The San Jose Sharks were pleasantly surprised with Jacob Peterson, and now they have a decision to make for his contract.

The San Jose Sharks have eight players who are set to become restricted free agents come this offseason. The first to discuss is Jacob Peterson.

San Jose acquired Peterson on March 3 from the Dallas Stars for forward Scott Reedy. The deal was under the radar, but Peterson made sure to let Sharks fans know he was for real.

The former fifth-round pick scored eight points in 11 games and looked dynamic doing it.

"Peterson, from my end of it, was a pleasant surprise. He did a good job," Sharks head coach David Quinn said during his exit interview.

When it comes to his RFA status, Peterson will need to have been given a qualifying offer by June 30th.

Of the San Jose Sharks players with RFA status, Peterson makes the most sense to re-sign. I think most of the RFAs will get a qualifying offer, but Peterson should be the first on the list.

He found instant chemistry with Tomas Hertl, and with Timo Meier no longer in the picture, Peterson stepped up big. 

In terms of what his contract extension should be, I expect a fairly basic bridge deal. We could see along the lines of a two or three-year deal with an AAV of $1.5-2.5 million.

If he gets over two million in AAV, I will be surprised, but for his brief time with the San Jose Sharks last season, Peterson played like a guy trying to make some well-deserved cash.

I think Peterson will become a key piece to the middle six forwards, and at 23 years old, there is plenty of room for growth in his game.