Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. 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 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of 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: $66,290,500 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Kevin Labanc (Two years remaining, $718K)
F Timo Meier (Two years remaining, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Labanc: $183K
Meier: $750K
Total: $933K
Labanc didn’t make San Jose’s roster out of training camp but after being recalled in November, he was pretty much a regular for the rest of the season aside from a brief game or two here and there at the AHL level. With the team not replacing Patrick Marleau in free agency, they will be looking at Labanc among others to pick up the slack. Meier didn’t see as much NHL action as Labanc did but the fact he was pretty much a regular in the playoffs bodes well for his short-term NHL future. If one of them can lock down a top-six role by the end of their contracts, they’ll be in line to at least double their current pay two years from now.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
G Aaron Dell ($625K, RFA)
D Dylan DeMelo ($650K, RFA)
F Jannik Hansen ($2MM*, UFA)
F Tomas Hertl ($3MM, RFA)
F Chris Tierney ($735K, RFA)
F Joe Thornton ($8MM, UFA)
F Joel Ward ($3.275MM, UFA)
* – Vancouver is retaining $500K on Hansen’s contract.
Thornton’s raise came as a surprise but that only happened once Marleau departed for Toronto. He has the reputation of being a premier playmaker but is coming off of his lowest points-per-game average since 1998-99 and he’ll likely only be on the second line. Value wise, this isn’t a good contract but they have more than enough space to deal with it. Trading the contract might be tough but Thornton isn’t likely to waive his no-move clause anyway. Hansen is on a bargain contract for someone who is expected to play in the top six. If he can stay healthy and put up around 35-40 points, he’ll be in line to beat the $3MM salary he’s earning this season on the open market. Ward is better off as a third line winger at this stage but has still been a productive player even as he approaches the age of 37. If he decides to keep playing, he’ll be heading for one-year contracts from here on out. Tierney took his qualifying offer but unless his output takes a big dive, he could stand to double his contract next summer.
Then there’s Hertl, whose case is quite the intriguing one. He signed a bridge deal last summer and the first year didn’t go exactly as either side planned. A knee injury cost him a big part of the season and he wound up with just 22 points in 49 games. The Sharks will be counting on him to take a big step forward this season and if he delivers, the long-term, big money contract should be there as he’ll have lots of leverage with arbitration rights. If he only gets back to around the 35-40 point mark though, the question of what his ceiling is will come up – is he a front liner in the near future or more of a middle-six forward? If that happens, another one-year contract might not be out of the question.
DeMelo was banged up last year and was scratched at times when he was healthy and will likely once again be a depth defender. He’ll be in line for a raise due to his qualifying offer ($735K) but unless he gets regular playing time, he probably won’t get much more. Dell had a fantastic rookie season as the backup goaltender and his cap hit (which falls below the league minimum) looks like a major bargain. He is positioning himself nicely to be one of the better backups to hit the open market next summer at a time where quality backups are starting to get bigger contracts.
Two Years Remaining
F Logan Couture ($6MM, UFA)
F Joonas Donskoi ($1.9MM, UFA)
D Tim Heed ($650K, UFA)
D Paul Martin ($4.85MM, UFA)
F Joe Pavelski ($6MM, UFA)
F Marcus Sorensen ($700K, RFA)
Couture and Pavelski are the cornerstones for San Jose up front and it’s interesting that both of their contracts expire at the same time. Pavelski has established himself as a legitimate number one center and those players are in high demand so he is looking at a fairly hefty increase on his next deal. Couture’s offensive numbers haven’t been quite as strong the last couple of seasons and if that continues, he’ll wind up with his next contract being somewhat similar to this one. If he can get back to the 65+ point form though, there will be a major deal waiting for him. Donskoi’s sophomore season wasn’t anywhere near as strong as his rookie campaign but with a cap hit below $2MM, he’s reasonably priced even in a bottom-six role. Like Meier, Sorenson didn’t see a lot of regular season action but was a regular in the playoffs. If he holds down a regular spot over the next couple of years, he’ll get a bit of a raise but they shouldn’t have to budget much more than that down the road.
Martin is coming off one of his best offensive seasons and has been a steady second pairing player. He’ll be 38 at the end of his contract though which will set him up for one-year deals when it expires. If he can hold down a second pairing spot for the next two years, he’ll be worth his deal (or close to it) but if Martin drops down to the third pairing, his contract may be a tough one to try and trade away.
Three Years Remaining
F Mikkel Boedker ($4MM, UFA)
D Justin Braun ($3.8MM, UFA)
D Brenden Dillon ($3.27MM, UFA)
F Melker Karlsson ($2MM, UFA)
Boedker’s first season in San Jose wasn’t a particularly strong one. His 26 points were his lowest since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign and he found himself on the third line (or lower) for good chunks of the season. History suggests he’s due to rebound somewhat but if he doesn’t, this will be a tough contract to try to move without taking a comparably bad deal in return. Karlsson has been an effective bottom six winger and should be able to hold down a third line role which will provide decent value on his contract.
With San Jose having a lot of money tied up in their back end, there was some speculation that a player like Braun could be moved for some help up front. While it appears they’ll give their prospects (and bounce back candidates) the first chance, this scenario could present itself once again during the season if they’re struggling to score. Dillon is no more than a third pairing player and with this much term and money left on his contract, he’ll be a tough one to trade if they ultimately decide that they would like to go cheaper at that spot.
Four Or More Years Remaining
D Brent Burns ($8MM through 2024-25)
G Martin Jones ($3MM in 2017-18, $5.75MM from 2018-19 through 2023-24)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($4.25MM in 2017-18, $7MM from 2018-19 through 2025-26)
Coming off of a career year, the Sharks didn’t waste much time getting Burns inked to an early extension and he rewarded them by doing even better last season while winning the Norris Trophy for the NHL’s best defenseman. However, he’s already 32 and it’s highly unlikely that he’ll be a top pairing All-Star by the end of his contract. San Jose should get good value out of this deal for a few years at least but this could be a problem by the time the last couple of years come around. Vlasic also wasted little time getting an extension done back in July and as long as he can maintain his spot on the first pairing, he’ll be worth the money. Once that changes though, this will likely also become a burdensome contract on the books.
Jones was yet another player to extend a year early. He has quickly emerged as one of the better starting goalies in the league and at $5.75MM, he’s signed at a lesser rate than a lot of the more prominent number ones. His shorter track record (he has only been in the league for four years and a starter for two) likely didn’t help his leverage in contract talks very much.
Buyouts
None
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Looking Ahead
This feels a bit like a transition year for San Jose with eyes on reshaping things next summer. They have plenty of cap space for this season with Thornton’s big contract coming off of the books as well so they should have plenty of flexibility if they choose to do that.
They will likely want to be a bit careful on the back end where they’re going to be spending over $25MM this year, a number that will likely approach upwards of $29MM-$30MM for 2018-19. If they opt to change things up, they probably won’t want to add much more to the defense.
The big thing to watch for is Pavelski and Couture’s deals two years from now. Currently, the Sharks don’t have many long-term contracts on the books (which is a nice spot to be in) but that will have to change if they want to get those two signed. Given their penchant for early extensions, it wouldn’t be surprising to see talks kick off pretty quickly come July.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.