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Marcus Sorensen

San Jose Sharks Sign Marcus Sorensen To Two-Year Extension

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The San Jose Sharks are facing more than a few tough decisions when it comes to impending free agents this season. Fortunately, they’ve been able to get out in front of at least one set of negotiations. The Sharks have announced a two-year extension with forward Marcus Sorensen. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that the new contract carries a $1.5MM cap hit.

Sorensen, 26, was set to hit the open market this summer for the first time as an established pro, but has in fact been a free agent before. Sorensen was actually a fourth-round pick by the Ottawa Senators back in 2010, but the team opted not to sign him. He remained in his native Sweden until a breakout season with Djurgardens IF in 2015-16 prompted him to examine his options in the NHL. Sorensen signed a one-year entry-level deal with San Jose and then signed a subsequent two-year extension, playing each season with the Sharks at under $1MM. Sorensen was nothing more than a part-time depth asset through his first two years, but this year is vastly outplaying his $700K price tag. The versatile bottom-six forward has a career-high 15 points and 47 games played already, having finally carved out a regular role for himself. While Sorensen possesses natural offensive instincts and stick-handling skills, he has finally embraced a more physical, high-energy game that makes him a valued depth forward.

With Sorensen signed, the Sharks have at least made a small dent in their laundry list of free agency decisions. Captain Joe Pavelski, aging legend Joe Thornton, and talented winger Joonas Donskoi are all set to be unrestricted free agents, while breakout star Timo Meier and fellow young forward Kevin Labanc are also due new contracts as restricted free agents. Of course, that’s just up front, as superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson is obviously the team’s biggest question mark. The Sharks are rolling right now, winning eight of their last ten games, and are legitimate Stanley Cup threats this season. How well that pursuit goes will obviously dictate what steps they take in free agency. Yet, the team already determined that Sorensen was a player worth keeping no matter what, which says a lot about how much the team values their under-rated forward.

San Jose Sharks Sign Lukas Radil To One-Year Extension

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With eight forwards heading for either restricted or unrestricted free agency, the San Jose Sharks have cut that number down as they announced they have signed forward Lukas Radil to one-year extension for the 2019-20 season. CapFriendly reports that the extension will be for $700K, a small decrease from his current AAV of $750K but this new contract will be a one-way pact.

“He has seized the opportunity that he has been given and earned his place on our team,” said general manager Doug Wilson. “His love for the game is apparent as is his character and maturity to how he plays the game. We feel that his game will continue to grow.”

The 28-year-old has played overseas until this season, his last three in the KHL, where he tallied 41 goals over three seasons for Moscow Spartak. San Jose signed the forward to a one-year, $750K deal in April of 2018. He played 11 games with the Barracuda in the AHL earlier this season where he put up six points, but has been even more impressive after getting promoted to the Sharks where he has scored six goals and nine points in 18 games this year and holds a +10 rating, which is third on the team in plus/minus.

Wilson has quite a bit of work to do this offseason as the team has a number of players hitting unrestricted free agency, including Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Joonas Donskoi and Marcus Sorensen. That doesn’t include their biggest free agency concern in defenseman Erik Karlsson. The team also has to work on new contracts for restricted free agents Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc, Rourke Chartier and Joakim Ryan. So locking up Radil to another one-year extension helps add some depth for next year and keeps Radil from leaving to another team or returning to Europe.

The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz was the first to report the extension.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. 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 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of 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: $75,119,584 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Dylan Gambrell (one year, $925K)
F Timo Meier (one year, $894K)
F Maxim Letunov (one year, $833K)
F Kevin Labanc (one year, $718K)

Potential Bonuses

Meier: $850K
Gambrell: $425K
Labanc: $183K

Total: $1.46MM

The team has gotten great play from their youth in the last couple of years as several players have taken that next step and become regular contributors to the Sharks’ lineup. Meier may be one of the best as the 21-year-old broke out with a 21-goal season last year. The ninth-overall pick in the 2015 draft looks ready to continue a top-six role and perhaps become a key contributor there for many more years. Meier is also playing for a big payday, so if he can take that next step and develop into a 30-goal winger, he would be heading in the right direction.

Gambrell only managed to appear in three games for the playoff-bound Sharks after he signed out of the University of Denver. The 22-year-old center is likely to force his way into a forward role in the bottom-six after he posted three straight 40-point seasons in college. Labanc, who had struggled with consistency in previous years with San Jose, finally broke into a full-time role with San Jose and produced 11 goals and 40 points. He could be primed for an even bigger year, just in time as his entry-level deal will run out.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Joe Pavelski ($6MM, UFA)
F Joe Thornton ($5MM, UFA)
F Joonas Donskoi ($1.9MM, UFA)
F Marcus Sorensen ($700K, UFA)
F Barclay Goodrow ($650K, RFA)
D Joakim Ryan ($650K, RFA)
D Tim Heed ($650K, UFA)

Much of the Sharks success in the next few years will come down to the play of Thornton and Pavelski, two players that have helped carry the team during their years of success. Both players are on their final year of their deal. Thornton signed a one-year deal and only time will tell whether he will continue that career at age 39. Despite suffering a torn MCL in January, he still posted solid numbers, scoring 13 goals and 36 points in 47 games. His days of posting 80 points are likely over, but if he can prove he can still produce, he could be back for several more one-year deals. Pavelski is another matter. The 34-year-old is starting to decline, but likely wants to ink one last long-term deal. While it makes sense that both sides will eventually come to an agreement, much is depending on the success that Pavelski has this season as well.

Donskoi shows improvement as well, posting a career-high 14 goals last season. His play improved to the point that he got some playing time on the first line as he generates shots as the team attempted 53.73 percent of five-on-five shots, while the team shot just 49 percent without him on the ice.Read more

Minor Transactions: 02/07/18

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The amount of minor roster moves has slowed recently, perhaps because of teams around the league trying to really examine what they have available at the NHL level before making a trade. Still, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here, updating throughout the day. Make sure to check back to keep up with your favorite team.

  • The San Jose Sharks have sent Tim Heed and Marcus Sorensen to the minor leagues as they head home for the next two days. The team is down to 21 players on the active roster for the time being, but could make another move before tomorrow’s matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights.
  • Jeff Zatkoff could soon be making his Columbus debut, as the Blue Jackets announced today that they have reassigned young Joonas Korpisalo to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and have called the veteran Zatkoff up in his place. Don’t count it, though. Korpisalo has been back and forth many times this season, as his play continues to pale in comparison to his stellar rookie season, yet no other backup has seen any action. Zatkoff has not appeared in the NHL this year and was abysmal with the L.A. Kings in 2016-17, so he’s not pushing for play time either.

Minor Transactions: 01/24/18

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We’ve already seen a signing today that brought Nathan Gerbe back into the North American fold, but there will be several other minor moves around the league. Right here is where we’ll keep track of all of them.

  • The Winnipeg Jets have recalled Tucker Poolman from the minor leagues, placing Shawn Matthias on injured reserve. The move could be due to Dmitry Kulikov’s injury, suffered after being hit by Tomas Hertl last night. Poolman has played 13 games this season for the Jets, recording a single point but showing that he could potentially be an answer on defense in the coming years. The 24-year old turned pro out of the University of North Dakota last March, and will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season.
  • Oscar Dansk has been loaned back to the Chicago Wolves, now that he is healthy enough to return to action. Dansk was moved off injured reserve this week and will continue his development in the AHL. The 23-year old played in four games with the Vegas Golden Knights this season, allowing just five goals and recording a .946 save percentage.
  • The Detroit Red Wings have indeed sent David Booth to the minor leagues now that he’s cleared waivers for the third time. The team recalled Dominic Turgeon, who had only just been sent down this week, to take his place.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have sent Tyler Motte back to the minor leagues, another good sign for Cam Atkinson who is close to returning. Atkinson had his foot broken by a Seth Jones shot just a month ago, but has been skating with the team recently.
  • With James Reimer dealing with a lower-body injury, the Florida Panthers have recalled goaltender Samuel Montembeault from the AHL. That puts the Panthers with a duo of Montembeault and Harri Sateri, who have a combined three NHL appearances (all Sateri). It’s not clear how serious Reimer’s injury is, but we’ll surely find out soon.
  • According to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic, the San Jose Sharks have brought Marcus Sorensen back up from the minor leagues after getting the news that Joe Thornton would be out at least a couple of weeks. Sorensen has played 15 games for the Sharks this season, scoring three goals.
  • The Penguins Penguins have sent goaltender Tristan Jarry to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  This will allow him to play in up to two games in the minors during the NHL All-Star break.  Jarry has lost playing time to Casey DeSmith in recent games so this will serve as an opportunity to keep him in playing shape before deciding whether or not to bring him back afterwards.

Minor Transactions — 1/7/18

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After a nine-game schedule Saturday, the NHL has another busy day of action today as 20 teams will be on the ice. There have already been a few moves made and many more are likely:

  • The Winnipeg Jets have activated veteran defenseman Tobias Enstrom off of injured reserve. The 33-year-old went down with a lower-body injury back on Nov. 18 and was deemed out for eight weeks. Slightly ahead of schedule, the defensive-minded Enstrom should improve the defensive play of Winnipeg, especially since they also just got back defenseman Dustin Byfuglien five days ago.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced they have made a three moves this morning, as defenseman Andrei Mironov and winger A.J. Greer and goaltender Andrew Hammond have all been assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. It’s likely that all three are being sent down to get regular playing time while the Avalanche begin their five-day bye week. The Avalanche don’t play again until next Saturday.
  • After sending this group down one day ago, the Columbus Blue Jackets recalled center Zac Dalpe, defenseman Dean Kukan and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, while returning goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks to the Cleveland Monsters. All were sent down to get in some playing time in the AHL in Cleveland’s 4-3 shootout loss to Rockford. Dalpe scored a goal, Kukan added an assist and Korpisalo stopped 37 shots on goal.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Jared Coreau from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He will serve as the emergency backup for Petr Mrazek after it was reported Saturday that starter Jimmy Howard will sit out today’s game with a lower-body injury. Coreau played 14 games for the Red Wings last year, but hasn’t had as good of a season in Grand Rapids as he did a year ago. The 26-year-old netminder has a 2.77 GAA in 25 games so far this year with the Griffins. It will likely be a one-game stint for Coreau as the Red Wings go on a bye week and won’t play again until next Saturday.
  • The Vancouver Canucks announced that they have reassigned winger Reid Boucher to the Utica Comets today. Boucher has been with the team since Dec. 13, but has appeared in just three games with the team. He has been a healthy scratch in five of the team’s past six games. The 24-year-old returns to Utica where he has 13 goals and 25 points this year in 25 games.
  • After sending Marcus Sorensen down Friday night, the San Jose Sharks have recalled the young forward back to the team, according to CapFriendly. Sorensen has three goals in 13 games with the Sharks.  Defenseman Dylan DeMelo was placed on IR to make room for Sorenson on the roster.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have sent Jonny Brodzinski and Kevin Gravel to the minor leagues after losing yesterday to the Predators. The Kings are headed into their bye week, and won’t play again until next Saturday night.
  • Following their game this afternoon, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that they have returned winger Tyrell Goulbourne to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  He played in two games while on recall, averaging 5:34 per game.  The Flyers are also heading into their bye week and could potentially bring Goulbourne back up next weekend.
  • The New York Islanders also made several roster moves following their matinee against the Devils.  Forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Tanner Fritz as well as defenseman Sebastian Aho have all been sent down to Bridgeport.  There is a good chance some of them will be recalled following the bye week.

Minor Transactions: 01/06/18

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As is typically the case, Saturday will be a busy day around the league with nine games on tap so there is bound to be a fair bit of roster shuffling.  We’ll keep tabs on those moves here.

  • St. Louis announced that they have recalled defenseman Jake Walman from Chicago of the AHL. To make room for him on the roster, they have transferred blueliner Vince Dunn (illness) to injured reserve.  Walman, one of the better prospects for the Blues, is in his first full professional campaign and has 13 points (2-11-13) in 34 games at the minor league level this season.
  • The Senators revealed via Twitter that they have called up center Colin White from AHL Belleville. This will be his first stint with the team this season; although he was expected to contend for a roster spot in training camp, he broke his wrist early on which set things back.  His first season at the minor league level has been rather bumpy as he has 13 points (5-8-13) in 27 games to go along with a team-worst -15 rating.  White is expected to take the place of Nate Thompson, who was injured on Friday night against San Jose.
  • The Capitals have brought back defenseman Madison Bowey and winger Jakub Vrana from Hershey (AHL), via the AHL’s transactions page. Neither move comes as a surprise as they were just sent down yesterday in an effort to free up a little bit more cap space.  For perspective, it’s the fourth time they’ve been sent back and forth since December 17th.
  • The Islanders annouced (Twitter link) that they have recalled winger Anthony Beauvillier from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis.  The move comes on the heels of New York losing both Josh Bailey and Andrew Ladd to injury last night.  The 2o-year-old has spent the majority of the season with the Isles, picking up four goals and three assists in 31 games.  He has a pair of goals in two minor league contests.
  • The San Jose Sharks activated winger Barclay Goodrow from injured reserve late last night and assigned winger Marcus Sorensen to the San Jose Barracuda, according to Elite Prospects. Goodrow has been in and out of the lineup with a lower-body injury for a couple of months now. He has two goals and two assists in 10 games this year. The 25-year-old Sorensen had three goals in 13 games for the Sharks this season. He has five goals and nine assists in 17 games for the Barracuda.

Sharks Place Donskoi, Heed On Injured Reserve

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The San Jose Sharks have lost two players temporarily as they put Joonas Donskoi and Tim Heed on injured reserve with upper-body injuries Saturday. They moves are retroactive to Nov. 28 and Nov. 25, respectively. The team made two corresponding news as well, as they activated Barclay Goodrow off of injured reserve and recalled forward Marcus Sorensen from the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL.

Donskoi has been having a breakout season of sorts, as he has put up seven goals and five assists this season in 23 games. He tallied just six goals all of last season, so the 25-year-old winger looks to be heading for a career high as he was closing in on his rookie year numbers of 11 goals and 36 points. He suffered his injury Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. He will have to miss Monday’s game against the Washington Capitals and isn’t eligible to return until Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes. Heed is also having a solid rookie campaign. In 18 games, the 26-year-old blueliner has put up three goals and five assists. He was injured against the Winnipeg Jets last week. He can be activated whenever he is ready.

Goodrow has only appeared in six games this year as he has missed seven straight games due to an upper-body injury. The fourth-line face-off specialist has two assists in six games and could put up his best career numbers if he can stay healthy. The 24-year-old winger played 60 games in 2014-15 with 12 points in 60 games, but then played in just 14 and three games in the following two seasons. He should give the Sharks’ fourth line a much-needed boost. Sorensen, a 25-year-old wing, had five goals and nine assists in 17 games for the Barracuda. He played 19 games for the Sharks last year, putting up one goal and three assists. This is the first time he’s been called up this season.

San Jose Sharks Sign Marcus Sorensen To Two-Year Contract

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The San Jose Sharks have handed out a two-year contract to restricted free agent Marcus Sorensen, bringing him back after his first season in North America. No financial details have been released so far, but it’s unlikely Sorensen earns much more than the minimum salary of $650K.

Sorensen was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2010, but went unsigned by them while playing in Sweden. The 25-year old signed a one-year entry-level deal with the Sharks last year, and split the year between the NHL and AHL levels. In 19 NHL contests he registered just four points, but showed more promise for the San Jose Barracuda with 34 points in 43 games.

The winger should compete for a spot with the Sharks to begin the season, but as a waivers-exempt player could be used as a potential reinforcement instead. With the team losing some speed with the departure of Patrick Marleau, Sorensen would be a help in various situations. Whether he’s ready for an increased role is still yet to be determined.

Minor Moves: Sharks, Team USA, Team Canada

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The San Jose Sharks have sent Timo Meier and Marcus Sorensen back to the AHL for the playoff run according to Keven Kurz of NBC. The two forwards were dominant offensive players for the Barracuda this year when they weren’t playing for the Sharks, and will add a definite scoring punch to a team that has already scored eight goals through their first two games.

Meier and Sorensen combined for 31 goals and 57 points in 76 games for the Barracuda, and both will likely compete for full-time jobs with the Sharks next season. More news from the recently eliminated teams…

  • Kevin Allen of USA Today reports that both Charlie McAvoy and Trevor van Riemsdyk will be joining Team USA at the World Championships. The pair add to a defense group that is becoming quite impressive and already included Noah Hanifin and Jacob Trouba. McAvoy will be joining his fifth different team of the season after spending time with Boston University, the Providence and Boston Bruins, and Team USA at the World Juniors. He’s made an impact at every level so far, and shouldn’t be overlooked as a possible star at this latest tournament.
  • Team Canada will gain a young star of their own, as Terry Koshan of the Toronto Sun reports that Mitch Marner will head to the tournament. After several Maple Leafs turned the tournament down—including Auston Matthews, Nikita Zaitsev and just today Morgan Rielly—Marner will head off to compete in his first international event that isn’t age-restricted. In the U20 World Juniors last year, Marner recorded six points in five games but was left off last year’s World Championships and last fall’s World Cup teams. It’s not likely that he’ll be overlooked very often in the future, after posting 61 points in 77 games as a rookie this year.

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