender John Gibson could be a potential trade option for them. However, his agent Kurt Overhardt told Sportsnet 590’s Nick Kypreos (Twitter link) that Gibson has “no interest” in playing in Toronto and is committed to staying in Anaheim. Gibson has five years left on his deal with a $6.4MM AAV with a ten-team no-trade clause so even if the Ducks were inclined to move him this summer, the 28-year-old may be able to block a move.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

While Sharks winger Jonathan Dahlen had a decent rookie season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 61 games, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that the team is considering non-tendering him by tomorrow’s deadline. Even though he has only been in the NHL for one year, this is his fourth year on an NHL contract which gives him salary arbitration rights. While Dahlen couldn’t command a significant increase on his league-minimum salary from this past season, San Jose likely will want to keep the last few spots on their roster at low salary slots so whatever raise he could get from an arbitrator may be more than they can afford to allocate.
Flyers winger Bobby Brink has sustained a hip injury during offseason workouts that might require surgery, Anthony SanFilippo of Crossing Broad was first to report (Twitter link). No timeline for a return is known yet but SanFilippo suggests the injury is severe enough that it could run into the start of next season; Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer adds (via Twitter) that the 21-year-old will see a specialist in a few days and that the team will have a better understanding of how much time he’ll miss by the end of the week. Brink had four assists in 10 NHL games down the stretch while logging over 15 minutes a night.
The Oilers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve tendered qualifying offers to forwards Tyler Benson, Ryan McLeod, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Kailer Yamamoto. That means that defenseman Filip Berglund and forwards Brendan Perlini and Ostap Safin will go non-tendered. Those three will become unrestricted free agents later this week. Of the unqualified players, only Perlini has NHL experience and had four goals and an assist in 23 games this past season while Berglund has already signed in Sweden.

West Notes: Wild, Fowler, Blackhawks, Sharks

December 31, 2021 at 1:46 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

Wild GM Bill Guerin provided an update on a pair of injured Wild players, telling reporters, including Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, that defenseman Jared Spurgeon and center Joel Eriksson Ek will miss a couple more weeks. Both had been listed as out indefinitely but it appears Minnesota won’t be without two of their top players for much longer. Spurgeon is dealing with a recurrence of a lower-body injury from two weeks ago while Eriksson Ek suffered an upper-body injury a week and a half ago.

Elsewhere in the Western Conference:

While the Ducks were concerned that Cam Fowler’s upper-body injury in Wednesday’s game could be a long-term issue, it doesn’t appear as if that will be the case. Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register relays that the blueliner traveled with the team for their two-game road trip that opens up tonight in Vegas which suggests that the veteran may not be out for long. Fowler is having a nice season with 17 points in 33 games while leading the team in ice time at just over 23 minutes a game.
The Blackhawks received a bit of relief on the injury front yesterday as they announced (Twitter link) the activation of winger Jujhar Khaira and center Henrik Borgstrom from injured reserve. Khaira had missed the last three weeks after being stretchered off the ice in a game against Dallas while Borgstrom had been out just as long with a non-COVID illness.
The Sharks had good news and bad news on the COVID front yesterday. The team announced that defenseman Mario Ferraro was placed into protocols while winger Jonathan Dahlen was activated. Under the new NHL guidelines, Ferraro could return after five days instead of the ten it has been for most of the season.

Timo Meier Added To COVID Protocol

November 2, 2021 at 12:20 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 6 Comments

The San Jose Sharks are dealing with one of the worst COVID testing situations in the league, with seven players in the protocol as of yesterday, along with head coach Bob Boughner. Just before the rest of the group took the ice this morning, it was announced that Timo Meier has also been put in the protocol, though Jonathan Dahlen has been removed from it. That means their number remains at seven players, with Meier joining Erik Karlsson, Kevin Labanc, Jacob Middleton, Matthew Nieto, Radim Simek, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Head trainer Ray Tufts has also been put in the protocol, meaning Will Leonard from the San Jose Barracuda will have to be helping the NHL club for the time being.

The Sharks are supposed to take on the Buffalo Sabres this evening but will have to do it without their top scoring threat. Meier is off to an outstanding start to his season, scoring five goals and 11 points in eight games while averaging nearly 18 minutes a night. In fact, with so many bodies out over the weekend, he logged more than 22 minutes of ice time and scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

It would have been hard to take a more important player out of the Sharks lineup, though it’s not clear how long Meier will actually be out. The team did not confirm whether or not he has tested positive, meaning he could potentially come out of the protocol rather quickly.

West Notes: Stephenson, Bunting, Dahlen

June 19, 2021 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 4 Comments

There has been very little information regarding the absence of Golden Knights center Chandler Stephenson who has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. SinBin.Vegas reports (Twitter link) that Stephenson is dealing with concussion-like symptoms from a hit from Ben Chiarot in the first game of the series and that he is not with the team in Montreal. The 27-year-old had a career year this season with 35 points in 51 games (plus six assists in 14 playoff contests) and while they did get Tomas Nosek back on Friday, Stephenson’s absence will be a tough one to fill. As is the case with any type of concussion symptoms, it appears as if there’s no timetable for his return.

Elsewhere in the West:

While Coyotes winger Michael Bunting will have an opportunity to test the open market as a Group Six unrestricted free agent, he told Jose M. Romero of the Arizona Republic that his preference is to remain with Arizona. The 25-year-old cleared waivers in January and was in the minors until late March but after being recalled, he potted an impressive 10 goals in 21 games down the stretch, earning a spot on Canada’s entry at the World Championships in the process. That should give him a decent market if he gets to free agency but while he’s unsure if talks with the Coyotes have started yet, he’s hoping he won’t have to shop around his services.
While the Sharks gave Jonathan Dahlen a one-way contract to bring him back, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng feels that the deal doesn’t pencil him into a lineup spot in San Jose next season. The 23-year-old dominated in Sweden’s second-tier Allsvenskan the last two years but that’s at a level that’s well below the NHL. Peng cites concerns from several scouts about Dahlen’s ability to adapt to the NHL game. Nevertheless, they’ll get a much better look at him with the one-way deal than watching him from afar in Sweden.

West Notes: Grubauer, Rossi, Dahlen

June 3, 2021 at 8:59 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose 6 Comments

Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer had a dominant 2020-21 season, earning himself a Vezina Trophy nomination along the way as he posted a 1.95 GAA along with a .922 SV% in 40 games. That has him extremely well-positioned heading into unrestricted free agency for the first time this summer, even in a flat-cap marketplace. However, talks on his next deal haven’t started yet as his agent Allain Roy told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that those discussions will wait until Colorado’s playoff run comes to an end. Grubauer is in the final season of a three-year, $10MM contract and could potentially double that on the open market this summer with a couple of recent comparables at $6MM or higher.

Snapshots: Pearson, Andersen, Dahlen

March 19, 2021 at 9:03 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 3 Comments

To this point, the Vancouver Canucks had approached the future of forward Tanner Pearson with two options. If the two sides could come to terms on an extension, the preference was to retain Pearson beyond this season. If no agreement could be reached before the trade deadline, then the team would instead trade Pearson rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency. Now, than plan might have been taken away from them. Pearson was injured in the Canucks’ Wednesday night match-up with the Ottawa Senators and was forced to leave the game. The team has since announced that the injury is far worse than merely a one-game absence. Pearson is expected to miss at least four weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury. With the trade deadline just 24 days away, Pearson will not return to action before the Canucks’ last chance to move him. In a normal year, perhaps a team would be willing to buy low on an injured Pearson at the deadline. However, in this cap-strapped climate, teams aren’t messing around with adding salary and with Pearson not only injured through the deadline but with an uncertain timeline to return altogether, there is very little chance that the Canucks will be able to move him. Perhaps GM Jim Benning and company will be able to leverage the injury into a more affordable extension; Vancouver’s lack of cap space is believed to be the reason why a deal hasn’t already been reached and a cheaper deal would help to make the squeeze work for next season and beyond. Otherwise, its seems the Canucks have missed their chance to get any value out of Pearson before he departs this summer. It’s not and ideal outcome for the team or the player, who would prefer to be competing for a playoff spot if and when he returns to action.

Another player dealing with injury is Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Yet, Andersen continues to suit up for the team. After a two-week hiatus with a lower-body injury, Andersen returned to Leafs earlier this month. However, the injury continues to nag him, he tells TSN’s Kristen Shilton, and it has shown on the ice. Andersen brought a 2-4-0 record, .887 save percentage, and 3.30 GAA in March into Toronto’s Friday night contest with the Calgary Flames, only to allow four goals on 18 shots in yet another loss. Andersen has now allowed 19 goals in his last five games. With their starter faltering, the Leafs will turn to backup Jack Campbell to start their next game, but one game off for Andersen is unlikely to provide any long-term relief. The Maple Leafs, who are serious Stanley Cup contenders this year and face an unusually easy path to the Final without having to go through the Tampa Bay Lightning and/or Boston Bruins in the early rounds this year. If Toronto doesn’t give Andersen another extended break to shake his nagging injury and his play does not improve, they may need to start considering a major change in net before the trade deadline. Andersen’s play this season, injury or not, is also certainly impacting his impending free agency as well.
San Jose Sharks prospect Jonathan Dahlen has been named the MVP of the Allsvenskan, the team was proud to announce. Although the Allsvenskan is Sweden’s second-tier league, Dahlen’s 25 goals and 71 points in 45 games are still impressive and helped Timra IK to a regular season title (by a wide margin) and a chance at promotion to the SHL. This is Dahlen’s second straight season of 70+ points as the leading scorer for Timra and it seems like he is finally ready to make the transition to the NHL. Dahlen, 23, has played parts of two seasons in the AHL, but always seemed to have one foot out the door given his preference to play in Sweden if he wasn’t in the NHL. Perhaps that has contributed to his NHL rights being traded twice already. However, the Sharks are in no position to turn away affordable forward talent and should be ready to give Dahlen a shot at a roster spot next season, if not sooner once his Allsvenskan season ends.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

September 27, 2020 at 2:58 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.

F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.

Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.

F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.

G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.

Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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