- Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News wonders if a reunion between the Sharks and Martin Jones could make sense. GM Mike Grier acknowledged earlier this month that he still wants to add a third-string netminder, presumably one that has some NHL experience. Jones had that role in Toronto last season where he started in the minors but wound up getting into 22 games with the big club, posting a 2.87 GAA with a .902 SV%. While San Jose is still paying Jones for three more years from a 2021 buyout, that won’t preclude them from signing him if they want to.
Sharks Rumors
Sharks And Joe Pavelski Talked About A Potential Reunion
The Utica Comets have signed defenseman Will MacKinnon and goaltender Jeremy Brodeur to one-year, one-way AHL contracts. MacKinnon has spent the bulk of his three professional seasons in the ECHL but dressed in 40 AHL games last season with the Comets, posting three goals, three assists, and a +7 rating. The 24-year-old is the son of Comets general manager Dan MacKinnon, who is also the assistant general manager of the New Jersey Devils.
Brodeur has dressed in just five AHL games across his seven-year professional career and played in one AHL game last season. He has never won an AHL game, but the 27-year-old did have a career year last year in the ECHL going 18-9-3 with a .918 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average. The son of NHL Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur might not see a lot of AHL time as the Comets have goaltenders Isaac Poulter and Nico Daws ahead of him on the depth chart.
In other evening notes:
- Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets and forward Kirill Marchenko will go to arbitration on July 31st. It was reported earlier this week that the Jackets and the 23-year-old had discussed both a short-term and long-term contract, but at this point, it appears likely that Marchenko’s next deal could be decided by an intermediary. The 2018 second-round pick has 44 goals and 23 assists in 137 NHL games over two seasons and was reportedly looking for a long-term deal this summer.
- Max Miller of The Hockey News is reporting that recently retired Joe Pavelski spoke with the San Jose Sharks about a potential return to the organization where he spent the first 13 years of his NHL career. The 40-year-old played 963 games for the Sharks before departing in free agency to join the Dallas Stars in July 2019. Pavelski played five seasons in Dallas and ultimately never won a Stanley Cup during his playing career, although he was a big-time playoff performer during runs to the Stanley Cup Final with San Jose and Dallas.
Joe Pavelski Confirms Retirement
Forward Joe Pavelski will indeed be retiring, he told Sirius XM’s Scott Laughlin today. He told reporters after the Stars were eliminated from the playoffs in early June that he expected 2023-24 to be his final season. The league has confirmed Pavelski’s retirement.
Pavelski, who turned 40 last week, has spent nearly a decade as one of the league’s most consistent two-way forwards and best net-front tippers while producing well above expected in his later years. After departing his longtime home with the Sharks for the Stars in free agency in 2019, many expected him to enter a decline, but he instead played a top-line role on a club that’s reached three Western Conference Finals in the last five years.
He finally showed signs of slowing down last year, though. His 67 points in 82 games, while still top-six-caliber, was his worst per-game production since his first season in Dallas. By the time the playoffs rolled around, he’d been bumped down to second-line duties alongside Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment, and the normally clutch postseason performer struggled to produce with only a goal and three assists in 19 games. Still, he ended his career on a rather high note, checking in as one of the better UFAs available on this summer’s market. Instead, he’s hanging up his skates.
Pavelski’s rise to stardom was quite unexpected after waiting until the seventh round to hear his name called by San Jose in the now-fabled 2003 draft. After a two-year run at the University of Wisconsin that resulted in him producing well over a point per game and winning a national championship, Pavelski signed his entry-level contract and turned pro during the 2006 offseason.
He started the season in the minors, but after racking up 26 points in 16 games with AHL Worcester, he was off to the big leagues without ever looking back. He hit the ground running with 14 goals and 28 points in 46 games with the Sharks to close the campaign, and he soon was firmly entrenched in a middle-six role on one of the best forward groups of the time. He was a crucial secondary scoring presence through most of his 20s, racking up 150 goals and 336 points in 479 games over his first seven campaigns while receiving outside Selke Trophy consideration annually.
Entering the final season of his contract, the Sharks inked him to a five-year, $30MM extension to keep him from reaching UFA status the following summer. He responded with a career-high 41 goals, totaling 79 points and placing top 10 in both Hart and Selke Trophy voting. Hockey Reference attributed 11.5 standings points to Pavelski’s play that season, finishing fourth among skaters behind Sidney Crosby and future teammates Corey Perry and Tyler Seguin.
Pavelski produced similarly the following two seasons, putting together a multi-year iron-man streak while routinely tossing up over 70 points. His 11 game-winning goals in 2015-16 led the league before embarking on a spectacular playoff run, posting a league-leading 14 goals in 24 playoff games – four of which were GWGs – as San Jose advanced to its first Stanley Cup Final in franchise history. Pavelski and the Sharks were usurped by the Penguins in six games, however, the closest he would come to winning it all.
That was also his first season as Sharks captain, a title he’d hold until departing for Texas. He remained an effective top-six presence in his final years in the Bay, although not quite as dominant as his early-2010s play. He gave the Sharks 89 goals, 109 assists and 198 points in 238 games over his final three seasons before a cap crunch helped usher him out the door in the summer of 2019 when his extension expired, inking a three-year, $21MM deal with Dallas.
In his first season with the Stars, it looked like an ill-advised deal. He looked like he’d lost a step, averaging around two minutes per game fewer than his last year in San Jose, and his 31 points in 67 games was the worst production of his career on a per-game basis. But after the COVID-19 pandemic ended the season early, Pavelski returned with a vengeance in the bubble playoffs, rediscovering his form with 13 goals (a league-leading 10 at even strength) in 27 contests as the Stars upset their way to the Stanley Cup Final. Just like he had with San Jose in 2016, though, Dallas fell to the Lightning in a six-game Final.
It was a precursor of things to come for Pavelski in Dallas. Upgraded to a new-look first line with rookie Jason Robertson and third-year center Roope Hintz for the 2020-21 season, he racked up 25 goals and 51 points in the shortened 56-game campaign. The Stars missed the playoffs, but they’d be back the following year on the heels of a career-best 81 points (27 goals, 54 assists) from “Captain America” as he continued to gel seamlessly with Hintz and Robertson, playing a pivotal role in their development. He continued to hover north of 0.8 points per game, tossing up 77 and 67 points in his final two campaigns as he helped pass the torch to Dallas’ young talent, losing to the Golden Knights and Oilers in back-to-back Conference Finals.
He now retires having played 1,332 regular-season and another 201 playoff games over 18 seasons. Playing on some of the best two-way lines in the league throughout his career, he logged a career +201 rating that’s tied for 42nd all-time among forwards. He tallied 1,068 points (476 goals, 592 assists) while compiling 458 PIMs, 75 game-winning goals, and a remarkable 54.5 CF% while averaging 18:34 per game. His estimated career earnings neared $81MM, per PuckPedia. All of us at PHR salute Pavelski for an exceptional career that’s sure to earn him Hall of Fame consideration.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Sharks Re-Sign Brandon Coe To Two-Way Deal
The Sharks have re-signed right winger Brandon Coe to a one-year, two-way deal, according to a team release. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
Coe, 22, was a fourth-round pick of San Jose in 2020 and was an RFA after completing his entry-level contract. He’s yet to make his NHL debut.
The 6’4″ winger had a quite unusual development path. Selected out of the OHL’s North Bay Battalion, he didn’t have a place to play in his post-draft season after the league paused operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That led to Coe making his professional debut ahead of schedule, recording five points in 17 games for AHL San Jose on a tryout as a teenager in the 2020-21 campaign.
Coe returned to North Bay for his final season of junior hockey the following year, exploding for 101 points in 62 games and earning a spot on the OHL’s First All-Star Team. He’s since served in a depth role for AHL San Jose since returning to the professional ranks in 2022, now totaling 18 goals and 38 points in 130 career games for the Baby Sharks. He set career highs with 12 goals and 17 points in 57 contests last season.
He isn’t close to seeing NHL ice, but he has shown slow yet steady development. It’s worth noting Coe hasn’t had a ton of help – San Jose’s farm team has finished at or below .500 in all three seasons he’s been there. He’ll look to take a step forward next year and ideally put himself in contention for a late-season call-up before becoming an RFA again next summer.
Evening Notes: Ceci, Hrkac, Kovalenko
The Edmonton Oilers will have a market of teams interested in defenseman Cody Ceci, should they want to trade him away, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff on Bob Stauffer’s Oilers Now podcast. Seravalli added, “Right (shot) defensemen in that pay range are always in demand. Just go look at the pay range this summer and look at some of the money thrown around. Cody Ceci at that number is probably quite palatable.”
Ceci carries a $3.25MM cap hit through next season, before entering unrestricted free agency next summer, making him a manageable rental on a new team. But it’s hard to imagine Edmonton, who still carries $6.2MM in cap space, will be quick to move Ceci unless they need urgent relief. The 30-year-old defender held firm to his quant role in the middle of Edmonton’s lineup this year, posting five goals and 25 points through 79 regular season games. It was the second-most he’s scored int he last five seasons, though three points shy of his career-high. Nonetheless, Ceci provided the hard, two-line passing and general defensive stoutness to properly back Edmonton’s top lines, even if his performances with the Oilers have been far from exciting. On the open market, Ceci offers the presence of an 11-year vet with 88 career playoff games – just enough to warrant a cheap return.
Other notes from around the league:
- The Anaheim Ducks have hired former NHL forward Tony Hrkac as their Director of Professional Scouting, shares Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Hrkac has served as a pro scout with the Tampa Bay Lightning since the 2015-16 season, after serving in a variety of coaching roles in Wisconsin. He’ll now take the next step in his managerial career at an apt time, joining the team amid a Mighty Ducks rebrand having played in 140 games as a Mighty Duck during his own career.
- Dynamic Colorado Avalanche prospect Nikolai Kovalenko has returned to the United States for training after a brief vacation, shares Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. That news should set Kovalenko up for a full run at the NHL lineup next season, after scoring three points in four AHL games and appearing in two Stanley Cup Playoff games at the end of the season. The 24-year-old became a highly acclaimed prospect with 54 points in 56 games during the 2022-23 KHL season – a performance he followed with 35 points in 42 games. He’ll now look to bring his dynamic scoring ability to the NHL, where fans should get a much clearer picture of his long-term upside.
Ty Emberson Will Be Ready For Season After Surgery
- Defenseman Ty Emberson of the San Jose Sharks will be ready to go for training camp after needing surgery to repair a laceration suffered last season according to Max Miller of The Hockey News. Emberson recently avoided arbitration with the Sharks organization by signing a one-year, $950K deal for the 2024-25 NHL season. Emberson has quickly become one of the better defensive defensemen on San Jose’s roster and should compete for a consistent top-four spot next year.
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Snapshots: Johnson, Clowe, Jiricek, Karpovich
Veteran NHL defenseman Erik Johnson is gearing up for his 18th season in the NHL, continuing his streak of playing in every season since his first-overall selection in 2007. And despite a career accoladed by a Stanley Cup win and medals at both the Olympic Games and World Championship, the 36-year-old Johnson told Jonathan Bailey of Philly Hockey Now that he hasn’t considered retirement. Johnson emphasized that he’s ready to fill any role that’d benefit the Philadelphia Flyers, even if it means limited appearances in the lineup. He said, “I’m here to help these guys on and off the ice, whether it’s 20, 30, 40, 50 games, or whatever it is. My days of 25, 26 minutes a night are behind me, and I know that, and I’m comfortable with it.”
Johnson will continue on with the Flyers, after joining the team at the 2023 Trade Deadline and re-signing to a one-year, $1MM contract this summer. He managed three points in 16 appearances with Philadelphia after the move, bringing his season totals to six points in 67 games. Those measly totals might have pushed Johnson out of a routine lineup spot, but his veteran leadership is keeping him around the league. He’ll enter next season competing with fellow vets Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen for ice time, and mentoring top young defenders Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York.
Other quick notes from around the hockey world:
- Former NHL forward Ryane Clowe made a big step in his managerial career this summer, stepping into the San Jose Sharks’ assistant general manager role and moving up from a special advisory role with the New York Rangers. Clowe detailed the move to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, sharing that he wasn’t eager to leave New York but was allured by the daily role San Jose promised. Clowe will now return to the club he spent eight years of his decade-long playing career with – serving as the gritty, high-event punch behind legendary Sharks like Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton – who now both support San Jose’s front office as advisors.
- Top St. Louis Blues prospect Adam Jiricek is expected to move to the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs next season, per Andy Strickland of Bally Sports Midwest. It will be a make-or-break year for Jiricek, who missed the majority of the 2023-24 season with a lower-body injury suffered in December. He was among the most acclaimed defenders in the 2024 class during his age-17 season – a value vindicated by his 17th-overall selection in this year’s draft. His long-term outlook should become clearer as he looks to adjust to both a return from injury and North American hockey next season.
- New Jersey Devils defense prospect Daniil Karpovich has signed a one-year contract with Avtomobilist of the KHL, shares James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now. Nichols adds that Karpovich will report to the VHL, Russia’s second-tier league. This news returns Karpovich to Russia, after spending last season in his home country of Belarus. Karpovich spent one year of juniors hockey in Russia, recording 35 points in 47 MHL games with Avto during the 2022-23 season. That scoring dipped to just 11 points in 49 games in Belarus’ top league last season – a trend he’ll look to buck with a return east.
San Jose Sharks Sign Ty Emberson To One-Year Deal
11:03 AM: The Sharks have confirmed the one-year agreement with Emberson per a team announcement.
10:22 AM: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that defenseman Ty Emberson and the San Jose Sharks have avoided arbitration. The Sharks organization will sign the young defenseman to a one-year, $950K contract for the 2024-25 NHL season, and will become a Group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the deal if he doesn’t play more than 50 games next year.
Emberson was originally drafted with the 73rd overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes before he spent three years at the University of Wisconsin in the NCAA. Emberson turned pro after his junior season with the Badgers and scored one goal in five games with Arizona’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. He did not perform well during his first professional campaign with the Roadrunners as he scored four goals and 11 points in 58 games while posting a -25 rating.
The Coyotes organization parted ways with Emberson the following summer by trading him to the New York Rangers in exchange for Patrik Nemeth, a second-round pick in 2025, and a conditional second-round pick in 2026. Emberson performed much better with the Rangers’ AHL affiliate as he scored seven goals and 27 points in 69 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack while posting a +17 rating. He also performed markedly well for the team in the postseason as he scored two goals and five points in only nine Calder Cup playoff contests.
After signing a one-year league minimum contract with New York during the following offseason, the team placed him on waivers shortly before the 2023-24 NHL season; eventually being claimed by the Sharks. With a middling defensive core, Emberson had access to NHL minutes in San Jose and scored one goal and 10 points over 30 games in his rookie season. Emberson showed effectiveness as a physical defensive defenseman with the Sharks as he posted 94 hits on the year while also achieving a 91.7% on-ice save percentage in all situations.
San Jose has made a few moves this offseason to improve their defensive core but it should not prohibit Emberson from reaching the 50-game mark. As a right-handed shot, Emberson should compete for top-four minutes as one of the best shutdown defensemen on the Sharks’ roster.
Sharks Sign First-Rounder Sam Dickinson
1:11 p.m.: Dickinson’s ELC carries the maximum $975K cap hit, PuckPedia reports. He’ll earn a base salary of $877.5K after the deal takes effect but will earn a $97.5K signing bonus for the next three seasons, starting with 2024-25. When the contract takes effect, he’ll be eligible for up to $550K in Schedule ’A’ performance bonuses in Year 1, up to $800K in Year 2 and up to $1MM in Year 3.
12:19 p.m.: The Sharks have signed defenseman Sam Dickinson, their second of two first-round picks in last month’s draft, per a team announcement. They didn’t disclose the financial terms of his three-year, entry-level contract, which could begin as late as the 2026-27 season if he plays fewer than 10 NHL games in each of the next two campaigns.
Dickinson, 18, is a left-shot blue liner who plays a rather well-rounded game. With the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League last season, the 6’3″ defender racked up 18 goals and 52 assists for 70 points and a sparkling +56 rating in 68 games. He added 13 points in 18 playoff games as the Knights took home the 2024 OHL championship, won a gold medal prior to the season with Canada’s U18 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and was named to the OHL’s Second All-Star Team for his efforts.
He’s not as physically involved as you’d hope for from a defenseman checking in at over 200 lbs in his draft year, likely a reason why he fell out of the top 10. Dickinson was the consensus No. 6 prospect in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final polling of NHL scouts and wasn’t ranked any later than 10 by any of the major public scouting websites, but he ended up slipping to San Jose at 11 to complement first-overall selection Macklin Celebrini. He has solid two-way instincts, though, and is a great skater for his size, even if he doesn’t lay the body or block shots with aplomb.
Dickinson isn’t likely to play in the NHL full-time next season or even receive a nine-game trial, although the latter doesn’t seem impossible. He could, however, challenge for minutes as soon as 2025-26. A full-time assignment to the AHL won’t be in the cards for him for at least two more years, though, as he’ll need to be loaned back to his junior team if not in the NHL before his age-20 season, per the NHL-CHL transfer agreement.
He’s now the top defense prospect in the Sharks’ system, checking in above the 22-year-old Shakir Mukhamadullin and 23-year-old Henry Thrun, the latter of whom averaged 20 minutes per night in 51 games of NHL action last season and should be a full-time fixture beginning this fall. Second-pairing duties are likely the most realistic expectation for Dickinson’s long-term potential, although he does have top-pairing upside.
Sharks Sign Macklin Celebrini To Entry-Level Contract
A little after a week drafting him with the first overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft the San Jose Sharks have locked up their new player. The team announced they have signed Macklin Celebrini to a three-year, entry-level contract starting in the 2024-25 NHL season.
According to Puckpedia, Celebrini will make a base salary of $877.5K each year of his entry-level deal. Additionally, the team has offered Celebrini the maximum amount of signing bonuses possible, as he will receive a signing bonus of $97K, Group “A” performance bonuses totaling, $1MM, and Group “B” performance bonuses of $2.5MM in all three years which could bring his AAV up $4.475MM if all conditions are met.
The signing confirms that Celebrini will suit up for the Sharks next season as players become ineligible for NCAA participation after signing professional contracts. The young prospect will become a one-and-done player with Boston University and move to the Bay Area to start his professional career.
It was not a bad lone collegiate season for Celebrini as he joined the Terrier program after spending one season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL in the year prior. In 38 games for Boston University this past season, Celebrini scored 32 goals and 64 points which was good for third in league-scoring in his freshman campaign. At the end of the season, Celebrini was named the Hockey East Player of the Year, Hockey East Rookie of the Year, Hockey East Scoring Champion, Hockey East Three Stars Award, and the Hobey Baker Award winner.
Celebrini became the youngest player in NCAA history to win the Hobey Baker and the fourth freshman all-time behind Paul Kariya (1993), Jack Eichel (2015), and Adam Fantilli (2023). Celebrini became the unanimous best prospect in the 2024 NHL Draft by achieving such a dominant season in the American collegiate scene. He will continue his rise to stardom in the Sharks organization as the team looks to rebuild its team from the ground up. San Jose has not quite taken the next step to be considered a playoff contender for the 2024-25 NHL season but they should be exciting to watch with Celebrini and former fourth overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, Will Smith, on the roster after signing his entry-level contract at the end of May.