No rest for the weary, the San Jose Sharks continued with business on Sunday, taking care of the pending restricted free agents before the start of free agency. The team locked down Luke Kunin and Justin Bailey for another season and issued qualifying offers to the players management wants to see back in teal next season.
Kunin re-signs one-year deal
As expected, the Sharks signed Kunin for one more season. His deal will have the same AAV as last season, $2.75 million.
“(Luke) shows up every night, and he’s a good example for our young players,” said General Manager Mike Grier in a news release. “(He brings) all the things you look for in players to help show our young players that this is what it takes to be in the NHL and be a professional. We’re really excited to have Luke back and keep growing with him.”
The 26-year-old Kunin was statistically the worst player on the Sharks last season. However, he brought an effort to his play that some of the Sharks’ statistically better players did not bring on a night-to-night basis. Toward the end of the season, he served as an alternate captain for the Sharks.
Kunin will become an unrestricted free agent once this contract expires.
Bailey agrees to one-year, two-way deal
The team also signed Bailey to another one-year, two-way deal. His cap hit will be $800,000 when he’s playing with the Sharks, according to Puckpedia.
Bailey was one of the fastest skaters in the NHL last season, especially given his limited playing time.
The 28-year-old had 14 points in 59 games with the Sharks last season, which was especially impressive considering that he joined the team in training camp on a PTO.
He was named the Sharks’ Masterton Trophy nominee, the award given annually to an NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Sharks qualify seven players; do not qualify four
The Sharks also issued qualifying offers to the restricted free agents the team wants to keep in the fold for next season.
If a team and restricted free agent player can’t agree on a contract extension in early summer, the team must issue a qualifying offer to ensure that it maintains the player’s rights. Then, the team and the player will negotiate contract terms in the hopes of reaching a new deal. If one can’t be reached, the player may be eligible for arbitration, which means a third party will determine a fair contract.
By not issuing a qualifying offer, the team relinquishes the rights to the player.
The Sharks DID NOT issue qualifying offers to:
- Calen Addison
- Jacob Peterson
- Jack Studnicka
- Filip Zadina
None of the names on the list are a surprise. Grier made it clear that Addison was not the fit the Sharks were looking for. Peterson and Studnicka never seemed to break into the Sharks’ lineup last season and spent a majority of their playing time with the Barracuda.
Zadina was the most likely of the four to be re-signed, but with the recent additions of Egor Afanazyev, Ty Dellandrea, Carl Grundstrom and Barclay Goodrow, the return of Zadina would have simply made the bottom-six forward group too crowded.
San Jose issued qualifying offers to:
- Egor Afanazyev
- Thomas Bordeleau
- Brandon Coe
- Ty Dellandrea
- Ty Emberson
- Carl Grundstrom
- Henry Thrun
It might be some time before we hear whether there are new contracts for any of the players listed above. Management will need to turn its attention to free agency on July 1. Then, on July 2-4, there’s the prospect camp to worry about.
