Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of talk regarding the potential of offer sheets and how they may be used more this summer than in years past. There are likely a handful of teams that are well positioned to take a chance on an offer sheet, and one of them is the San Jose Sharks.
The Sharks have $42 million in cap space and own two first- and second-round picks in next year's draft. However, they are without a third-round pick, which could be costly when it comes to the compensation needed for certain offer sheets.
Below is the compensation scale for the 2025 offer sheets:
- $1,544,424 or less – None
- Over $1,544,424 to $2,340,037 – Third-round pick
- Over $2,340,037 to $4,680,076 – Second-round pick
- Over $4,680,076 to $7,020,113 – First- and third-round picks
- Over $7,020,113 to $9,360,153 – First-, second-, and third-round picks
- Over $9,360,153 to $11,700,192 – Two firsts, one second, one third
- Over $11,700,192 – Four first-round picks
If the Sharks were to sign an offer sheet, there are a few players that could be targets.
The first one would be K’Andre Miller of the New York Rangers. The left-handed defenseman could give them a solid second pairing behind top prospect Sam Dickinson. In terms of what he might sign for, experts are predicting around $6 million over six years. That would cost the Sharks a first- and third-round pick—assuming they get Miller to sign and the Rangers choose not to match.
Another name would be Marco Rossi from the Minnesota Wild. He’d be a great fit for the Sharks with their young core for the long term. At 23 years old, the asking price for Rossi is expected to be higher than Miller’s. Most believe he’ll land around $7.3 million over seven years. That would cost San Jose a first-, second-, and third-round pick in the 2026 draft.
In order to make any offer sheet work, the Sharks would need to own their original draft picks. That means they’d have to reacquire their 2025 third-round pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins. If they can’t, they’ll have to stick to a mid-tier offer sheet that only costs a second-rounder.
Some possible targets at that range include:
- Will Cuylle (New York Rangers)
- Kaapo Kakko (Seattle Kraken)
- Jack McBain (Utah Mammoth)
- Nicolas Hague (Vegas Golden Knights)
There are still solid options if you drop into that second tier of RFA players. The biggest thing with offer sheets, though, is that the player has to agree to sign it. That’s something people sometimes overlook. It’s not just about finding a fit and sending an offer—it’s also about the player wanting to come.
There’s no guarantee anything happens, but if there’s ever a time for the Sharks to explore offer sheets, this summer might be the one.
