- While Sharks winger Jonathan Dahlen had a decent rookie season with 12 goals and 10 assists in 61 games, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports that the team is considering non-tendering him by tomorrow’s deadline. Even though he has only been in the NHL for one year, this is his fourth year on an NHL contract which gives him salary arbitration rights. While Dahlen couldn’t command a significant increase on his league-minimum salary from this past season, San Jose likely will want to keep the last few spots on their roster at low salary slots so whatever raise he could get from an arbitrator may be more than they can afford to allocate.
Sharks Rumors
Sharks Open To Carrying Three Goalies To Start Next Season
While there was some trade activity in recent days with goaltenders, the Sharks weren’t among the teams involved. That might come as some surprise as the team has three NHL netminders in Adin Hill, James Reimer, and pending RFA Kaapo Kahkonen. However, GM Mike Grier told reporters after the draft including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that there’s no guarantee he’ll move one of them in the coming weeks:
Hill and Reimer each have one year left on their contracts at $2.175MM and $2.25MM respectively and will be unrestricted free agents in 2023. The Sharks could move one of them and in the process, give themselves a bit more flexibility this summer. If not, this could be a repeat of 2003 when they carried three goalies to start the season when they had Evgeni Nabokov, Vesa Toskala, and Miikka Kiprusoff with the latter eventually being moved to Calgary.
Latest On Marc-Edouard Vlasic
- Earlier in July, we covered the San Jose Sharks’ situation with defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and whether he would be bought out by the team after 16 seasons in teal. Today, Vlasic told The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak that “it doesn’t look like” he’ll be bought out and that he’s “excited” for a fresh start under a new coaching staff and a new GM in Mike Grier, who he played with for three seasons. Vlasic’s past few years haven’t been up to the standard he established earlier in his career. If the Sharks have any hope of returning to contention next season, as the organization fully intends to do, Vlasic will need to play like the $7MM defenseman he once was.
San Jose Sharks Acquire Luke Kunin
The San Jose Sharks have landed another depth forward, acquiring Luke Kunin from the Nashville Predators. The Sharks will be sending back John Leonard and a 2023 third-round pick.
Kunin, 24, is a restricted free agent this summer, coming off a two-year deal that carried a $2.3MM cap hit. He’ll need a qualifying offer worth the same amount and is eligible for salary arbitration, though the Sharks could also work out a contract before that is necessary.
While he hasn’t exactly lived up to his billing as the 15th overall pick in 2016, Kunin’s game has developed to the point where he is an effective bottom-six option. This year, he seemingly decided to lean into the physical side of the game, racking up 223 hits and 99 penalty minutes–nearly doubling his career totals.
Still able to contribute around the net, he also potted 13 goals, the third-straight double-digit total for the young forward. As the Sharks start to form a new identity under general manager Mike Grier, Kunin’s toughness and versatility will come in handy.
For the Predators, landing a depth forward and a third-round pick certainly makes up for it. Leonard, 23, has 58 games of NHL experience and was a strong performer for the San Jose Barracuda this year. He too will need a contract and is arbitration-eligible but doesn’t have much of a case for anything over the league minimum.
By moving Kunin out, the team has opened up some additional cap space as they fit in Ryan McDonagh and continue to speak with Filip Forsberg.
NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule
The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.
2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.
The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.
Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.
Bryan Marchment Dies At 53
The draft festivities in Montreal have been clouded today by the death of former NHL defenseman Bryan Marchment. The Associated Press spoke with agent Rick Curran, who confirmed that Marchment has passed, though a cause of death was not immediately available. He was 53.
Marchment was in Montreal as a scout for the San Jose Sharks, an organization for which he has held various roles since 2007. A veteran of more than 900 games in the NHL, he last played during the 2005-06 season for the Calgary Flames and also suited up for the Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, and Winnipeg Jets during a long career.
Bryan was the father of Florida Panthers forward Mason Marchment, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next week for the first time. Jake Marchment, his nephew, was also a draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2014.
Prospect Notes: Beck, Nelson, Lucius, Guhle
Hockey Canada has made some changes to their National Junior Team summer development camp roster, from which the organization will select their contingent for the 2023 World Junior Championship in December. In lieu of San Jose Sharks defense prospect Gannon Laroque being unable to participate due to injury, Hockey Canada has added a pair of 2022 draft-eligible prospects in forward Owen Beck and defenseman Ty Nelson to their list.
Beck, ranked 33rd in TSN’s Bob McKenzie’s final scouting poll, netted 51 points in 68 games for the OHL’s Mississauga Steelheads in 2021-22. The public opinion on him is rather skewed, with some listing Beck in the mid-to-late first while some have him deep within the second round. Regardless, he’s one of the better OHLers available in this year’s class. He’ll rely on his strong skating and transitional play to try and improbably work his way onto the final roster. Nelson, who hails from the OHL’s North Bay Battalion, was ranked 50th in McKenzie’s consensus rankings after a 51-point season.
- A second Lucius brother has officially left the University of Minnesota program. 2022-eligible Cruz Lucius, the younger sibling of Winnipeg Jets prospect Chaz Lucius, has switched his college commitment to rival Wisconsin. Cruz’s draft stock was hurt by injury this season, but he still managed eight points in six games for the U.S. at the U18 World Juniors and 25 points in 33 games with the U.S. National Development Team Program. If McKenzie’s consensus rankings are a proper indication, he’s slated to hear his name called in the mid-to-late third round.
- Anaheim Ducks defense prospect Brendan Guhle won’t be staying in North America for 2022-23 after signing a contract with the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin. Guhle, originally selected 51st overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, will still belong to the Ducks organization if they issue the pending restricted free agent a qualifying offer. Guhle has just 65 NHL games to his name at this point, tallying 14 points. He had just seven points in 37 games last season in the AHL with San Diego.
San Jose Sharks Hire Mike Grier
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
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
- 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.