Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sharks Rumors

Examining What’s Left Of The Goalie Market

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

What was already a thin goalie market to begin with has gotten even thinner just a few days into free agency.  Only two goalies remain on our Top 50 UFA list, Karri Ramo and Jhonas Enroth.

While there aren’t many notable goalies still available, there aren’t many vacancies to fill either.  Here is a closer look at each team’s goaltending situation:

Anaheim: John Gibson, Dustin Tokarski, Matt Hackett
Arizona: Mike Smith, Louis Domingue, Justin Peters
Boston: Tuukka Rask, Anton Khudobin, Malcolm Subban
Buffalo: Robin Lehner, Anders Nilsson, Linus Ullmark
Calgary: Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, Jon Gillies
Carolina: Cam Ward, Eddie Lack, Daniel Altshuller
Chicago: Corey Crawford, Scott Darling, Lars Johansson
Colorado: Semyon Varlamov, Calvin Pickard (RFA), Jeremy Smith
Columbus: Sergei Bobrovsky, Curtis McElhinney, Joonas Korpisalo
Dallas: Kari Lehtonen, Antti Niemi, Maxime Lagace
Detroit: Petr Mrazek (RFA), Jimmy Howard, Jared Coreau (RFA)
Edmonton: Cam Talbot, Jonas Gustavsson, Laurent Brossoit
Florida: Roberto Luongo, James Reimer, Reto Berra
Los Angeles: Jonathan Quick, Jeff Zatkoff, Peter Budaj
Minnesota: Devan Dubnyk, Darcy Kuemper (RFA), Alex Stalock
Montreal: Carey Price, Al Montoya, Mike Condon
Nashville: Pekka Rinne, Marek Mazanec, Jusse Saros
New Jersey: Cory Schneider, Keith Kinkaid, Scott Wedgewood
NY Islanders: Jaroslav Halak, Thomas Greiss, J-F Berube (RFA)
NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist, Antti Raanta, Magnus Hellberg
Ottawa: Craig Anderson, Andrew Hammond, Matt O’Connor
Philadelphia: Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth, Anthony Stolarz
Pittsburgh: Marc-Andre Fleury, Matt Murray, Tristan Jarry
San Jose: Martin Jones, Mantis Armalis, Aaron Dell
St. Louis: Jake Allen, Carter Hutton, Jordan Binnington (RFA)
Tampa Bay: Ben Bishop, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Kristers Gudlevskis
Toronto: Frederik Andersen, Jonathan Bernier, Garret Sparks
Vancouver: Ryan Miller, Jacob Markstrom, Thatcher Demko
Washington: Braden Holtby, Philipp Grubauer, Joe Cannata
Winnipeg: Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, Connor Hellebuyck

In terms of starting goalie vacancies, there really aren’t any.  It’s believed that Dallas would like to improve their starter but they already have over $10MM committed to their tandem so any goalie they acquire would have to see one of Lehtonen or Niemi sent the other way.  That could be a problem for teams like Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay who could potentially part with their veterans (Fleury and Bishop respectively) but wouldn’t want someone else making #1 money coming back the other way.

As for backup openings, Anaheim and San Jose are in need of a new #2 after losing Andersen and Reimer respectively this offseason.  While Ramo and Enroth are the best of who’s still available, there are a trio of other goalies on the UFA market that have some backup experience in Joni Ortio, Ben Scrivens, and Anders Lindback.

If those teams can’t come to terms with (or don’t want to sign) any of those players, there are a handful of teams with a surplus between the pipes.  While the Jets re-signed Hutchinson earlier this offseason, Hellebuyck showed last year that he’s ready for full-time NHL duty which could make Hutchinson expendable.  Condon was supposed to be a backup last year but due to injuries played in 55 games in 2015-16.  However, his spot appears to have been filled with the addition of Montoya which could make Condon available.  The Panthers have a trio of goalies with NHL experience and could potentially part with Berra although he is insurance for Luongo whose hip injury has his availability to start next season in question.

While there are still several strong forwards and defensemen available, the same can’t be said for goalies.  Aside from the Ducks and Sharks adding a backup and some teams signing their restricted free agents, it’s shaping up to be a quiet few months in terms of news between the pipes.

Hurricanes Sign Tennyson To One-Year Contract

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Defenceman Matt Tennyson and the Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to one year, two-way contract worth $675K at the NHL level and $275K in the AHL. Tennyson put up 4 points in 29 games with San Jose last season.

Hurricanes GM Ron Francis said he believes Tennyson can play at the NHL level, and provides right-handed depth. Despite being an inexpensive depth option, the signing continues the trend of right-handed defensemen being valued additions to teams. At this point in his career, Tennyson figures to be a bottom-pairing or seventh defenceman at the NHL level but was signed early in free agency.

Tennyson was an un-drafted free agent signing by the Sharks in 2012, and has appeared in 60 NHL games over three seasons, totalling 14 points. He also scored 65 points in 169 AHL games with the Sharks’ AHL affiliates Worcester Sharks and then San Jose Barracuda.

Mikkel Boedker Signs With San Jose

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

According to ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun, the San Jose Sharks have signed free agent forward Mikkel Boedker to a four-year, $16MM deal. The 26-year old was one of the youngest free agents available this season, and represented a chance to sign a top-six player through his prime seasons.

Boedker has always been regarded as one of the fastest players in the league, and the Sharks realized they were lacking in that area when they were out-skated handily in the Stanley Cup finals by the team speed of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Now, with the addition of Boedker and the re-signing of Tomas Hertl, the Sharks have locked up two speedsters to play on the top two lines for the immediate future.

San Jose is looking ahead to 2017, when long-time superstars Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau are both set to hit free agency. Boedker’s age lines up well with captain Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture to keep the Sharks relevant through 2020. With a solid, deep defense corps – that added underrated David Schlemko earlier today – they’ll be able to continue their regular season dominance for at least another few seasons.

Sharks Sign David Schlemko

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman David Schlemko to a four-year deal worth $2.1MM per year, as first reported by Pierre LeBrun. It’s an affordable deal for a player coming off a breakout year in New Jersey.

Schlemko, 29, found himself almost out of the NHL in 2014-15 as he bounced through three teams. Last season he turned a $625K contract with the Devils into an excellent season, and has been rewarded with his $8.4MM deal today.

Schlemko put up 19 points while logging over 18 minutes a night on a bad Devils team, but will move to the Stanley Cup finalist Sharks and slot into the bottom pairing on a deep (but unheralded) defense corps.  His $2.1MM cap hit actually is the lowest of the group, coming in over a million less than Brenden Dillon’s $3.27MM.

 

Free Agent Profile: Loui Eriksson

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Once Steven Stamkos was crossed off several teams’ wishlist, a name that continues to rise to the top is Loui Eriksson. The one time Dallas Star and current Boston Bruin is a 30-year-old winger who could provide a scoring punch for any team that signs him.

Eriksson is coming off a season where he had 63 points (30-33), his best season statistically since 2011-12 when he was in Dallas. Fairly or unfairly, Eriksson was seen as the lesser of the two in the deal for Tyler Seguin and his first couple seasons in Boston didn’t entirely quiet that notion. Though he had 47 points in 2014-15 (22-25),  it was a far cry from the three 30+ goal seasons Seguin produced in Dallas. Regardless, Eriksson has been a 20+ goal scorer six out of his nine NHL seasons.

Potential Suitors

After Stamkos re-signed with Tampa Bay, Eriksson had a lot of teams–possibly up to eight–kicking the tires. Vancouver, Montreal, Nashville, and San Jose are thinking about a future with the 31-year-old forward. Boston should not be counted out from re-signing him, either. The Hockey News listed Eriksson as one of the better bets to pick up during the free agent period because of his size, skill, and scoring prowess. Teams looking for scoring, Detroit and Buffalo also come to mind, may be intrigued should the bidding not get completely out of hand.

Expected Contract

PHR listed Eriksson #10 out of the top 50 free agents and had him staying with the Bruins. The predicted contract was six years, $27.5MM. While the price tag might go up due to Eriksson being one of the better goal scorers available, expect a yearly deal somewhere between $4.5-$5.25MM.

San Jose Signs Tomas Hertl To Two-Year Deal

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the San Jose Sharks have come to terms with pending RFA Tomas Hertl.  He’ll receive a bridge deal worth $6MM total for the next two seasons. Pierre LeBrun, also of TSN, adds that Hertl will receive $2.8MM in 2016-17 and $3.2MM in 2017-18.  The Sharks have almost no long-term deals up front, and this will allow them to stay flexible in the future.

Hertl has been an excellent performer for the Sharks through his first three seasons, racking up 102 points in 200 games. Last season he set career highs in goals (21), assists (25), plus/minus(+16), blocked shots (60) and at least partially moved back to his natural center ice position.

Going forward the 22-year old will continue to build towards becoming a legitimate top-line player for San Jose, as they prepare for life after Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.  The two long-time Sharks (and potential Hall of Famers) are both headed into their final season under contract and are both 36 years old. Hertl represents the next wave of Shark and will try to seamlessly continue their regular season dominance, and perhaps change their (until recently) lackluster playoff performances.

Full List of Players Who Did Not Receive a Qualifying Offer

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The deadline to make a qualifying offer to a restrict free agent ended at 5pm today. Below is a list of players who did not receive an offer and sorted by team for easy reference. Any player that did not receive a qualifying offer is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1st.

(as of writing the Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team not to confirm which players received QOs)

Anaheim Ducks

F Matt Bailey, F Brandon Pirri, F Charles Sarault, D Kevin Gagne, and D Martin Gernat.

Arizona Coyotes

F Sergei Plotnikov, , D Philip Samuelsson, F Christian Thomas, D Kevin Connauton, D Jarred Tinordi, D Klas Dahlbeck, and G Niklas Treutle

Boston Bruins

F Landon Ferraro and F Brett Connolly.

Buffalo Sabres

F Alex Guptill, F Colin Jacobs, F Jack Nevins, and Nathan Lieuwen.

Calgary Flames

F Kenny Agostino, F Bill Arnold, F Joe Colborne, F Turner Elson, F Josh Jooris, F Drew Shore, F Bryce Van Brabant, G Joni Ortio, and Kevin Poulin.

Carolina Hurricanes

F Zach Boychuk, F Anthony Camara, F Dane Fox, F Carter Sandlak, F Justin Shugg, D Danny Biega, D Michal Jordan, D Rasmus Rissanen, and G Rasmus Tirronen.

Read more

Snapshots: Kane, Shattenkirk, Sharks

at CDT | by 2 Comments

In some startling news, WCVB news reports that Boston Bruins’ legendary defenceman Ray Bourque was arrested on Friday night on driving while intoxicated charges after a collision occurred in the Andover area. No one was seriously injured, and Bourque was released on bail.  Here are some more stories from around the league:

  • Another player no stranger to legal trouble, Evander Kane’s name was in the headlines again in Buffalo following an alleged incident involving the physical harassment of two women at a downtown bar.  The Associated Press was told that Kane “grabbed the woman by the arm or shoulder early Friday morning.” For Kane, this is the second incident this year involving the police, after a three-month investigation into an alleged sexual assault concluded in March without any charges been filed. The Buffalo News spoke to GM Tim Murray on Saturday about it and he seemed frustrated with the situation: “If it’s true, then we have to deal with it the way we have to deal with it. If it’s false again, then I guess we have to come up with a different plan of attack on how to make sure that these accusations that may not be true, how we stop them.”
  • In other news, St. Louis Blues’ defenceman Kevin Shattenkirk was shocked to leave Buffalo without having been traded. Craig Custance of ESPN spoke to Shattenkirk’s agent Jordan Neumann about the 27-year old’s future: “Based on the conversations we had leading into this weekend with St. Louis, we did expect Kevin to have been traded this weekend. We are a bit surprised to be leaving here without having a deal done.” The veteran blueliner has one year left on his deal at $4.25MM and is widely expected to be traded soon.

Sharks Acquire Letunov From Coyotes

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

1:35pm: General Fanager gives us this great little tidbit about the trade: Arizona can now fulfill a condition of the previous Sam Gagner–Nicklas Grossmann deal from 2015. Since they’ve acquired a 2016 fourth round pick, they can now choose to send Philadelphia that one instead of the original 2017 third rounder that was originally included.

1:25pm: Craig Morgan of AZ Sports gives us a quote from 27-year old Arizona GM John Chayka: “Signing an NCAA player with lots of development still left is always a concern. That becomes compounded when you have depth at center like we do with our prospects. It’s a good fit for San Jose.”

1:06pm: According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the San Jose Sharks have acquired Maxim Letunov from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for a 2016 fourth round pick (120th overall), and 2017 third rounder.  San Jose will also be sending back a sixth round pick in 2017.

Letunov, 20, was a former second-round pick of the St. Louis Blues back in 2014 and was dealt to the Coyotes in the Zbynek Michalek deal last year’s deadline.  He put up a huge season in 2015-16 for the University of Connecticut with 40 points in 36 games as a freshman. The 6’2″ winger possesses an outstanding shot can score from anywhere in the offensive zone.

With the deal, Arizona will replace the fourth round selection that they dealt with Keith Yandle to the New York Rangers this past season. They’ll now have eight selections this weekend.

For the Sharks, they’ve added another young forward prospect and dealt away draft currency. The team will now have only five selections at this weekend’s draft, including only one in the first three rounds (60th overall).

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The San Jose Sharks fell just a bit short of winning their first ever Stanley Cup title as they lost the championship series in six games to Pittsburgh.  It was still their most successful postseason in their 25 year franchise history as they made it to the final for the first time.

With less than three weeks until the beginning of free agency, GM Doug Wilson will have to put together his offseason plan in a hurry.  One area that won’t need to be looked at is the coaching staff as Wilson confirmed today that all coaches would return next season.  Here is a closer look at their free agent outlook.

Key Restricted Free Agent: W Tomas Hertl – Hertl had the best year of his NHL career in 2015-16, picking up 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 regular season games while adding six goals and five helpers in 20 postseason contests before missing most of the Stanley Cup Final with a right knee injury (that will not require surgery).  He is coming off his entry-level contract which saw him earn $925,000 per year plus another potential $425,000 per season in bonuses.  Wilson will have to decide whether or not to lock Hertl up long-term or to pursue a short-term bridge contract instead.

Other NHL RFA’s: D Dylan DeMelo, W Matt Nieto

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: The Sharks acquired D Roman Polak and G James Reimer in separate deals from Toronto in the days leading up to the trade deadline.  Polak played a regular role down the stretch and in the postseason, bringing some physicality and shot blocking to the table on the third pairing.  Reimer, meanwhile, provided more reliable insurance in goal behind starter Martin Jones and gave them someone capable of taking over should Jones get hurt or struggle.  San Jose has already added youngster Mantis Armalis this offseason but may still prefer a veteran behind the 26 year old Jones.

Other NHL UFA’s: C Nick Spaling, D Matt Tennyson, W Dainius Zubrus

Cap Space: Just over $10.5 million, according to Cap Friendly (estimates based on the 2015-16 salary cap).  San Jose must add at least three more forwards and one more goaltender to meet the NHL’s roster minimums.

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

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top