The San Jose Sharks sent shockwaves through their fanbase today with perhaps their biggest non-retention free agent signing in years, signing UFA Tyler Toffoli to a 4 year contract with an average annual value of $6M according to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston.
Tyler Toffoli's four-year deal with #SJSharks carries a $6M AAV.
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) July 1, 2024
Toffoli is an exceptionally effective forward, capable of driving play and generating tons of offense without being much of a liability in his own end. Having cracked 30 goals in each of the last two years, the former Los Angeles Kings winger could be the ideal winger for Will Smith or Macklin Celebrini, whom Elliotte Friedman speculated the Sharks were trying to lure out of college with the signing.
The following Regularized Adjusted Plus-Minus chart from Evolving Hockey especially showcases how effective he was in both even strength and power-play minutes, which should come as welcome news for a Sharks team desperately starved of goal-scoring talent last year.
The contract is surprisingly friendly for both player and team — having just turned 32, Toffoli should remain effective for the majority of the contract, and the $6M average annual value should not serve as an issue for a Sharks team that has over $25M in cap space at the moment. Moreover, the relatively short term protects the franchise in case it all goes south, as Toffoli’s contract expires just a year after Will Smith’s entry-level contract.
In either case, Toffoli arguably becomes the team’s best current forward right away and adds a layer of protection for the team’s younger talents by providing them with high-end, NHL-quality talent to play with. This also means that if Logan Couture is healthy next year and if Macklin Celebrini leaves Boston University, the Sharks’ forward unit could suddenly look a lot better than it has in a long time — a top six of Celebrini, Granlund, Toffoli, Couture, Eklund, and Will Smith is a lot more lethal than what the franchise has rolled out for the last several years.
If nothing else, it should at least make the team watchable.
