The San Jose Sharks were one of the busiest teams to start out the month of July. While their moves have been met with a considerable amount of criticism from fans and experts alike, the message that Mike Grier was trying to send is clear. The Sharks are ready to move out of the rebuilding phase, and they want to win.
The first major move by the Sharks in free agency was the most unexpected one. Most expected the team’s priority on July 1 to be solving their blue line, not adding more middle-six forwards to an already noticeable logjam. A half hour into free agency, though, insider Elliotte Friedman broke the news that the Sharks’ first piece of business was signing 31-year-old winger Mason Marchment, the son of long-time Sharks scout Bryan Marchment.
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Marchment does help address the Sharks’ need for depth goal-scoring, as they only had three players on the roster surpass the 20-goal threshold last season, but it does put the team in a strange bind, which we’ll discuss more in detail at a later date.
The more notable additions came later in the day, addressing the Sharks’ defensive group. First, the Sharks signed former New York Rangers captain and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba to a four-year deal worth $33 million with an average annual value of $8.25 million. While it is a steep price to pay for an aging defenseman, as we’ve seen in recent months, $8 million isn’t what it used to be around the NHL. Trouba’s deal is currently the 29th highest cap hit for a defenseman, but once a multitude of young, high-end defensemen start signing their second or third contracts, he’ll have a run-of-the-mill deal for a second-pairing defenseman by the time his new contract expires.
The Sharks were then done with big-name free agent signings, with no disrespect meant to Eric Comrie, who will likely compete for the Sharks’ backup goalie job when training camp comes around. As a result, Grier turned his attention to the trade market. After months of rumors and speculation linking the Sharks to either Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Reilly or Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, Grier opted to pull the trigger and acquire the latter.
Nurse, despite public opinion, is a serviceable second-pairing defenseman who often is the brunt of considerable criticism due to his high cap hit. It is true that he carries the 11th highest average annual value amongst NHL defensemen, and it is certainly fair that he has not lived up to his $9.25 million cap hit since signing his current contract back in 2021. At that time, he seemed to be on the same trajectory as players like Cale Makar, Zach Werenski, and others, but of course, that never came to fruition. If Nurse had a $6 million, or even $7 million, cap hit, he likely wouldn’t be constantly scrutinized. With that being said, there’s a certain amount of expectations that come with a cap hit that nears eight figures.
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The Sharks didn’t add superstars in free agency this summer, and they still drastically lack a true number one defenseman, or even a number two for that matter. Despite that, the Sharks now have a total of three, arguably four depending on your view of Michael Kesselring, legitimate top-four defensemen. Last season, it could’ve been argued they had just one, Dmitry Orlov. If you take salary out of the equation, it’s hard to back an argument that the Sharks’ current defensive corps of Nurse, Trouba, Orlov, and Kesselring isn’t a dramatic improvement over last year’s group that included John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Shakir Mukhamadullin, and Mario Ferraro.
While many have their opinions, both positive and negative, regarding the Sharks’ moves this summer, it’s hard to dispute that Mike Grier’s message to the NHL has been received loud and clear.
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