According to San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier, they aren't expected to be handing out any long-term contracts this free agency.
That doesn't mean the Sharks won't be signing anyone this summer, but the likelihood of them being in the running for Mitch Marner, Nik Ehlers, or Brock Boeser is slim to none. Instead, they will be looking for players that can get them to the cap floor on short-term deals.
That would put them into a range of the second-to-third tier free agency. Players like:
- Evgenii Dadonov - $3.25 million / 2 years
- Anthony Beauvillier - $3.2 million / 3 years
- Taylor Raddysh - $2.6 million / 3 years
- Nick Bjugstad - $2.3 million / 2 years
If Grier wants to spend a bit more money and bring in a bit better talent, he could target players like:
- Pius Suter - $4.9 million / 4 years
- Jonathan Drouin - $5 million / 3 years
- Mikael Granlund - $4.9 million / 2 years
There are plenty of options for the Sharks to pursue in free agency that can still improve their roster. At this point in their rebuild, they aren't in the position to go for the big home run swing. Which is a good approach for this summer, since this year's pool of free agents isn't as deep as years prior. So if they focus on just making improvements this coming hockey season, then they can turn their attention to targeting some bigger-name players next summer and drastically improve the roster.
