The San Jose Sharks inked one of their big unrestricted free agents when they signed Erik Karlsson to a massive contract extension, but may not be able to bring everyone else back. Joonas Donskoi is going to talk to other teams during the UFA interview period next week according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, though the forward is expected to keep San Jose in the mix.
The 27-year old Donskoi is coming off a fine season with the Sharks, recording 37 points almost entirely at even-strength. He did that while averaging just 13:25 per game, but still ended up in the press box as a healthy scratch at the end of the season and in the playoffs. That was partly because of a lengthy goal drought—Donskoi failed to score in his last 34 games in the regular season—but also because of a lack of what head coach Peter DeBoer termed confidence to Paul Gackle of the Mercury News. That may be what LeBrun is referring to when he suggests that Donskoi might need a fresh start, one he could find through free agency.
Even if the Sharks wanted him back, they might simply not have enough cap space to do it. While the team currently projects to be about $15MM under the ceiling, they still need new contracts for restricted free agents Timo Meier, Kevin Labanc and Joakim Ryan. Any money left over from those negotiations is likely ticketed for Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, while not forgetting that the team could also re-sign Gustav Nyquist as well. Donskoi, despite his solid contributions, may be on the outside looking in.
In free agency however, there should be plenty of teams interested in the Finnish forward. Now with 122 points in 283 games, the right winger should find a fit on the third line somewhere and be able to contribute in several situations. His possession statistics have been excellent—though that was the case with basically every Sharks player this season—and he has shown an ability to contribute on the powerplay in the past.