While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the San Jose Sharks.
After making the Stanley Cup Final the previous season, the Sharks took a step back this year as they were ousted by the Oilers in the first round. Now, the team finds themselves with a bit of cap space to work with this offseason, giving GM Doug Wilson the opportunity to potentially reshape his team. Here are some keys to San Jose’s summer.
Decisions On Long-Term Veterans
The Sharks have a pair of high priced veterans that they need to decide whether to retain or to let go in Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Both have been there long-term (Thornton 12 years and Marleau for 19) and reportedly would like to return but both will also be 38 next season and are on the downswing of their careers.
However, both players are still top six forwards in a free agent marketplace that isn’t brimming with a lot of high end options. If Wilson decides to go in another direction with both of them, each player should garner plenty of interest on the open market. However, both will almost assuredly come in well below their contracts from this past year (Thornton at $6.75MM and Marleau at $6.67MM).
That expected interest level makes their contract situations intriguing. Most players at the age of 38 go year-to-year to avoid any risk of the 35+ penalty. However, with the duo being among the better free agents available, they shouldn’t have much difficulty garnering a multi-year contract if that’s what they decide to chase down. It would be surprising if both were to walk but at the same time, it would also be surprising if both were to return as well as that would limit how much money they have to spend elsewhere.
Extension Talks
San Jose has a pair of key players that will hit one year before unrestricted free agency on July 1st. Goaltender Martin Jones has outperformed his contract ($3MM per season) since joining the team in the 2015 offseason and has emerged as a legitimate starting goaltender. Accordingly, he’s going to be looking to be paid like a number one starter and as a result, he could stand to double his contract starting in 2018-19.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic is one of the quieter top pairing blueliners in the league as Brent Burns garners most of the attention. However, the 30 year old has been a significant part of their back end for a long time now and has been a big bargain on their back end for a while now. He won’t be poised to take as big of a jump as Jones will but he’ll still be due a nice bump from his current $4.75MM cap charge.
Both players will garner long-term extensions and finding ways to get deals done quickly would not only lock up two key parts of their core but would go a long way towards determining whether they will need to pursue long or short-term deals with some of their offseason targets. Early indications are that progress is being made on new contracts with both players with the hopes of announcing them early in July.
Add Offensive Help
It sounds strange for a team that has the firepower on paper that San Jose did that they would need some help offensively but goal production was a concern at times this past season. They were in the bottom half league-wide in goals scored while they were well below the league average with the man advantage. Mikkel Boedker was added last offseason to help their attack but he struggled to make much of an impact. Youngsters like Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc showed signs of upside during stints with the big club but probably aren’t ready to step into a full-time top six role.
This is where it will get particularly tricky with their two veteran free agents. Both are still capable of contributing but are on the downside of their careers; it’s hard to expect Thornton and Marleau to significantly outperform their recent numbers which suggests if this core remains intact for next year, the offense may continue to have some difficulties.
As things stand, Wilson has $58.7MM committed for next season to 17 players per CapFriendly which gives them the flexibility to look towards making a bigger move if he sees fit. They’ll have the money to go after the top names in free agency or make a big splash via the trade market which should help get that offensive lift. It also makes them a team to keep a close eye on over the course of the offseason if Wilson decides to shake things up.
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