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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