While the NHL is still buzzing about the Vegas Golden Knights adding Mitch Marner, the San Jose Sharks are quietly in the best shape of any NHL team to add. After free agency day one, the Sharks still have $23.89 million left to spend. While they have added key pieces, does general manager Mike Grier have time to trade for bigger pieces?
Last season, San Jose finished last in the Pacific Division with a 20-50-12 record. They needed to find improvement and needed answers quickly. Due to their poor finish, the Sharks have nowhere to go but up and now, have reason to believe that will start happening this year.
Their roster needs a glorified scorer as they finished near the bottom in goals scored. Their defense is solid with prospects as is their goaltending, but every team in the league could upgrade their roster if the price is right. Here's how Grier worked his magic and grabbed some additional players during this offseason.
Sharks signings, re-signings, and trades
Grier made a couple of moves to bring in talent over the offseason. He traded forward Givani Smith to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Nikolai Kovalenko. He then claimed veteran defenseman Nick Leddy off of waivers, bringing experience to the back end. He then re-signed two of his own players, forwards Collin White and Pavol Regenda, to one-year, two-way deals. They will provide scoring in a depth role. He also traded a third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
Grier then went to free agency with the idea of making this team better without shelling out big contracts and he did just that. He signed defensemen John Klingberg, Cole Clayton, and Dmitri Orlov to deals to shoereup the defense and make the Sharks harder to play against. He then signed forwards Philipp Kurashev, Adam Gaudette, Jimmy Hunington, and Samuel Laberge. These moves give the Sharks better depth at the NHL and American Hockey League level with the San Jose Barracuda.
Two players to watch who were recently signed are Gaudette and Orlov. During his short time in Ottawa with the Senators, Gaudette was the best player on the ice for parts of the season. He is a player who can score 25 goals and be a threat on the power play. Orlov brings years of experience and is an all-around defenseman who can greatly improve the Sharks' defense. The recently signed group are middle to bottom six players, except for Gaudette and Orlov, but they are upgrades to what they had last season.
Grier continues to change this roster and add, hoping to put the perfect mix together. While they may not be a Stanley Cup contender yet, they have the ingredients to make big strides in the Pacific Division. The Anaheim Ducks got better while the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers lost key pieces. This could be the year that San Jose makes a push towards a playoff spot. The offseason is not over and the Sharks still have cap space to add another big piece or two via trade.