San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Stefan Noesen
The San Jose Sharks have brought back one of their outgoing free agents, re-signing Stefan Noesen to a one-year contract. The deal is worth $925K according to Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News.
Noesen, 27, was actually a first-round pick of the Ottawa Senators back in 2011, but took several years to make his mark in the NHL. That came in 2017-18 when he had a sneaky-good season for the New Jersey Devils, scoring 13 goals as part of an energy line with Blake Coleman. The duo rotated through linemates like Brian Gibbons, Travis Zajac and Miles Wood, creating a group of checking forwards that was a huge reason why the Devils made it to the playoffs.
Though he hasn’t been able to recapture that magic since, Noesen fit in well with the Sharks after he was claimed off waivers in December. He scored six goals in 34 games after the claim, even while playing in a bottom-six role. That included two game-winners, not something the Sharks were very used to this season.
Noesen will likely be a regular for the Sharks next year and so far he is their only signing since free agency has started. San Jose has been extremely quiet today, deciding not to jump on many of the mid-level players that have found homes.
Sharks Re-Sign Antti Suomela
Friday: As expected, HIFK has announced that San Jose has loaned Suomela to them, permitting him to play in the SM-liiga until NHL training camps begin.
Wednesday: As part of their qualifying offer announcements, the Sharks announced that they’ve re-signed center Antti Suomela to a one-year, two-way contract. While financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, CapFriendly reports that the deal is worth $700K in the NHL and $350K in the AHL.
The 26-year-old recently wrapped up his second season in North America and once again split the season between the Sharks and the Barracuda, their AHL affiliate. In 20 games at the top level, he had a goal and six assists despite only averaging 9:41 per night of ice time. He was more productive in the minors with five goals and four helpers in 14 games.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Suomela has started skating with HIFK in Finland but was unable to play for them due to his NHL contract situation. Now that a deal has been done, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a loan announcement in the coming days.
Sharks Re-Sign Four Players
San Jose’s busy day continues. After acquiring Devan Dubnyk and Ryan Donato in separate trades from Minnesota, CapFriendly reports in a series of four tweets that they’ve re-signed center Maxim Letunov, defensemen Jacob Middleton and Nicolas Meloche, plus winger Jayden Halbgewachs.
Letunov’s one-year, two-way deal pays $700K in the NHL and $140K at the minor league level. Middleton receives a two-year, two-way pact worth $700K in 2020-21 and $750K in 2021-22 while paying him $225K in the minors both years. Meloche received a one-year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $100K in the minors while Halbgewachs signed for two years at the league minimum in the NHL ($700K and $750K) while getting $150K and $200K in the minors.
Letunov made his NHL debut this past season, getting into three games with the Sharks where he scored his first career goal. He was also quite productive in the minors, leading the Barracuda in scoring with 12 goals and 28 assists in 50 games, beating his numbers from his rookie season. The 24-year-old is still waiver-exempt but should push for more NHL ice time next year.
Middleton played in 10 games with the Sharks this season, logging just shy of 11 minutes a night on their back end. Most of his campaign was also spent in the minors where he played in 32 games with the Barracuda, recording a goal and five assists. With Brandon Davidson and Dalton Prout both eligible for unrestricted free agency this week, the 24-year-old should move up a couple of notches on the depth chart.
Meloche, 23, has been a stay-at-home defenseman over his three professional seasons but has yet to suit up in the NHL. He was acquired by San Jose last September from Colorado for goaltender Antoine Bibeau and had seven assists in 41 AHL games this past season.
As for Halbgewachs, he was a dominant scorer in the WHL with seasons of 101 and 129 points and has spent the last two years with the Barracuda. He finished only behind Letunov in scoring in the minors this past season with 19 goals and 16 assists in 55 games, equalling his rookie point total in nine fewer games. Like Letunov, the 23-year-old also has one more year of waiver exemption but should push for a chance to be recalled at some point in 2020-21.
San Jose Sharks Acquire Devan Dubnyk
In their second trade of the day, the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild have announced that Devan Dubnyk is heading to California. The Wild will receive a 2022 fifth-round pick in return, while the Sharks will receive a 2022 seventh-round selection in addition to the veteran goaltender. Minnesota will also be retaining half of Dubnyk’s remaining $4.33MM cap hit for the 2020-21 season.
The two teams completed an earlier trade that saw Ryan Donato go to San Jose in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a statement on the latest deal:
Devan has been one of the League’s top goaltenders for many years and after playing so many years in the Western Conference, is someone our hockey staff is very familiar with. As we head into what will surely be a unique season, his acquisition gives us a high-quality and experienced tandem of netminders.
For the Sharks, this means the team will have an experienced tandem, but one that will need drastic performance improvements next season. The team’s starter Martin Jones has now posted back-to-back seasons with an .896 save percentage, allowing 394 goals in 103 appearances. That save percentage was third-worst in the NHL last season among goaltenders with at least 30 appearances, ahead of Pekka Rinne and, unfortunately, Dubnyk. The Minnesota netminder posted a dreadful .890 in his 30 games for the Wild, though does at least have several recent strong seasons to fall back on. In 2018-19, when Jones was still struggling, Dubnyk posted a .913 save percentage in a league-leading 67 appearances for Minnesota.
Amazingly, these two goaltenders finished fifth and sixth in Vezina Trophy voting in 2017. While it seems unlikely they can get back to that level in 2020, it’s not necessarily out of the question. With Jones signed for four more seasons at a $5.75MM cap hit, the Sharks will try everything to get him back to playing at a high level. Dubnyk meanwhile comes in at a relatively inexpensive $2.17MM cap hit after the salary retention, plus is actually set to earn even less in actual salary.
The Sharks also paid a very low price for the acquisition, swapping a pick two rounds up for the chance to see what Dubnyk can do in San Jose. That’s almost nothing, though given the overflowing goaltending market this offseason this acquisition certainly won’t excite many fans.
For Minnesota, moving on from Dubnyk was an obvious move for GM Bill Guerin. The team wants to get younger and provide opportunities for some of their prospects, which could include reigning AHL Goaltender of the Year Kaapo Kahkonen. The Wild also still have Alex Stalock under contract for two seasons at just a $785K cap hit. Kahkonen, who is just 24 and coming off an outstanding season in the AHL in which he posted a .927 save percentage, is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in need of a new deal. Whether he can handle the starting job isn’t clear, but with Dubnyk out of the way, there is a clear path to the net.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Minnesota, San Jose Complete Ryan Donato Trade
11:20am: The deal has been officially announced. Donato will head to San Jose in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick.
10:09am: The Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks have been working on several trades over the last week and are closing in on at least one of them. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the two sides will soon announce a trade that will see Ryan Donato head to the Sharks in exchange for a 2021 third-round pick. Devan Dubnyk, who the two sides have also discussed, will be in a separate trade if they can complete it.
Donato, 24, will be heading to the third NHL organization of his young career after previously being traded from the Boston Bruins in 2019. The 2014 second-round pick made one of the most electrifying debuts of the last few years after starring at Harvard and on the Olympic stage, but hasn’t been able to reproduce that magic on a regular basis. In 130 NHL games he has just 57 points and found himself on the fourth line or in the press box on several occasions this season.
That certainly doesn’t mean he won’t take his game to another level in San Jose, but the Wild have clearly made a decision to change the makeup of their forward group. Minnesota GM Bill Guerin has already traded Eric Staal and let Mikko Koivu depart through free agency, acquiring Marcus Johansson and Nick Bjugstad in the process. Donato and his $1.9MM cap hit will head to San Jose for a draft pick, opening up another roster spot for one of the team’s other young forwards.
San Jose of course is looking for ways to rebound after a brutal 2019-20 campaign that saw them score just 180 goals in 70 games. Timo Meier led the club with 49 points and Evander Kane was the only player who could score consistently on the powerplay. Donato will likely have an opportunity to play up in the lineup for the Sharks, who have their own youth movement happening upfront after watching Joe Pavelski leave last offseason. Melker Karlsson and Joe Thornton—two of the team’s three remaining 30-plus forwards—are both unrestricted free agents that could be looking for new homes come Friday.
Antti Suomela Training With HIFK In Finland
- Sharks center Antti Suomela has started skating with HIFK, the SM-liiga team announced. At this time, he’s only skating with them to stay in shape for next season but as their press release indicates, that could change once he gets a deal done with San Jose. The pending restricted free agent had a goal and six assists in 20 NHL games this season while chipping in with five goals and four helpers in 14 AHL contests. If a deal is reached soon, he could join the growing list of players suiting up overseas on loan agreements.
Goalie Notes: Sharks, Ustimenko, Bachman
The San Jose Sharks have been linked strongly to Devan Dubnyk in recent days, meaning Pierre LeBrun’s latest report for The Athletic should come as little surprise. LeBrun writes that the Sharks are on the lookout for a “1B” to install behind Martin Jones, with Dubnyk, Braden Holtby and James Reimer all candidates.
Short-term is the key part of the Sharks search, leaving Holtby as an interesting inclusion. The former Washington Capitals starter is about to hit free agency after his worst season in the NHL and perhaps could be looking at a shorter deal to rebuild his value. Still, signing to serve as the backup, even if it is in a tandem role, may not be the best way to accomplish that.
- Sometimes when a team has a young goaltender starring in the NHL, it’s easy to forget about their other prospects. That’s the case in Philadelphia where Carter Hart steals all the headlines, but the pipeline is filled with other interesting names. One of those, Kirill Ustimenko, is headed overseas for the time being, loaned to HC Gomel of the Belarusian Extraliga. That’s Ustimenko’s hometown team, where he can continue to develop his game before eventually returning to North America. The 21-year-old was a third-round pick in 2017 and posted a .919 save percentage in 31 starts at the ECHL level in 2019-20.
- Former NHL goaltender Richard Bachman‘s playing days are over, as the Iowa Wild of the AHL has announced his hiring as goaltending coach. Bachman, who suited up in the AHL and SHL just this season, played in 49 NHL games over a long professional career.
Sharks Loan Alexei Melnichuk To The KHL
While Sharks prospect Alexei Melnichuk opted to pursue a career in North America and left the KHL back in May, his playing days at home aren’t quite done yet. Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL announced (Twitter link) that they’ve added the goaltender on a loan agreement from San Jose. This comes on the heels of Torpedo acquiring his KHL rights in exchange for the rights to Oilers winger Jesse Puljujarvi.
Melnichuk had several teams pursuing him back in the spring following a dazzling season with SKA St. Petersburg that saw him post a 1.68 GAA and a .930 SV% in 16 KHL contests. He was almost as good while playing a level lower in the VHL with a 1.95 GAA and a .925 SV% in eight contests down there.
The move will give him an opportunity to stay in playing shape and should help give him an edge as he tries to make a push to earn a spot with the Sharks for next season. With Aaron Dell set to become an unrestricted free agent next week, there is a vacancy between the pipes for San Jose and if they don’t fill it with a veteran, Melnichuk could have a strong opportunity to see NHL action next season.
Snapshots: Ryan, Soucy, USHL
The Ottawa Senators bought out Bobby Ryan over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean his playing career is over. Interest has already started to emerge, with Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeting that the San Jose Sharks are one of “many teams” that have checked in on the free agent winger.
Ryan, 33, will be making more than $1.8MM in each of the next four years regardless of what his next contract is, meaning he may be willing to take a cheap deal to get back on the ice with a new organization.
- The Minnesota Wild are still negotiating with Carson Soucy according to Michael Russo of The Athletic, one of their pending unrestricted free agents. Russo reports they are also speaking with Kyle Rau and Matt Bartkowski, and will be signing Hunter Warner to an AHL deal instead of issuing him a qualifying offer. With the Stanley Cup now awarded, front offices will be in overdrive trying to get new deals in place before free agency opens on October 9.
- The USHL has released its schedule for the 2020-21 season, expected to start on November 5. Each team will be scheduled for 54 games over the 24-week season, which ends on April 24. The junior league is an important development step for many prospects and will try to navigate the season with a regional schedule.
Overseas Notes: Sorensen, Chlapik, Maltsev
Marcus Sorensen has signed a contract with HC Vita Hasten in Sweden’s second league, according to the team. The San Jose Sharks forward is still under contract in the NHL, meaning this is almost certainly a loan agreement for the next few months until NHL training camps open again. The 28-year-old forward is set to earn $1.5MM on the final season of his two-year contract with San Jose.
With just 197 regular season games under his belt, Sorensen is on track to be quite an interesting free agent case next offseason. He scored just 18 points in 60 games during the 2019-20 campaign, but did put up 17 goals a year before that. At some point this year the Sharks could look to extend the Swedish forward, but for now he’ll be suiting up overseas to stay in shape.
- Filip Chlapik doesn’t have a contract with the Ottawa Senators, but playing overseas won’t stop him from getting one. The young Ottawa Senators forward will be playing for HC Sparta Praha for free while he continues to negotiate his next NHL deal. Just 23, Chlapik is coming off his entry-level contract and scored six points in 31 games for the Senators this season. He is not arbitration-eligible, meaning the Senators could just issue him a qualifying offer and wait to see if he takes it.
- The New Jersey Devils have sent Mikhail Maltsev back to the KHL for the time being. Loaned to SKA St. Petersburg, Maltsev will join a crowded roster for the next few months and then be recalled in time for NHL training camps. The 22-year-old forward scored 21 points in 49 games for the Binghamton Devils this season, his first in North America.