Day 1 of NHL free agency brought the usual splashy spending, but a few of the biggest moves already look like they could age badly. With the cap climbing and teams throwing real money around, some of the contracts handed out on this Canada Day felt aggressive in all the wrong ways.
Jacob Trouba is right near the top of that list. San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Greer made the move, and the fit is hard to square with what the Sharks are trying to build. Trouba, 32, landed a four-year deal with an AAV of $8.25 million after a modest bounce-back in Anaheim following his exit from the New York Rangers.
He did show more life offensively, putting up 10 goals and 25 assists in 81 games. That was only the third time in his career he reached 10 goals, and he still brings the heavy, physical style teams want on the blue line.
But the concerns are impossible to ignore. His defensive numbers were only around even during his minutes, and while that was better than the previous three seasons, his skating at this stage of his career is still a problem.
On a young, quick Sharks roster, that looks like a real scheme mismatch.
The Trouba deal also comes with the backdrop of San Jose sitting on $14 million in cap space after day one. That gives the Sharks room, but pairing this signing with the Darnell Nurse trade makes the direction of the defense corps difficult to read.
It’s not just expensive. It feels off.
Sergei Bobrovsky might be the biggest gamble of the day. Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka took the swing, signing the veteran goalie to a three-year deal worth $7 million annually after Bobrovsky was not retained by the Florida Panthers when he reportedly asked for a long-term contract.
There’s no denying what he meant to Florida during three straight Stanley Cup appearances, including back-to-back championships. But last season was rough.
In 52 games, Bobrovsky posted an .877 save percentage, -23.66 goals saved above average, and -1.75 goals saved above expected. The Panthers were hit hard by injuries, which made everything tougher, but his performance was still poor.
The concern in Toronto goes beyond one bad season. The Maple Leafs are not the same defensive team Florida was at its best, and even with the bottom six being rebuilt and the blue line still in progress, the rosters aren’t comparable.
Bobrovsky’s age is an obvious flag, even if he’s known for taking care of his body. The bigger issue is the structure of the goaltending situation after the Dennis Hildeby trade.
Now the Leafs are counting on Anthony Stolarz, whose career high in games is 34, plus a 38-year-old goalie who would probably benefit from load management. That’s a lot of pressure with very little insulation.
Washington’s signing of Vincent Desharnais rounds out the list. The Capitals have made plenty of good moves this offseason, but this one doesn’t belong in that category. Desharnais got four years at an AAV of $4.2 million, and that’s a steep price for a third-pair defenseman.
The 30-year-old, 6-foot-7 blueliner did have a strong defensive season in San Jose, and he’ll bring size and physicality to Washington’s third pair. Those are real traits.
The issue is the term and money. If you’re going four years on a third-pair defenseman, the cap hit is supposed to come down, not sit above $4 million.
Bottom-pair defensemen are also the kind of players teams can usually replace without much trouble, which makes the urgency here even harder to understand.
With the cap rising, plenty of teams are acting like the market has changed completely. These three deals suggest there’s still a line, and these contracts crossed it.
In Other News...
Sharks Add Forward Who Could Reignite A Familiar Fan Debate
The Sharks have added another forward with a track record of producing in the minors, signing center Alex Barre-Boulet as an unrestricted free agent. Barre-Boulet spent most of his career in the Tampa Bay Lightning organization and comes to San Jose after a standout AHL season with the Colorado Eagles, where he was one of the leagues most productive scorers and added a different kind of offensive profile to the organizations forward group.
For Sharks fans, the name alone may bring back a familiar debate about whether a player with real skill can finally turn AHL success into a lasting NHL role. Barre-Boulet has already gotten a taste of the league with 68 NHL games on his resume, but the next step in San Jose will be proving he can hold that pace at the top level. The contract details have not yet been disclosed, leaving a little uncertainty around how the team plans to fit him in. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Just Lost A Familiar Blue Line Leader To Free Agency
Mario Ferraros run as a familiar part of the Sharks blue line has come to an end, closing the book on a player who grew from a 2017 draft pick into one of the organizations steadiest voices. He spent seven NHL seasons with San Jose and wore the alternate captains letter for four of them, a sign of how much the team leaned on his presence as much as his minutes.
His game was never built around flash, but around defending, blocking shots and playing through the hardest shifts San Jose could throw at him. That made him a useful piece in plenty of ways and a difficult one to fully grade in the bigger picture, especially given the kind of situations he was asked to absorb. Now the Sharks have to sort out what they lose in reliability, leadership and edge on the back end, even as the full impact of his departure settles in. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Quietly Addressed One Lingering Depth Concern After July 1
The Sharks used the early part of July to shore up a part of the organization that can quietly make a big difference over the course of a season, adding four players who are expected to spend most of their time with the AHLs San Jose Barracuda. Forward Alex Barre-Boulet, along with Tye Felhaber and Brett Leason, plus goaltender Kyle Keyser, give the Sharks a deeper collection of experienced options in the system, the kind of moves that can help a minor league team stay competitive while also giving the NHL roster some insurance.
Barre-Boulet is the headliner among the group, bringing a two-year deal and a track record that suggests he can be more than just organizational depth. Leason also stands out as a forward with recent NHL experience, while Keyser adds another goaltending option behind the Barracudas projected starter. For a Sharks team still building out its pipeline, these are the kinds of under-the-radar additions that can matter when injuries hit or call-ups start to thin out the upper levels. [Read more 🡒]