Blades of Teal
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San Jose Sharks Re-Sign Forward Ryan Carpenter

By Patrick Leiva

December 12, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Ryan Carpenter (40) skates during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center at San Jose. The Wild defeated the Sharks 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
December 12, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Ryan Carpenter (40) skates during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center at San Jose. The Wild defeated the Sharks 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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San Jose re-signed their leading scorer from the Barracuda last season leaving Matt Nieto as the only unsigned free agent for team teal.

And then there was one.

On Thursday morning, the San Jose Sharks announced that they had agreed to a one-year deal with 25-year-old forward Ryan Carpenter.

Carpenter, who had been issued a qualifying offer earlier this summer, led the San Jose Barracuda in scoring in their inaugural campaign with 55 points, including a team-best 37 assists, in 66 games in the AHL. He also led the team with a plus-20 rating as he proved to be one of the most dynamic offensive threats for a Barracuda team that struggled to score at times.

Carpenter also made his NHL debut against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12th when he featured in more than seven minutes of action in his first taste of hockey at the highest levels.

With Carpenter now in the fold, that leaves Matt Nieto as San Jose’s lone, unsigned free agent. While the terms of Carpenter’s deal are unknown, the Sharks currently have about $1.730M in cap space so will have less than that in order to squeeze Nieto in.

It will be interesting to see how the forward group will shake out as team teal has built quite a bit of depth up front.

Carpenter is someone who is hoping to crack the everyday lineup in San Jose after a very strong campaign with the Barracuda last season. Also, Timo Meier, who was the best skater during the Sharks recently completed development camp, has the look of an NHL forward at this point in time.

Related Story: Timo Meier Shows Why He's A Top Prospect

With the perceived logjam up front, San Jose could also decide to trade someone like Tommy Wingels in order to create some much-needed cap space along with more room from some younger players to break their way into the Sharks lineup.

Regardless whether Carpenter makes team teal or not, he will provide another form of leadership with the Barracuda as San Jose ushers in a lot of newer and younger faces next season.

Next: Five Lessons From Sharks Development Camp

Carpenter is a versatile forward who can play either center or wing which could be a benefit as San Jose has a surplus of wingers at the moment.

Now that Carpenter is back in teal, general manager Doug Wilson is almost done with his work for the summer. Nieto is his only big concern remaining, and San Jose could decide to move on from him, although I’d bet he does come back for at least one more season.

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