San Jose

Sharks

The deal reportedly has an average annual value of $3.25 million. “Mario has shown that he is a dynamic and reliable defenseman for our club, skating top-level minutes against the best competition every night and delivering solid results,” said Sharks GM Mike Grier. “His energy and work ethic are the reason why he has achieved so much in his early part of his career, and we look forward to watching him continue to grow and elevate his role on the team.” Ferraro registered two goals, 14 points, 49 shots, 151 blocks and 140 hits in 63 games during the 2021-22 season.

The Sharks also announced on Monday that Scott Fitzgerald has been named Director of Player Personnel, Tom Holy will be the Assistant General Manager, Chris Morehouse will have the role of Director of Amateur Scouting; and Ryan Stewart will serve as Pro Personnel and Senior Advisor.

The Sharks have circled Feb. 25, 2023 as the day they’ll raise Marleau’s number to the rafters. San Jose drafted Marleau in 1997 and he went on to score 566 goals and 1,197 points in an NHL record 1,779 games. He wore a Sharks jersey for 1,607 of those contests and holds the Sharks’ franchise records for most goals and points. “As a little boy skating on a frozen pond, my dream was to play in the NHL,” Marleau said. “Never could I have imagined the honor of my jersey hanging in the rafters above the very ice that I played so many of my NHL games on. I cannot begin to describe the way I feel. I am truly grateful and thankful for this recognition, but also for being able to play in front of the great San Jose Sharks fans for so long. I’ll miss doing so for the rest of my life. Thank you to the Sharks organization, my teammates throughout my career, and especially the fans for this honor of a lifetime. I can’t wait to see you all on Feb. 25.”

Quinn was recently named as the head coach of the Sharks. During his tenure as the bench boss of the Rangers, he worked with second overall pick Kaapo Kakko and first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere, but the two were quiet out of the gate and played in limited roles. “[It wasn’t] your typical situation with the Rangers,” Grier pointed out. “A lot of the kids who get drafted at first or second-overall picks, they’re going to really bad teams. They got dropped into situations with Panarin, Kreider, and Zibanejad. Their ice time and power play stuff, all that had to be earned. They weren’t given first-line opportunities like a lot of kids who are first or second-overall picks. I think David did a really good job handling that and keeping everyone accountable and keeping his dressing room intact. If he just started giving Kakko and Lafreniere first-line shifts and power play shifts without earning it, the Kreiders and Zibanejads of the world would not have been happy with it.” It’s also worth noting that Adam Fox had an amazing rookie season under Quinn and then won the Norris Trophy in his sophomore season, so Quinn’s tenure wasn’t devoid of young players playing big roles.

Quinn had a 96-87-25 as the bench boss for the New York Rangers from 2018-19 through the 2020-21 campaign. Before that he spent five seasons as the head coach of Boston University. “David has successfully coached at several different levels in his hockey career, including with Team USA on the international stage at the Olympics and leading the team at the World Championships to the Bronze Medal game,” said Sharks GM Mike Grier. “His experience in developing young players as a head coach at Boston University and at the NHL level over the last few seasons has proven to be effective.”

Lorentz and the Sharks have managed to avoid a salary arbitration hearing. He had eight goals and 13 points in 67 contests last season.

Chris Grier has been the general manager of the Miami Dolphins since 2016. Although they obviously manage teams for two different sports, there are some universal areas of the job that Chris can offer advice on to his brother after his years of experience. “Yeah, for sure,” Mike Grier said. “We’ve talked, you know, we talk roster building and, you know, managing players and staff and, you know, the importance of culture in the locker room and things like that. It’s in sports if they can cross over a little bit. He definitely has a bigger roster to manage, but in general, we definitely bounce some ideas, but more me trying to pick his brain and get some of his knowledge that I what he’s gone through.”

The Sharks acquired Kunin from Nashville on July 8 in exchange for John Leonard and a 2023 third round pick. Kunin had 13 goals and 22 points in 82 games with the Predators in 2021-22. He also played a psychical game, finishing with 99 penalty minutes and 223 hits.

Kahkonen filed for salary arbitration, but a hearing is no longer necessary. He had a 14-14-4 record, 2.87 GAA, and .912 save percentage in 36 games last season. The Sharks have three goaltenders promised cap hits of more than $2 million next season between Kahkonen, James Reimer, and Adin Hill, so don’t be surprised if San Jose trades one of them away this summer.

Lorentz was acquired by San Jose from Carolina in the trade that sent Brent Burns to the Hurricanes. He had eight goals, 13 points, 80 shots and 67 hits in 67 games for Carolina in 2021-22.