Sharks News & Notes (7/28/22)

Some significant news has come out of the Sharks camp recently that are worth discussing. Let's get to them: 

The biggest headline of them all is that the Sharks will retire Patrick Marleau's No. 12 to the rafters at SAP Center on February 25 ahead of the Sharks vs. Blackhawks game next season. Marleau will be the first player in Sharks' franchise history to have his number retired by the team. This is only fitting as Patty has been the face of the Sharks from 1997 to 2021 and has had the biggest impact on the franchise out of anyone who has ever played in teal. After Marleau, as with many Sharks fans, I would like to see the numbers of Joe Thornton, Owen Nolan, and Evgeni Nabokov retired to the Shark Tank rafters next, whenever that may be. 

 Next up, the Sharks have added Ryan Warsofsky, who was one of the finalists for the head coaching position before they hired David Quinn, as an assistant coach. Warsofsky will be in charge of the defense and penalty kill under new head coach David Quinn, replacing John Madden, who was let go with Bob Boughner on July 1. This past season, Warsofsky was the head coach of the Chicago Wolves in the AHL, guiding them to a Calder Cup victory. In total, Warsofsky amassed a 71-25-6-7 record with the Wolves over the past two seasons. Overall, this is a great hire for the Sharks.

Lastly, restricted free agent forward Sasha Chmelevski has left the Sharks and signed a deal to join Salavat Ulayev Ufa of the KHL. Chmelevski faced mounting competition with new and returning forwards for spots on the Sharks' roster next season that probably wouldn't go in his favor. This past season, Chmelevski recorded eight assists in 19 games and has yet to score his first NHL goal. The Sharks still retain the rights to Chmelevski after the 2022-23 season, opening the possibility for him to return to the team after next season.

Stay Tuned to CPF Hockey for more Sharks headlines all offseason long.

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, San Jose Hockey Now

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Sharks to Hire David Quinn as their New Head Coach

 The Sharks have yet to confirm and announce this, but reports are indicating that they will hire David Quinn to replace Bob Boughner as their next head coach, signing Quinn to a three-year contract. An official announcement and introductory press conference by the Sharks are expected to be held early next week.

David Quinn was previously and most recently the head coach of the New York Rangers from 2018 to 2021, compiling a record of 96-87-25 in 208 games. Quinn's tenure with the Rangers also coincided with the Rangers' brief rebuild, with the Rangers failing to make it to the official first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs during those years. 

Many Sharks fans are upset with this move because of David Quinn's tendency to mismanage younger players and stunt their development when he was coach of the Rangers and the fact that the Sharks spoke with other suitors that seemed like a better fit for the job than Quinn. I'm not a huge fan of this move due to all these things I have heard about, but I have to see how he does as the Sharks' new head coach in his first season before I make any further judgements. For all I know, either David Quinn will learn from his mistakes and become a great head coach, or he will become Bob Boughner 2.0 or worse. Hopefully the former occurs and David Quinn can help lead this Sharks team in the right direction towards becoming a perennial playoff contender again. We will have to cross our fingers and find out this coming season. 

Sources: ESPN, San Jose Hockey Now 

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Sharks Sign Kaapo Kahkonen and Luke Kunin to New Contracts

 The Sharks have announced that they have signed two of their RFAs to new contracts. 

Specifically, San Jose signed one of their newest acquisitions in forward Luke Kunin and goalie Kaapo Kahkonen each to two-year deals. Both of their deals each carry an AAV of $2.75 million. 

Kunin scored 13 goals and and nine assists for 22 points in 82 games for the Predators last season and tallied one assist in four playoff games. In total, Kunin has 46 goals and 47 assists for 93 points in 251 games with the Wild and Predators, along with four goals and one assist for five points in 14 playoff games. We'll have to wait and see how Kunin performs with the Sharks, but hopefully this deal works out in their favor.

Kahkonen performed well for the Sharks since he was acquired around the trade deadline from the Wild in the Jake Middleton trade, amassing a .916 SV% along with a 2-6-1 record and 2.86 GAA in 11 games with the Sharks. In other words, Kahkonen played well in his small sample size with the Sharks, but the team in front of him couldn't help him out or had left him out to dry on most nights he was in net. Hopefully this trend changes in a more positive direction starting next season, where Kahkonen can win more games due to greater production from the offense. 

Sources: Sharks + SAP Center App, NHL Discussion via Instagram 

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Sharks 2022 Free Agency Day 2 Recap

 The second day of free agency was nowhere near as crazy as the first day, but the Sharks made a few moves on day 2 of free agency this year, including bringing back a familiar face. Let's get into them: 

What familiar face did San Jose bring back? That would be goalie Aaron Dell, signed to a one-year deal. This will be Dell's second stint with the Sharks, having previously played for the team from 2015 to 2020. Last season, Dell played 12 games for the Buffalo Sabres, putting up a 1-8-1 record with a 4.03 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage. In addition, Dell earned a 12-7-1 record, .909 save percentage, and 2.91 goals-against average in 22 games with the Rochester Americans in the AHL, along with a 5-5-0 record in AHL Calder Cup Playoffs. Among Sharks goalies who played at least 20 games for the team, Aaron Dell ranks eighth in franchise history in wins (48), save percentage (.908), and shutouts (five).

The other player the Sharks signed on day two of free agency this year was forward C.J Suess to a one- year deal. Suess previously played four games with the Winnipeg Jets and spent his entire professional playing career in the Jets organization up until this point. Last season, he scored 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points in 46 games with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, ranking in the top ten on the team in many aspects. In total, Suess has 45 goals and 38 assists for 83 points in 166 games across parts of five seasons with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL, along with one goal and two assists in eight AHL playoff games. 

With the return of Aaron Dell, San Jose now has ten goalies in their organization, which is a lot of goalies for an NHL team to have at once. Before the start of next season, the Sharks will have to trade a few of them in order to clear space for other players on the NHL and AHL Barracuda rosters and stay within roster size limits come next season. It will be interesting to see how the Sharks maneuver all of their goalies around in the next few months.

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more Sharks news and notes all offseason long. 

Source: Sharks + SAP Center App 

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Sharks 2022 Free Agency Day 1 Recap

 The NHL free agency period has opened up, and the Sharks have struck a few significant deals via signings and a blockbuster trade. 

San Jose has traded longtime defenseman Brent Burns along with forward Lane Pederson to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Steven Lorentz, goalie prospect Eetu Makiniemi, and a conditional 2023 third-round pick. The Sharks will also be retaining 33 percent of Brent Burns’ salary. 

Brent Burns recorded 10 goals and 44 assists for 54 points in 82 games for the Sharks last season and has three years left on his current contract at a cap hit of $8 million. In total, Burns has 227 goals and 550 assists for 777 career points in 1,251 regular-season games. In addition, Burns has 20 goals and 42 assists for 62 points in 94 playoff games and won the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2017. Lane Pederson was added in the deal as a sweetener, as he didn't do much for the Sharks this past season.

As for who the Sharks received in return for Burnzie, Steven Lorentz recorded eight goals and five assists for 13 points in 67 games last season. In total Lorentz has ten goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 112 regular-season games, along with three assists in 16 playoff games. Eetu Makiniemi went 11-2-1 with a 2.06 goals-against average, .922 save percentage, and two shutouts for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL this past season. 

Brent Burns was one of my favorite Sharks players during his tenure in San Jose, mainly for his great two-way game and personality, and I will miss him in Teal. At the same time, this was a necessary move for the Sharks to clear some cap space and further shake things up after missing the playoffs the past three seasons. It was down to moving either Erik Karlsson's or Brent Burns' contract in order to clear a significant amount of cap space for the Sharks, and the latter was much easier to move. In all, it was a tough decision to make, but is one that will benefit the Sharks in the long term. 

The departure of Brent Burns has led to a handful of free agent signings for the Sharks. They are as follows: 

• F Oskar Lindblom, 2 years x $2.5m AAV 
• F Nico Sturm, 3 years x $2m AAV 
• D Markus Nutivaara, 1 year x $1.5m 
• D Matt Benning, 4 years x $1.25m AAV
  
• F Andrew Agozzino, 2 years x $775k AAV 

 Oskar Lindblom will get a fresh start in San Jose after spending his entire career with the Flyers so far. He scored 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points in 79 games last season. In total, Lindblom recorded 50 goals and 47 assists for 97 points in 263 games with the Flyers. During the 2019-20 season, Lindblom was out for most of that season after being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, and returned to the Flyers during the second round of the bubble playoffs later that season. He was a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy during the 2019-20 season and won that same trophy the following season. 

Nico Sturm scored nine goals and eight assists for 17 points in 53 games with the Wild and three assists in 21 games for the Avalanche this past season, Sturm also recorded two assists in 13 playoff games with the Avalanche, helping Colorado win the Stanley Cup. In total, Sturm has 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 132 games, along with two goals and three assists for five points in 22 playoff games. 2020-21 was Nico Sturm's first full NHL season.

Markus Nutivaara only played one game last season with the Panthers due to injury, collecting one assist in that game early last season. He recorded ten assists in 30 games during the 2020-21 season and has a total of 17 goals and 54 assists for 71 points in 275 games with the Blue Jackets and Panthers. Nutivaara also has two points in 17 playoff games.

Matt Benning spent the past two seasons with the Predators, recording 11 assists and 39 penalty minutes in 65 games. In total, Benning has 16 goals and 60 assists for 76 points in 366 games with the Oilers and Predators, picking up 195 penalty minutes.

Andrew Agozzino was signed to add veteran depth to the AHL Barracuda and has 20 goals and 23 assists for 43 points in 66 AHL games over the course of his career. 

Overall, I like these free agent signings as solid depth pieces for the Sharks. In other news, the Sharks hired Doug Weight as their hockey operations adviser before the start of this year's free agent frenzy. Despite an eventful first day of free agency, the Sharks aren't done making moves yet, as they still need to find a head coach and are exploring the possibility of trading Kevin Labanc this offseason. Watch this space for more. 

Multiple sources contributed to this post. 

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Sharks News & Notes (7/12/22)

 We are on the eve of free agent frenzy, and some significant moves have been confirmed by the Sharks ahead of the start of free agency. Let's begin: 

The Sharks have extended qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents: Mario Ferraro, Sasha Chmelevski, Jonah Gadjovich, Noah Gregor, Kaapo Kahkonen, and Luke Kunin. On the other hand, the Sharks did not issue qualifying offers to Joachim Blichfeld, Jonathan Dahlen, Brinson Pasichnuk, Zach Sawchenko, Zach Gallant, Jake McGrew, and Antoine Morand, making them unrestricted free agents and all but guaranteeing their departure from the team. What stands out the most in this entire list is that Jonathan Dahlen wasn't given a qualifying offer. Dahlen was the Sharks' top rookie and one of the Sharks' top scorers this past season, but spent a significant amount of time either injured, in COVID protocol, or as a healthy scratch. The main reason he wasn't given a qualifying offer was due to his struggle to find consistency during the second half of the season. Other reasons for this specific move are due to the Sharks' lack of significant cap space and Mike Grier's desire to shake things up a bit as the new general manager since the Sharks missed the playoffs during the past three seasons. I would rather the Sharks issue a qualifying offer to Dahlen instead of a few players they gave qualifying offers to, but if they can find a better replacement for him, this won't look so bad down the road. 

The Sharks and one of their top scouts, Doug Wilson Jr., have mutually agreed to part ways. This is mainly due to the Sharks wanting to move in a new direction under new GM Mike Grier and the fact that Doug Wilson Jr. was mainly connected to the Sharks' previous management under his dad, Doug Wilson. This stinks since Wilson Jr. was a great scout for the Sharks over the years, but I totally understand that this was a necessary move to make to move the team forward. 

San Jose has placed Rudolfs Balcers on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a buyout. This is a bit of a surprise and a head-scratcher for me, as Balcers was one of the Sharks’ top forwards this past season. Mike Grier has already made his stamp on the Sharks as their new GM, and as polarizing as these moves may be, hopefully he’s onto something and this team benefits in the long term. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey as I will dive into the Sharks’ free agent signings in the coming days. 

Multiple sources contributed to this post. 

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Sharks 2022 NHL Draft Day 2 Recap

 The remainder of the 2022 NHL Draft has concluded, and more moves have been made on the Sharks front, specifically the remainder of their draft selections and a trade. Besides those, rounds 2-7 were mostly uneventful as they usually are most years. 

First, let's discuss the trade involving the Sharks. San Jose acquired forward and pending RFA Luke Kunin from the Nashville Predators in exchange for forward John Leonard and a 2023 third-round pick. Some Sharks fans don't like the move, but I think it's an okay one and has the potential to work out in the Sharks' favor. Kunin scored 13 goals and and nine assists for 22 points in 82 games for the Predators last season and tallied one assist in four playoff games. In total, Kunin has 46 goals and 47 assists for 93 points in 251 games with the Wild and Predators, along with four goals and one assist for five points in 14 playoff games. On the other hand, Leonard is also a pending RFA and scored one goal and one assist in 14 games for the Sharks this past season. In total, Leonard has four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 58 NHL games.

Now onto the remainder of the Sharks 2022 draft selections. I am not too familiar with draft picks in the later rounds, so I will list them out accordingly. Some of them will turn into surprise picks at the NHL level, while others will fizzle out. Hopefully more of them than not will have successful NHL careers. Here they are: 

Round 2, Pick 34: Cameron Lund, Center, Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) 

Round 2, Pick 45: Mattias Havelid, Defenseman, Linkoping (SHL) 

Round 3, Pick 76: Michael Fisher, Defenseman, St. Mark's School (USHS-Prep) 

Round 4, Pick 108: Mason Beaupit, Goaltender, Spokane Chiefs (WHL) 

Round 5, Pick 140: Jake Furlong, Defenseman, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) 

Round 6, Pick 172: Joey Muldowney, Forward, Nichols School (High-NY) 

Round 7, Pick 195: Eli Barnett, Defenseman, Victoria Grizzlies (BCHL) 

Round 7, Pick 217: Reese Laubach, Center, Northstar Christian U-18 (High-MN, also San Jose native and Jr. Sharks alum) 

Next up, the NHL free agency period opens next week, so stay tuned to CPF Hockey to find out who the Sharks sign in free agency this year. 

Sources: NHL Network, NHL App, San Jose Sharks via Instagram

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Sharks 2022 NHL Draft Day 1 Recap

 The first round of the 2022 NHL Draft in Montreal has wrapped up, and it was a crazy draft so far. Who I and most everyone else thought would be selected first overall by the host Canadiens, Shane Wright, fell to fourth overall to the Seattle Kraken. It was the first time two Slovakian players went first and second overall: LW Juraj Slafkovsky first overall to the Canadiens and D Simon Nemec second overall to the New Jersey Devils. In addition, the Canadiens made a few big trades, which consisted of sending Alexander Romanov to the New York Islanders and acquiring Kirby Dach from the Chicago Blackhawks. Lastly, the Blackhawks stockpiled draft picks after trading away two of their top young players, Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. 

As for the Sharks, Mike Grier made his first moves as the Sharks’ new GM. San Jose initially had the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, but traded down to acquire picks 27, 34, and 45 from the Arizona Coyotes in a somewhat surprising move. The Coyotes then used the 11th overall pick to select C Conor Geekie. The Sharks front office is putting their faith in their scouts and this year's draft class being fairly deep by trading down, which hopefully works in their favor. 

With that 27th overall pick, the Sharks selected C Filip Bystedt from Linkoping of the Swedish Hockey League. A tad underwhelming considering who was still available on the draft board around the time of the 27th overall selection, but it was still not that bad of a selection. Bystedt previously scored 49 points in Sweden's junior league, two points in 15 games with Linkoping in the SHL, and three points in six games to help Sweden win the 2022 IIHF U-18 World Championship. Hopefully Bystedt turns into something great for the Sharks and is seen as a sleeper pick in the not-too-distant future.

Another important aspect of the Sharks' 2022 Draft is the unfortunate fact that one of their longtime scouts and former defensemen passed away beforehand, specifically Bryan Marchment. A moment of silence was held before the start of round one in Marchment's honor, and new GM Mike Grier gave a heartwarming speech and condolences to the Marchment family before the Sharks' first pick of the night was announced by Doug Wilson Jr.

The 2022 NHL Draft resumes this morning at 8 am PT with rounds 2-7. The Sharks' ten remaining picks in this year's draft will be summed up in the next post after the rest of the draft has completed, so be on the lookout for that sometime later today.

Sources: ESPN, NBC Sports Bay Area/California

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Sharks Hire Mike Grier as Their New General Manager

 

The Sharks have officially introduced Mike Grier as their new general manager. Grier takes over for Joe Will, who was the interim general manager after Doug Wilson stepped down due to an ongoing illness, and becomes the first black general manager in NHL history. 

Mike Grier played 14 seasons in the NHL for four different teams, including the Sharks from 2006 to 2009, before retiring in 2011. This past season, he was the hockey operations adviser for the New York Rangers and was previously a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks from 2014 to 2018. His older brother Chris is currently the general manager of the Miami Dolphins, who has had that role since 2016. 

Grier's first significant tasks as the Sharks' new general manager will be the draft this Thursday in Montreal, finding a new head coach, and restructuring the roster to stay under the salary cap and after this team missed the playoffs for the past three seasons. Luckily, Grier has confirmed during today's introductory press conference that he doesn't plan to completely tear down this team and start from scratch.

In all, this is a great hire for the Sharks not only from a diversity and inclusion perspective, but an experience and determination perspective as well. I believe Mike Grier can lead the Sharks out of their current mess and back to being the perennial playoff contender that they have been for much of their franchise history. 

Lastly, one crazy aspect of this hire in the best way possible is that I happen to have a puck autographed by Mike Grier that I received as a Christmas gift a few years ago, which is featured at the top of this post. It has now significantly increased in value since he was just named the Sharks' new GM, but I don't plan to get rid of it anytime soon, if ever. 

Sources: ESPN, NHL Discussion via Instagram, San Jose Sharks via YouTube 

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Sharks Fire Coach Bob Boughner + Additional Coaching Staff

 The Sharks announced that they have relieved head coach Bob Boughner of his duties, along with assistant coaches John Madden, John MacLean, and Dan Darrow. 

This was a move that needed to be done to better this team going forward, as Boughner went 67-85-23 in the past three seasons as head coach, resulting in the Sharks missing the playoffs each of the past three seasons. What would've been better is if this move was done sooner when there were more options available in the NHL coaching carousel this offseason, but it was better late than never. San Jose has yet to find replacements for these members of the coaching staff.

This also comes at a time in the offseason when the Sharks are close to finding their next general manager, who will eventually find replacements for Bob Boughner and the three assistant coaches who were just let go. 

Overall, I'm happy with this decision. Boughner wasn't a very good coach, and there would be be several instances over the past three seasons where he would mismanage players and other aspects of the team, setting them up to lose more often than not. 

The Sharks currently have vacancies at both the head coach and general manager positions, and there is still a ton of work to do to restructure this team if they want to improve and get back to being a playoff contender. 

Multiple sources contributed to this post. 

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