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Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

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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

San Jose Sharks Sign Patrick Marleau, Matt Nieto

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The San Jose Sharks have brought back a pair of familiar faces, signing Patrick Marleau and Matt Nieto to one-year contracts. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that Marleau has signed for just $700K, while Curtis Pashelka of Bay Area News Group adds that Nieto will also earn just $700K.

Marleau is obviously a franchise icon and is now just 45 games behind Gordie Howe for the all-time lead in NHL games played. He should break that this season if healthy and could eclipse 1,600 games with the Sharks. San Jose GM Doug Wilson explained why they are bringing the 41-year-old back:

Patrick is one of the most iconic players in San Jose Sharks history, as well as being one of the most respected veterans in the National Hockey League. The leadership he brings on and off the ice has been well documented over his fantastic NHL career and his competitive fire to win is still burning strong. Patrick’s lead-by-example demeanor is inspiring and continues to resonate with our group of younger players.

The veteran forward leads the Sharks in almost every record thanks to his two decades in the uniform, starting way back in 1997-98. One of the most consistent offensive players in the NHL over his years, father time has finally started to catch up with him. In 2019-20 he scored just ten goals and 20 points in 58 games for the Sharks before a deadline deal to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marleau had two points in eight games down the stretch and was basically invisible during the Penguins’ qualification round loss.

Nieto too should be comfortable in San Jose, having played parts of four seasons there to start his NHL career. The 27-year-old actually recorded his career-high in points with San Jose back in 2014-15, scoring 27 in 72 games that season. Though he’s not a top-six contributor, Nieto does have a little scoring punch to add some depth to the lineup and now has plenty of playoff experience.

Neither player will push the needle very far for the Sharks, but come with absolutely no risk at their league-minimum salaries. Marleau does not have trade protection in his deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

All Colorado Avalanche UFA’s To Test The Market

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Don’t expect any impending unrestricted free agents out of Denver to re-sign prior to next Friday. The Athletic’s Ryan Clark reports that all of the Colorado Avalanche’s current UFA’s are expected to test the market. Not all of group have been ruled out from re-signing with the club, but they will all at least take the chance to talk to other teams.

Among the group still negotiating with the Avalanche are forwards Vladislav Namestnikov and Matt Nieto. Namestnikov is coming off of a strong season, especially considering he played for three different teams. It was with Colorado that he found the most per-game success, recording four goals and six points in nine regular season games and another four goals and five points in a dozen playoff games. It makes sense that the Avs would like to bring the talented two-way forward back, but Namestnikov could command a significant salary and is likely looking for some long-term security as well. With Colorado hoping to improve their roster from the one that fell short in the postseason, they will likely let Namestnikov discover his market value before deciding what the best use of their cap space is. Nieto is a different case. The experienced role player has been a solid contributor for the Avalanche for the past four seasons, but still has not established himself as a player worthy of a high-value contract. Colorado could re-sign the bottom-six forward without much of a hit to their salary cap status, but will likely weigh their roster space and needs versus the market value of extending Nieto.

Those who will not be returning to Denver next season? Clark states that forward Colin Wilson, defensemen Kevin Connauton and Mark Barberio, and goaltender Michael Hutchinson will not be re-signed by the Avalanche. Barberio has in fact already signed in Switzerland for next season. Wilson and Connauton are both veteran, experienced NHLers, but played very limited roles for Colorado this season, combining for just nine games played. The pair should be able to find new homes where the potential for NHL ice time is higher than it was with the Avs. Hutchinson is one of the best veteran No. 3 goalies in the NHL and played well for the Avs this year when pressed into action in the regular season and postseason. However, with the talk being that Colorado could look at bringing in a third goalie to challenge Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, combined with a couple of young pros in the system, Hutchinson appears to have lost his role. He will surely find work given the need for depth in net ahead of a condensed 2020-21 season.

With all of these players potentially moving out, the Avalanche have plenty of room to make some additions this off-season. While Clark warns that the team is keeping future extensions in mind when evaluating their salary cap flexibility, it still seems likely that Colorado could make a major splash or two this summer to improve a roster that is already very close to being a top Stanley Cup contender.

Colorado’s Matt Nieto Out 6-8 Weeks

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What was originally considered to be a minor injury has turned out to be anything but for Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Nieto. Just days after stating Nieto was “dinged up” and would miss Saturday night’s game, BSN Denver’s AJ Haefele relays news from GM Joe Sakic tonight that Nieto is expected to miss six to eight weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

The timeline leaves little to no chance that Nieto will return in the regular season. If the Avalanche make the playoffs, his availability would be in question through at least the first round, if not longer. It’s a tough blow for both the team and the player in what has been a career year for Nieto. The 2011 second-round pick has been nothing if not consistent over his NHL career as a bottom-six forward. Including this season, Nieto has recorded at least double-digit points in 58 or more games in each of his six seasons. His best year to date came in his sophomore campaign with the San Jose Sharks, when he registered 27 points in 72 games, although he nearly matched that total last season in Colorado. However, with 22 points already through 58 games this year, Nieto was on pace to finish the 2017-18 season with 30 points. This injury ensures that won’t happen, robbing Nieto of a new career best and the Avalanche of one of their top-nine scoring forwards.

Fortunately, Sakic and company did manage to add Derick Brassard from the Florida Panthers at the deadline at a relative bargain rate and he will be in the lineup right away tonight when the Avs face those same Panthers. Even amidst a miserable season for the veteran forward, Brassard is a major addition for Colorado and should arguably be considered the best non-first line forward on the club the rest of the way. If he plays up to that expectation, he will more than make up for Nieto’s absence and could be the key to the Avalanche winning a playoff spot and Nieto seeing the ice again this season. Beyond Brassard, Tyson Jost, Sven Andrighetto, and Sheldon Dries are among the others who could be asked to step up in Nieto’s stead. The fate of the Avs’ season may rest in their ability to emulate their fallen teammate’s work ethic and tenacity on the ice.

Colorado Re-Signs Matt Nieto

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Colorado has agreed to terms on a two-year contract with winger Matt Nieto, per a team release.  Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports that (Twitter link) the deal will carry a $1.975MM cap hit.

The 25-year-old is coming off of his first full season with the Avalanche after he was claimed on waivers partway through the 2016-17 campaign.  It’s safe to say he has emerged as a quality contributor since then.  Nieto spent a fair bit of time in Colorado’s top six and made the most of it, scoring a career-high 15 goals in 74 games while averaging just shy of 15 minutes per game.  He followed that up with a good showing in the postseason, collecting three assists in six contests.

Nieto was among the players to file for salary arbitration yesterday but clearly, that won’t be needed now.  This contract will carry him to unrestricted free agency in the 2020 off-season. The Avalanche now have four restricted free agents who remain unsigned: defensemen Patrik Nemeth, Ryan Graves, and Mason Geertsen and goaltender Spencer Martin. Of that group, only Nemeth filed for salary arbitration.

Matt Nieto Signs With Colorado Avalanche

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Another player has avoided arbitration, as according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet Matt Nieto has signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche for $1MM next season. Neito had an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 31st, but won’t need it any longer after reaching an agreement.

Nieto, 24, came to the Avalanche via waivers this season when they selected him from the San Jose Sharks in early January. Thrust into an increased role in Colorado, Nieto responded with 11 points in 43 games but was a rather effective penalty killer and depth winger. Though he hasn’t been able to replicate his 27-point 2014-15 season, he’s still a positive possession player and young enough to improve next season for the Avalanche.

Playing last year for just $735K, Nieto will get a nice raise before looking longer-term next summer. At that point he will be 25, arbitration eligible for the second time and just two years away from unrestricted free agency. Though he’s not a player you’d want to commit to for more than a few seasons at a time, he does still have that potential that made him a second-round pick and allowed him to dominate the college ranks for Boston University. Nieto recorded 102 points in his three-year career with BU, even though he debuted as a 17-year old playing against men much older than him.

Which Of The RFAs Slotted For Arbitration Will Earn The Most?

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Arbitration can be a useful tool for players in a number of ways. It accelerates the contract negotiation process and puts it on a definitive timetable. It puts the player in a position where they can (theoretically) promote their own cause and posture for a greater paycheck. And in some cases, the threat of a mere one-to-two year ruling scares the team in question into handing out more term than they may otherwise have been comfortable.

With Tomas Tatar earning $5.3 MM AAV, Viktor Arvidsson earning $4.25 MM, and Colton Parayko raking in $5.5 MM all in the last few days, many players are earning longer deals with impressive cap hits before reaching their scheduled date. Only 14 names remain slotted for arbitration, but there are still a few names out there who are seeking a raise. Those players are Austin Watson, Brian Dumoulin, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Spooner, Robin Lehner, Matt Nieto, Connor Hellebuyck, Reid Boucher, Calvin de Haan, Nate Schmidt, Nino Niederreiter, Mikael Granlund, Conor Sheary, and Nathan Beaulieu.

Keep in mind that most of the remaining names will likely come to an agreement prior to their dates, which could affect the prices. That said, who do you think ends up seeing the highest AAV on their next contract? Take our poll below!

(Mobile users, click here to vote.)

Colorado Has Room To Fill Out Organization, Take Risks

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The Colorado Avalanche are at a bit of a crossroads, one that could play out in a number of different ways. As of this date in late July, the Avs only have 35 players locked into organizational contracts, with only 3 RFAs left to sign. Those players are Matt Nieto (who filed for arbitration, scheduled on July 31), Nikita Zadorov, and Rocco Grimaldi. Assuming they do sign all three, they are 12 players beneath the maximum 50 allowable contracts. For a team that completely lost the rails last season in the worst post-lockout season yet, this might be a cause for alarm. But it’s also an opportunity.

GM Joe Sakic has drawn lots of fire from around the league on his handling of the Matt Duchene trade sweepstakes. Many believe he has asked for too much in return or has been unrealistic about the player’s worth. That said, he still has a highly dynamic center on a reasonable contract who has every possibility of recouping some of his value come September. Ultimately, however, we might judge Sakic by his reluctance to re-sign aging players and to move on from veteran names. Although scoring will almost certainly take a hit, when in the midst of a dismal rebuild, it’s generally unwise to block roster positions from prospects.

Sakic let Francois Beauchemin (37), Rene Bourque (35), Fedor Tyutin (34), and John Mitchell (32) all walk, in addition to 8 other players. He unloaded Jarome Iginla (40) at the trade deadline for a pick, and sniped up David Warsofsky, Jonathan Bernier, and Nail Yakupov to relatively cheap deals this off-season. While none of these moves is particularly shocking, it shows that management is on the correct page when it comes to getting younger and embracing the inevitable tank. It will undoubtedly be a tough season again in Denver, but there does seem to be a plan starting to finally coalesce.

Perhaps what is most imperative from here forward, is that after figuratively clearing the deck, the organization fills the gaps with players that make long-term sense. Sakic should make a serious endeavor to fill remaining roster contracts to players on the right side of 30, preferably those who will provide solid production at the AHL level, who might have some chance of eventually becoming contributors. If he’s particularly sensible, Sakic would seek out as many young, undrafted college and overseas players with upside as he can. Conor Sheary type players are difficult to find, but every season it seems one or two players comes out of nowhere. Sakic should be beating the bushes for unknown quantities to fill out San Antonio. The Rampage finished with only 27 wins last season, which only made the defeated fanbase’s outlook bleaker. With the Avalanche looking primed to find themselves in the Central’s basement once again, it would be wise to build a competent squad down in the minors and hope that a winning mindset floats upward.

Notably, the Avalanche are thin on defense. They’ll need to rely upon unproven youngsters on the bottom pairing, as Zadorov, Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, and Mark Barberio, and Warsofsky are the only players with over 100 NHL games played. None inspires a ton of confidence. Anton Lindholm has 12 games experience, Duncan Siemens has 4, and Chris Bigras has 31. Andrei Mironov, 22 and coming over from Dynamo Moscow, will have a solid crack at a spot, but it’s too early to tell how well he’ll adapt to the North American game. If Sakic were to add another NHL body, it would almost surely be on the left side.

An important component of any franchise which can go unnoticed is the depth signings at the AHL level, in addition to drafting and scouting. Sakic has given himself the leeway to build a supporting cast as he sees fit, and now we will merely need to wait and see what path he decides to take.

Remaining Arbitration Dates

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While the league continues to try and lock up their young players, several arbitration dates remain on the docket for the next few weeks. Starting on Thursday, teams and players will head to hearings to determine their salary for the upcoming season (or seasons). For more information on how the arbitration process works, check out Mike Furlano’s two part breakdown of the system from last summer.

The remaining arbitration dates are as follows:

July 20 – Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Tomas Tatar (Detroit)

Originally scheduled: Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay) who signed a seven-year, $35MM contract.

July 21 – Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa)

Originally scheduled: Michael Chaput (Vancouver) who signed a one-year, $688K contract

July 22 – Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville)

Originally scheduled: Micheal Ferland (Calgary) who signed a two-year, $3.5MM contract.

July 24 – Austin Watson (Nashville), Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh)

July 25 – Mika Zibanejad (NY Rangers)

Originally scheduled: Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton) who signed a one-year, two-way, $700K contract and Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay) who signed a five-year, $26.5MM contract.

July 26 – Ryan Spooner (Boston)

Originally scheduled: Jordan Martinook (Arizona) who signed a two-year, $3.6MM contract.

July 27 – Robin Lehner (Buffal0)

Originally scheduled: Marek Mazanec (Nashville) who signed a one-year, two-way, $650K contract.

July 28 – (none)

Originally scheduled: Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa) who signed a three-year, $9.3MM contract.

July 31 – Matt Nieto (Colorado)

August 1 – Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Reid Boucher (Vancouver)

August 2 – Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders)

Originally scheduled: Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles) who signed a one-year, two-way, $650K contract. 

August 3 – Nate Schmidt (Vegas), Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota)

August 4 – Mikael Granlund (Minnesota), Conor Sheary (Pittsburgh), Nathan Beaulieu (Buffalo)

RFA Arbitration Hearings Begin Soon

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Although it’s likely that many of these restricted free-agents come to terms with their teams before the hearing dates, the list of set dates has been released. Last year, only one RFA actually made it to their date without a deal. We should see more players actually make it to the arbitration process this year, but how many is unclear. It could be zero, or it could be five.

That said, these arbitration hearings begin in only 11 days, so the crunch is on. Teams will hope to hammer out details with players they hope to lock in for longer than two years. PHR published a preview highlighting players most likely to see a massive pay-raise, but arbitration by its nature can be rather capricious.

According theScore’s Cody Wilkins, the set dates are as follows:

 

July 20 – Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Tomas Tatar (Detroit)

July 21 – Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa), Michael Chaput (Vancouver)

July 22 – Micheal Ferland (Calgary), Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville)

July 24 – Austin Watson (Nashville), Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh)

July 25 – Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton), Mika Zibanejad (NY Rangers), Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay)

July 26 – Jordan Martinook (Arizona), Ryan Spooner (Boston)

July 27 – Robin Lehner (Buffal0), Marek Mazanec (Nashville)

July 28 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa)

July 31 – Matt Nieto (Colorado)

August 1 – Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Reid Boucher (Vancouver)

August 2 – Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders), Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles)

August 3 – Nate Schmidt (Vegas), Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota)

August 4 – Mikael Granlund (Minnesota), Conor Sheary (Pittsburgh), Nathan Beaulieu (Buffalo)

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