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San Jose Sharks Hire Mike Grier

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After news broke yesterday that the San Jose Sharks would be hiring Mike Grier as their next general manager, the official news came today from the club. Grier himself announced the historic hire in a short video for fans:

Really excited to get to work and be back in the Bay area. I know there have been lots of ups and downs but I’m ready to work hard, get at it, and get this thing back on the tracks. We’re going to start winning some games in the Shark Tank and get it going again. See you soon.

Grier, who played three seasons for the Sharks during his long playing career, is the first Black general manager in NHL history. He isn’t the first Grier to hold a sports executive position like this though. His brother, Chris Grier, is currently the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, while his father Bobby Grier worked for years with the New England Patriots in various roles.

Over a career that spanned 1,060 regular season games, Grier registered 162 goals and 383 points, while receiving Selke Trophy votes on five different occasions. The two-way winger retired in 2011 and a few years later was working for the Chicago Blackhawks as a scout, while also coaching at the high school level. In 2018 he was named an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils, and last season he served as a hockey operations coordinator for the New York Rangers.

Though his front office resume isn’t that long, Grier’s name has been floated in searches for the last few years as his profile as a future general manager grew. Chris Drury, who brought Grier into the Rangers, gave a strong endorsement to Sharks’ president Jonathan Becher during the search, according to Corey Masisak of The Athletic. He’ll now take over a franchise that has had just one full-time GM in nearly two decades. Doug Wilson, who led the team for the past 19 seasons, stepped away to focus on his health, leaving Joe Will there on an interim basis.

Some would also say he’s coming into quite a mess, given the Sharks’ lack of recent success and huge, long-term contracts on the books. Five players carry at least a $7MM cap hit for the club and only one of them (the recently-extended Tomas Hertl) is under the age of 32. Timo Meier is heading into the final year of his current deal and will need a $10MM qualifying offer to be retained as an RFA next summer, and the team hasn’t made the playoffs since 2019.

There are other changes to the front office coming, according to Becher, and one would expect many to the roster and coaching staff as well. Just a few days ago the team fired head coach Bob Boughner, giving Grier “full autonomy” to make the staff. David Quinn, who has a connection to Grier through their shared alma mater of Boston University, has been floated in the early stages as a potential candidate.

The roster though will be more difficult to rearrange. Eight different players hold some sort of trade protection in their contracts, including basically all of the expensive ones. The organization is also dealing with the uncertainty surrounding Evander Kane’s grievance, which is still not scheduled for another hearing and could take quite a bit of time to resolve.

Grier will have his work cut out for him as he moves into this new position, starting with the team’s first-round pick later this week. The Sharks are scheduled to select 11th overall.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

San Jose Sharks Expected To Make GM Decision Tuesday

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When Doug Wilson stepped away from his post as GM of the San Jose Sharks nearly three months ago, many assumed the organization would take its time in finding a new GM, but may not have expected the process to take three months. One reason the team may be waiting would be to find a candidate similar to Wilson, one who the organization was able to rely on for nearly 20 years, icing a competitive team almost every season of his tenure. Another would be their trust in interim GM Joe Will, an experienced executive who could guide the front office as it prepares for the upcoming offseason.

But, the decision may not have to wait much longer, writes The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun. According to LeBrun, an announcement on the new GM is expected to come as soon as tomorrow, and the belief is that the Sharks will name Mike Grier as the club’s next General Manager, though LeBrun adds that this has not been confirmed by anyone in the Sharks organization. Grier was among the many people thought to be interviewing for the coveted position and like Wilson is also a former Sharks player. After hanging up his skates, Grier has been rising up the ranks behind the scenes, with a GM position seemingly a fit at some point.

Scott Mellanby Believed To No Longer Be In Consideration For GM Role

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  • ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that former Montreal assistant GM Scott Mellanby no longer appears to be in the running for the GM position with the Sharks. Interim GM Joe Will indicated on Friday that the plan is for the team to hold three to five in-person interviews with the hope of making their choice soon after.  Rangers’ Hockey Operations Coordinator Mike Grier and Ray Whitney (who currently works for the Department of Player Safety) are believed to still be in the mix for the position.

Buyout Candidate: Marc-Edouard Vlasic

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With free agency nearing, many teams are looking to sort out their salary cap situations before the free-agent market opens on July 13th. One way to free cap space is through buyouts, and with buyout season now upon us, we’re taking a look at players who could potentially see their contracts bought out within this year’s window. 

While the San Jose Sharks have been among the most successful franchises in the cap era, recent years have not been kind to them. The Sharks, who fired coach Bob Boughner yesterday, have not made the playoffs since their 2019 run to the Western Conference Final, and this current streak of three consecutive finishes outside of the playoffs is the longest in franchise history.

So, while some have concluded that a rebuild is the right course of action for the Sharks, that doesn’t seem to be the route the team will go on. The Sharks are currently still searching for the franchise’s next general manager, and once their new leader is in place the organization is widely expected to have a mandate from ownership to return the team to the playoffs as quickly as possible.

The Sharks are an older team with many core veteran players on expensive, long-term deals. Erik Karlsson, Logan Couture, Brent Burns, and Tomas Hertl all are under contract for the next two seasons at least at cap hits north of $8MM. The result of the Sharks’ superstar-hunting, big-spending ways under GM Doug Wilson (who was successful by every metric outside of winning a Stanley Cup) is that the team lacks the cap space to make the improvements needed to make a swift return to playoff contention.

Per CapFriendly, the Sharks have just under $6MM in projected cap room for this offseason, and with extensions for Mario Ferraro and Kaapo Kahkonen to consider, as well as an upcoming Timo Meier deal next summer, the Sharks’ new GM won’t be inheriting a rosy cap picture.

One of the possible ways for the Sharks to create more cap space to secure better players is through buyouts. The Sharks are no stranger to buyouts, having just last year bought out goaltender Martin Jones, and could pursue this route of creating cap space once again.

The one player whose name has frequently been mentioned as a buyout candidate this year is defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Once a premier shutdown defenseman, Vlasic’s skills have eroded as he’s aged, and the decline of his on-ice value has mirrored the decline in his on-ice role. Vlasic himself has seemingly not been thrilled about his declining usage under Boughner and spoke on it in his end-of-season press conference. After noting that he finished third among defensemen in points and was “more physical” than the year before, Vlasic asked the assembled media to “imagine if [he] played more,” a clear indication that he believes his play is worthy of a greater role than he received in 2021-22.

On one hand, Vlasic is correct to note that his role has declined in recent years. Vlasic used to regularly play 22-23 minutes per game, anchoring the Sharks’ defense and being routinely relied upon in the most high-leverage defensive situations. This year, Vlasic averaged a career-low 15:13 time-on-ice per game, ranking seventh on the team among defensemen with at least 40 games played. Vlasic is also correct that he did rank third on the team in points by a defenseman, although his 14 points in 75 games is certainly not an offensive breakout and still a steep decline from the offensive form he showed earlier in his career when he played in a Pete DeBoer-coached system that prioritized generating offense from the point.

On the other hand, Vlasic is clearly not worth the $7MM cap hit he earns. The work by The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn and Shayna Goldman assigns Vlasic a market value of just $600k, noting a clear negative impact on his team’s offensive play. (subscription link)

Perhaps most damningly, Vlasic is no longer a factor on the Sharks’ penalty kill. Vlasic averaged only 49 seconds of shorthanded ice time per game, which ranked seventh among Sharks defensemen. Vlasic is an extremely accomplished player who means a lot to the Sharks franchise. That much is not arguable. But if he’s a defense-first blueliner who has become a non-factor on the penalty kill and has little to no offensive value, can the Sharks afford to keep him on their books at a $7MM cap hit and realistically be able to return to playoff contention?

That’s the question the Sharks’ next general manager will need to grapple with. For what it’s worth, Vlasic seemed completely unconcerned by the possibility of a buyout, answering with a simple “no” when asked if he was concerned about being bought out this summer. But even if Vlasic does not believe the possibility is likely, the cap benefits would definitely look appealing to any GM planning on making immediate moves in free agency.

Under a Vlasic buyout, the Sharks would save $3.3MM against the cap in 2022-23, $5.5MM in 2023-24, $2.8MM in 2024-25, and $1.8MM in 2025-26, at the cost of a $1.68MM dead cap charge from 2026-27 to 2029-30. If the Sharks are certain that they want to return to the playoffs as early as next season, saving nearly $9MM over the next two seasons could be huge in helping the team secure the necessary upgrades to their roster in order to do so.

If the Sharks’ next coach is intent on utilizing Vlasic in a similar fashion to how Boughner deployed him in 2021-22, then a Vlasic buyout wouldn’t be too disruptive to the Sharks’ ability to construct a defense. So, with the potential to save several million dollars against the cap in the next two years, with moderate savings in the two years after that, the possibility of a Vlasic buyout cannot be ruled out for a Sharks organization desperate to return to the playoffs.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Gaudreau, Sharks, Russia

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With just under two weeks now to go until the start of free agency, extensions are beginning to come in left and right as teams try to lock down players and get a better idea of their salary cap situation. One of the most highly-touted forwards on the market, if not the most highly-touted, is still without a contract, though: Calgary Flames left wing, Johnny Gaudreau. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that the Flames have offered him an eight-year extension worth a total of $76MM, or $9.5MM per season, and it’s still on the table.

If Gaudreau accepts the offer, it would certainly be a “win-now” discount as the Flames enter a tricky cap situation. After a 115-point season, the 28-year-old winger is in prime earning territory and could likely fetch eight figures on the open market with that kind of production. It seems unlikely he’d accept the offer, but only time will tell.

  • San Jose Sharks interim general manager Joe Will confirmed today that forward prospects William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau have permission from the team to head to the 2022 World Junior Championship in August. Eklund is very likely the best player Sweden has to offer at the tournament, and he finished the abbreviated tournament in January with three assists in two games. Bordeleau will also join Team USA in all likelihood for his first WJC under an NHL contract.
  • Michael Russo and Dan Robson of The Athletic highlight the challenges that Russian NHLers may face returning to North America this offseason. The piece comes as Philadelphia Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov was detained earlier today when trying to leave the country. With the potential of visa laws and exceptions on the United States’ side changing prior to the season, it could pose additional complications for Russian players to enter and play inside the United States, adding to league general managers’ growing concern that Russian players might not be available for next season. While Russo and Robson note that it’s still an extremely unlikely scenario, it’s one worth keeping an eye on as the offseason chugs along.

Sharks Fire Bob Boughner

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There is a late entrant to the coaching shuffle around the NHL as the Sharks have announced that head coach Bob Boughner along with assistant coaches John Madden and John MacLean plus video coach Dan Darrow have all been relieved of their duties.  Interim GM Joe Will released the following statement:

As we progress through our search for the next general manager of the Sharks following 19 seasons under Doug Wilson’s leadership, it has become apparent that the organization is in the process of an evolution. The bottom line is we have missed the playoffs for the past three seasons, which isn’t acceptable to our owner, our organization, or to our fans. As part of this evolution and evaluation, we felt it was in the best interest of the club to allow the next Sharks general manager to have full autonomy related to the make-up of the on-ice coaching staff moving ahead.

Boughner took over as San Jose’s head coach back in December of 2019 on an interim basis when he took over for Peter DeBoer with the team removing the interim tag at the end of the season, handing him a three-year deal in the process.  That contract, worth $1.5MM per season, had one year remaining, and with so few head coaching openings out there, it’s unlikely he’ll be running an NHL bench when training camp comes around.

As Will noted in his statement, the Sharks missed the playoffs in each of the three seasons that Boughner was behind the bench with the team ultimately compiling a 67-85-23 record during his tenure.  Their points percentage improved in each of the last two seasons but San Jose finished sixth in the Pacific Division this past season with a points percentage of just .470.  For his head coaching career which included a two-year stint in Florida, Boughner’s record is 147-147-35.

What’s particularly noteworthy here is that the Sharks haven’t completed their search for a new general manager yet, at least officially.  Will is the one that wound up making the change but there is an expectation that a new GM will be in place soon.  TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that former Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby is a name that has surfaced this week as one to watch on that front while ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski suggests Mike Grier and Ray Whitney are in the mix as well.  With the draft now less than a week away and free agency beginning less than a week later, their new GM was already going to have plenty on his plate in terms of roster building to try to get this team back into the postseason and draft planning.  Now, there will be a coaching search to complete as well.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Boughner had been let go.  Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic was the first to add that Madden, MacLean, and Darrow were also out.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

USA Hockey Names National Junior Evaluation Camp Roster

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With the significantly delayed 2022 World Junior Championship just around the corner, national organizations are beginning to announce their preparatory rosters for the tournament. Sweden did so earlier today, and now it’s the United States’ turn.

The eligibility rules for this postponed event are the same, but with the tournament taking place during the offseason, expect a higher-than-normal level of talent released to national teams for the occasion. The full U.S. roster (link here) will have that same luxury.

Highlighting the team’s forward core are San Jose Sharks prospect Thomas Bordeleau, Calgary Flames prospect Matt Coronato, and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matt Knies. Knies had the luxury of going to the 2022 Winter Olympics, playing at the most prestigious level of international hockey for the United States. On defense, New Jersey Devils prospect Luke Hughes and Los Angeles Kings prospect Brock Faber will take hold.

The most noteworthy part, though, like Sweden’s, is the amount of 2022-eligible choices who will now be under consideration for the final roster. There’s a strong group of forwards in that regard in addition to Logan Cooley, who made the team the first time around. Also under consideration are forwards Cutter Gauthier, Isaac Howard, Jack Hughes, Cam Lund, Rutger McGroarty, Frank Nazar III, and Jimmy Snuggerud. On defense, there’s Seamus Casey, Ryan Chesley, and Lane Hutson headlining the potential 2022 class.

There’s a very solid mix of youth, high-end skill, and veteran leadership on this United States team, who remain one of the favorites to capture a medal.

Evander Kane's Grievance Arbitration With San Jose Sharks Could Extend Into NHL Free Agency Period

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  • Earlier this evening, when NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly conducted their media availability ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals, they touched on a range of NHL news and important topics, including the status of Evander Kane’s contract dispute with the San Jose Sharks. Today’s update was, in essence, not to expect an update all too soon, as Daly disclosed that it is likely Kane’s arbitration will not be decided until after the NHL’s free agency opens on July 13th (link). The reason, Daly added, is that the arbitrator in the matter is not available to conduct the next hearing until next month. Still, as TSN’s Chris Johnston’s notes, this isn’t expected to inhibit his ability to sign a contract for the 2022-23 season, or beyond.

Carter Hutton Retires From NHL

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A journeyman netminder has hung up his skates today. Veteran Carter Hutton announced his retirement from the NHL today, talking with Tom Annelin of the Chronicle Journal.

Speaking with Annelin today, Hutton had the following to say on his decision:

Honestly, I’ve been preparing myself for hockey to be over in some aspect for a while… The NHL has evolved into a young man’s league. The average age is now in the early 20s, so I know that this job wouldn’t be a lifelong one for me. Ultimately, I suffered an ankle injury in early 2021, which made the decision a lot easier for me. It restricted a lot of the mobility I needed to be as effective as I once was. This, compiled with a few other things helped me decide on retirement.

The news isn’t surprising in any aspect. Hutton appeared in just three games at the beginning of the season with the Arizona Coyotes, earning a 0-2-0 record and .741 save percentage. He spent the majority of the rest of the season injured before he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of the trade deadline for injury insurance there, but the team loaned him back to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He did spend a few days at Leafs practice, however.

An undrafted free agent, Hutton had a long and arduous path to NHL success. Hutton spent four years developing at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before signing an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks for 2010-11. Hutton was the backup for the AHL affiliate in Worcester that season, posting a .902 save percentage. A restricted free agent, he was left unqualified and settled for an AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs in 2011-12.

Strong play there got him an NHL contract later in the season and again with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13, when he made his NHL debut at age 27. As an unrestricted free agent in 2013, the Nashville Predators snapped up Hutton in free agency, where he broke into the NHL and never looked back. After stops with the Predators, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and Coyotes, Hutton retires with a career 94-90-27 record in 235 games played (207 starts), .908 save percentage, and 2.76 goals-against average, and 13 shutouts. For an undrafted free agent who wasn’t a full-time NHLer until 28, it’s an improbable and impressive resumé.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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Free agency is now less than six weeks away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Next up is a look at the Sharks.

Key Restricted Free Agents

  • G Kaapo Kahkonen – Kahkonen was acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline as part of the Jacob Middleton trade, and Kahkonen performed reasonably well as he began to take on a more prominent role late in the Sharks’ season. Kahkonen finished with ten starts in San Jose and posted a .916 save percentage. When combined with his 23 starts as a member of the Minnesota Wild, Kahkonen’s overall 2021-22 save percentage is .912, an encouraging mark for a goalie not set to turn 26 until the middle of August. The Sharks will have to make a decision this offseason, as once Kahkonen is re-signed they will have three NHL-caliber goalies under contract (Kahkonen, Adin Hill, and James Reimer), and are unlikely to spend a full season with a three-goalie group.
    As for Kahkonen’s next contract, he does have arbitration rights as an RFA meaning he has at least some negotiation power in deciding his future. A bridge deal at around $2MM-3MM could make sense, although there is an interesting contract comparable that could prove troublesome if the Sharks want to retain Kahkonen on the cheap. Los Angeles Kings goalie Calvin Petersen, in a similar RFA situation to Kahkonen, at a similar age, inked a three-year deal with the Kings at a $5MM AAV. Petersen’s numbers compared to Kahkonen’s are similar: when he signed his contract, Petersen was coming off of a season where he had a .911 save percentage and 2.89 goals-against average in 32 starts, while Kahkonen enters his time as an RFA with a .912/2.87 in 33 starts. They’re basically identical numbers, the only major difference being that Petersen started 32 games in the shortened 2020-21 season, so his marks represented a larger share of the available games for a goalie to play. Given the similarity in his numbers, Kahkonen could reasonably demand a similar contract to Petersen and therefore likely make negotiations more difficult for the Sharks.
  • F Noah Gregor – Gregor has been a solid find for the Sharks as a 2016 fourth-round pick, developing from his time as a star in the WHL into the reliable two-way forward he was this past season. Gregor played sound two-way hockey and became a more and more trusted weapon of coach Bob Boughner, finishing the season with just under 15 minutes of average time on ice. Gregor didn’t overwhelm with his production, but his eight goals and 23 points in 63 games is decent enough, and his strong scoring at the AHL level indicates he may have some more offense to come as he gets more comfortable against NHL competition. While long-term deals for players with limited NHL experience are becoming more commonplace (Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud, as an example, got a long-term $2.75MM AAV deal and had less than a full season of NHL experience) a short-term bridge deal is the likeliest outcome for Gregor. Gregor worked on a $750k cap hit this year, so expect a raise but nothing major as Gregor doesn’t yet have arbitration rights, and the Sharks will be hard-pressed for cap space.
  • D Mario Ferraro – Ferraro has become an increasingly important defenseman in San Jose and just finished a season where he averaged 23 minutes of time on ice per game. His offense isn’t anything to write home about – just 14 points in 63 games – but it’s his leadership, physicality, and overall defensive game that makes him such a valued part of the Sharks lineup. There is some debate over Ferraro’s true overall skill level, and if his time-on-ice is truly reflective of his value, but it’s clear the Sharks rate him highly and that’s ultimately all that matters in contract negotiations. The Sharks could opt for a long-term deal with Ferraro, but since they figure to have some cap troubles and are intent on competing in the near future, a bridge deal seems more likely.

Other RFA’s: Jonathan Dahlen, Alexander Chmelevski, Jonah Gadjovich, John Leonard, Nicolas Meloche, Joachim Blichfeld, Zachary Gallant, Jacob McGrew, Antoine Morand, Brinson Pasichnuk, Zach Sawchenko

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

The Sharks’ only unrestricted free agents of any consequence are Anthony Bitetto, Ryan Dzingel, and Alex Stalock, three players who combined to play seven total games for the Sharks this past season. While Bitetto, Dzingel, and Stalock are all NHL veterans, they do not figure to play a major role in San Jose moving forward even if re-signed.

Projected Cap Space

This is where things get dicey for San Jose. The Sharks are currently projected to have just $5.67MM in cap room to start this offseason, and since they have NHL-caliber RFA’s to re-sign in Ferraro, Dahlen, Kahkonen, and Gregor, as well as an intention of improving their roster significantly, that’s just not enough space to make the moves their next GM will likely want to make. Big contracts for players such as Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Logan Couture, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic mean that finding the necessary wiggle room will take immense creativity, and their precarious cap position is further complicated by the uncertainty of the Evander Kane situation, as the deliberations over the grievance he filed have not yet been concluded. A buyout for Vlasic, a trade of one of the highly-paid players, or even dealing one of the players on a moderate deal such as Reimer would go a long way to creating room for San Jose to operate. Whatever path they choose, it’s clear they will have to do something in order to create the necessary breathing room under the salary cap they need to return to contention.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

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