The Sharks have made some big moves today to bolster one of the league's worst bluelines. Signing Dimitry Orlov to a 2-year, $13 million contract (6.5 AAV), and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers from St. Louis. Nick Leddy carries a $4 million cap hit for one more season.
Orlov is the bigger addition between the two players. He was 7th on the Athletic’s free agency big board and is an NHL-caliber top 4 defenseman and a quality player on both sides of the puck. At 33, Orlov is nearing the wrong side of 30, but still managed 28 points in 76 games for the Hurricanes last season despite a drop in minutes from his usual 20 to around 18 minutes per game.
Orlov will likely see those minutes shoot back up with the Sharks, as he walks into a blueline where he is easily the top option available heading into the year, barring a significant decline or growth from a young prospect like Sam Dickinson or Luca Cagnoni. Nonetheless, Orlov should prove a capable stopgap and provide the Sharks D with a much-needed veteran top 4 option. His contract is easily palatable for the Sharks as well, who should be flush with cap space over the lifespan of the deal.
In addition to Orlov, the Sharks claimed another veteran D in Nick Leddy. The 34-year-old is well past his days of being a rock-solid top 4 if not top pair two-way defenseman with the Islanders, and had just 5 points in 31 games last season. Even so, he adds veteran depth in what should be a 6/7 role for the Sharks and shouldn't block top defense prospects if they prove capable.
With these additions, the Sharks have created a rather crowded blueline, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The Sharks' blueline was horrible last year and needed a facelift. But the Sharks may need to move someone out to make room for prospect Sam Dickinson, who should be done with junior hockey next season. Currently, the two options that make the most sense are Ferraro and Thrun. Ferraro is the better player between the two, but entering the final year of his deal, Ferraro may not be around for the long haul, and a move could make sense for the Sharks, who could extract some value out of the blueliner. As for Thrun, the 24-year-old likely has little value and could be waived in training camp. However, the Sharks could explore his market beforehand to see if they can find a deal, similar to the Thomas Bordeleau trade.
Finally, with these two moves, the Sharks have reached the cap floor, meaning they don’t have to take on more money to be compliant. With that said, they still have over 20 million in cap space and could take on some bad contracts for assets before the season, or pick up a player from a cap-strapped team. Either way, the Sharks' offseason is looking in a much better spot today than it was yesterday.