The San Jose Sharks came into the 2025 offseason with the hope to upgrade their team. While they aren't expecting to be drastically better than they were last season, they needed to make a few moves to get better and help insulate the young core of Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, and Will Smith. Although they weren't the greatest offensive team, they have future stars in place and will continue to develop. But to stay in games and give their young forwards a fighting chance, they needed to address their defense. It was one of, if not the worst blue lines in the league last season. However, GM Mike Grier tried his hardest yesterday to change that, and now the Sharks have eight defensemen signed to NHL-level contracts, which could open the door for a trade to shake things up even more. Yesterday alone, he signed Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $13 million deal and, only moments later, claimed veteran Nick Leddy off waivers. No, they aren't the biggest names and yes, they’ve struggled in recent years, but just adding these two improves their blue line a ton. It's a big step toward stabilizing the back end. With eight defensemen signed, not including Sam Dickinson, their opening day pairings could look like this: Pairing 1: Dmitry Orlov - Timothy Liljegren Pairing 2: Sam Dickinson - Mario Ferraro Pairing 3: Nick Leddy - John Klingberg Extras: Vincent Desharnais, Henry Thrun, Shakir Mukhamadullin If Grier can manage to pull off a trade, which could include one of Ferraro or Desharnais, it would allow Mukhamadullin to be in the starting six. Since he is a left-handed shot, he could be playing with either Leddy or Klingberg, which would give every pairing at least one NHL veteran. That mix of youth and experience could really help them stay afloat. If we look back at their defense corps in Game 82 of the 2024-25 season against the Edmonton Oilers on April 16, it looked like this: Pairing 1: Henry Thrun — Timothy Liljegren Pairing 2: Lucas Carlsson — Jan Rutta Pairing 3: Marc-Edouard Vlasic — Jimmy Schuldt It doesn't take more than a quick look to see how much more improved this blue line is heading into the 2025-26 season. Just the addition of Orlov makes it better, but when you also add Klingberg and Leddy, it becomes a lot more structured and experienced. The whole group looks more like a real NHL unit. BREAKING: San Jose Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/347ae176-9a5f-43f4-b268-6e877bde152c.jpeg] BREAKING: San Jose Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov BREAKING NEWS: The San Jose Sharks have signed Dmitry Orlov to a two-year, $13 million contract. The contract carries an AAV of $6.5 million. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/breaking-san-jose-sharks-sign-dmitry-orlov] The most impressive part of Grier improving the blue line is that he did it in a matter of three days. They signed Klingberg in free agency on July 1 and then signed Orlov and Leddy on July 3. It was a busy stretch, but one that could pay off all season. If the Sharks are looking to make a trade to clear up the logjam on the back end, Ferraro may be their best bet. At 26, he is a pending free agent and could opt to leave in free agency next summer. He is also the most intriguing trade target on the Sharks' blue line. There could be a chance that they try and move Thrun, but he could be a good seventh defenseman option for them this season. Ferraro could fetch them a good forward asset to help up front. There would be a number of teams that come calling if they were to make him available. A few teams that would make sense for Ferraro would be: * Edmonton Oilers * Ottawa Senators * Chicago Blackhawks * St. Louis Blues There would be more teams interested, but the four teams listed above could be some of the front runners for him. They could use a 26-year-old defenseman who can play both sides of the ice and is signed for one year at $3.25 million. It wouldn't be overly surprising if the Oilers are the team that leads the sweepstakes if he were available on the trade block. They are in need of good players on cheap contracts as they look to hoist the Stanley Cup again. Obviously, there is a better chance of Grier trading Ferraro closer to the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, in case on the off-chance they do better than expected and he then wants to sign a contract extension. If Grier can continue to make moves like he did with the additions of Klingberg, Orlov, and Leddy, it could have lasting benefits. Adding experienced veterans to a young NHL locker room can help the younger stars learn what it takes to be an everyday NHLer. It is clear that Grier has a vision for how he wants this team to look, and it may not be a finished product for a few years, but it’s certainly heading that way. Even though the Sharks may not be heading for a major improvement in the league standings, there still has to be some excitement about what Grier did — and what he could still do to keep shaping the rebuild. San Jose Sharks' Free Agency Review [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/6fcd20fd-07a0-46ce-8d02-82eab2fb01dd.jpeg] San Jose Sharks' Free Agency Review It’s now been three days since free agency opened and the San Jose Sharks still have a lot of work to do to reach the cap floor. As of right now, they have $32 million in cap space and sit at $62.8 million in used cap space, which means they need to get to $70.6 million to be cap compliant. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/san-jose-sharks-free-agency-review] BREAKING: San Jose Sharks Acquire Bowers From New Jersey Devils [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3008fd70-ba35-4cb4-9751-7792e97fdf37.jpeg] BREAKING: San Jose Sharks Acquire Bowers From New Jersey Devils The San Jose Sharks have acquired forward Shane Bowers from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for forward Thomas Bordeleau. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/breaking-san-jose-sharks-acquire-bowers-from-new-jersey-devils] BREAKING: Sharks Claim Nick Leddy Off Waivers From Blues [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/89ba807a-770c-42ef-aea1-c418d4895507.jpeg] BREAKING: Sharks Claim Nick Leddy Off Waivers From Blues BREAKING NEWS: The San Jose Sharks have claimed defensemen Nick Leddy off of waivers from the St. Louis Blues. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/breaking-sharks-claim-nick-leddy-off-waivers-from-blues] From The Archive: Burns VS Karlsson [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ae8aa24d-11ab-4ba1-b469-0e1cd2839eff.jpeg] From The Archive: Burns VS Karlsson The Hockey News has released its archive to all THN subscribers: 76 years of history, stories, and features. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/san-jose-sharks/latest-news/from-the-archive-burns-vs-karlsson]
