The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman John Klingberg to a 1-year 4 million contract. Additionally, they have signed versatile forward Adam Gaudette to a 2-year contract worth $2 million per season.
At one point, Klingberg was viewed as a top-pairing defenseman who was extremely capable offensively. Since leaving Dallas in 2022, however, Klingberg has been plagued by injury and has looked nowhere near his past self. However, Klingberg managed to get into 19 playoff games for the Edmonton Oilers this past postseason and didn’t look entirely out of place.
In a perfect world, Klingberg could come into San Jose and refind his game with big minutes and power-play time, at just 32 years old, it's not entirely out of the question; however, after dealing hip injuries, even with a bigger role I find it unlikely he can still effectively handle that responsibility.
Nonetheless, it’s a no-drawback move for the Sharks. If Klingberg flops, the Sharks are out of the deal after this season, and the 4 million AAV helps them get closer to the floor. And even if Klingberg can’t reach his former level, he still brings puck-moving ability on the backend, something the Sharks need desperately and was few and far between this offseason.
Adam Gaudette is coming off a breakout season with Ottawa, where he scored 19 goals and 26 points in 81 games and 3 points in 6 AHL games. While he is unlikely to match those goal totals with the Sharks, he adds some scoring depth to the forward group. If he does manage to match those totals, 2 million AAV is a bargain for the additional season. And it is low enough to be buried in the minors if it does not work out.
It's a big deal for Gaudette, who finds some stability in the league after bouncing around the AHL the last couple of seasons before finding his game in Ottawa this past season.
The Sharks have picked things up in the last hour; they still need to add $ 12 million in cap space to reach the floor, so it will be interesting to see how they approach doing that with the free agency pool drying up.