SAN JOSE – The Sharks’ biggest priority in free agency became all too clear Tuesday after they bought out the final three years of Martin Jones’ contract.
The Sharks will be looking to bring in an experienced, consistent goalie as soon as Wednesday morning when unrestricted free agents are able to sign with any team.
The Sharks, general manager Doug Wilson said, want someone who can complement the recently acquired Adin Hill, but not necessarily take over the No. 1 role. Hill, 25, has never been a No. 1 goalie in the NHL for an entire season, so he’s probably going to need some help.
“We really like Adin,” Wilson said. “We just think he has the body type, the age, the attitude, the competitiveness that he’ll be part of that tandem. My goal is to add a quality veteran that has been in the league for a while that we know and can play quite a few games, too.
“We’ve identified a couple. We’ll see how that unfolds next few days.”
A handful of experienced goalies are set to hit the market Wednesday, including Frederik Andersen of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Braden Holtby, whose contract was just bought out by the Vancouver Canucks.
Both Holtby and Andersen will be 32 by the start of next season and have been No. 1 goalies for several years with a combined 882 NHL games. Holtby won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018.
The slightly older, and presumably less expensive, crowd of UFA goalies includes James Reimer, 33, and Jonathan Bernier, who will be 33 on Aug. 7.
Reimer was with the Sharks, backing up Jones, for their 2016 run to the Stanley Cup Final. He went 15-5-2 with the Carolina Hurricanes last season with a .906 save percentage and 2.66 goals-against average. He has played in 385 games over 11 NHL seasons.
Younger possibilities for the Sharks, given their salary cap restraints, include Linus Ullmark, 27, Petr Mrázek, 29, and David Rittich, 28. But it seems like the Sharks are searching for a more experienced goalie.
The Sharks, as of Tuesday after the Jones buyout, had $12.3 million in cap space, although a chunk of that — perhaps up to $3 million – will be taken up by Hill’s new deal.
“We need one more guy that I think is a quality veteran, that is a stabilizer, you know what you’re going to get,” Wilson said. “There’s a few of them out there, and we’ll be exploring that as soon as tomorrow.”
Wilson said in May as the Sharks were wrapping up a 21-28-7 season that he would be in the market for a third-line center to take some of the offensive and defensive load off of his top two centers, Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl. So don’t expect any big-ticket players to come to San Jose.
Still, there might be some impact players to be had.
Tyler Bozak, as a right shot, could be a fit as a third-line center with the Sharks. But Bozak, 35, has reportedly been offered a one-year deal to remain with St. Louis, a team that figures to be in a better position to compete for a playoff spot next season than San Jose.
Other right-shot possibilities include Derek Stepan and Sam Gagner, both 31. Left-shot centermen that could be available include Nick Bonino, 33, Casey Cizikas, 30, and Phillip Danault. Cizikas and Danault, though, might be looking for more term and dollar than the Sharks are willing to dole out.
Although the Sharks have limited cap space, term will also be key, as Wilson might not want to be saddled with more lengthy contracts than he already has. The Sharks feel William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and Ozzy Wiesblatt could be pushing for NHL jobs in one- or two-years time.
Asked how active he might be on the trade front going forward, Wilson said, “our needs are very specific. We want to get people that can integrate in quickly with our group that fit those specific roles.
“You want to have flexibility going forward. So the term of contracts, the setup, you have an eye on now you have an eye on the next year. And knowing that we have some young players that are going to be coming … you want to have flexibility should those guys come in and earn a spot that they’re not blocked out.”
The Sharks are also in the market for a versatile depth forward with leadership qualities.
“I need just the right type of character of people (who) understand the role and can make some other people around them better,” Wilson said, “so that’s really what our priority is right now.”