SHARKS SIGN YOUNG WINGER IN NEED OF CAREER REJUVENATION

The Sharks have signed right winger Ty Dellandrea to a two-year, $2.6M deal, according to PuckPedia. He’ll cost $1.3M against the cap in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Dellandrea, 24 later this month, has 151 games of NHL experience, all of those coming with the Stars over the past four years. An RFA this summer, the Sharks acquired his signing rights from Dallas for a 2025 fourth-round pick on June 19.

The 2018 No. 13 overall pick looked like he had locked down a full-time NHL role after playing in all 82 games for Dallas in 2022-23, but he fell out of favor over the course of the most recent campaign. During that 2022-23 season, Dellandrea scored nine goals with 19 assists for 28 points with a +9 rating. He was deployed in fourth-line minutes at even strength but was an important part of the Stars’ penalty kill, averaging just over two minutes per game there to bring his nightly average to 14:12.

But in 2023-24, he played just 42 games for Dallas, posting nine points and a -10 rating. He spent the whole season on the NHL roster but sat for about half of it as a healthy scratch, including a nearly three-week stretch in January. He averaged 12:40 per game on the year, still seeing significant usage shorthanded when dressed, but his even-strength minutes were reduced by a decent margin.

Time is slowly running out for Dellandrea, who scored 70 points in 47 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Flint Firebirds in his final season of junior hockey, to develop offensively. The Sharks still likely see upside in Dellandrea as a potential future third-line fixture with a solid two-way game, especially considering his strong showing in his one full season in the minors (50 points in 68 games with AHL Texas in 2021-22). They can be patient with his development, too – he won’t be UFA-eligible until 2028.

The Sharks have been focused on adding some more NHL-experienced talent to protect their developing forward prospects in recent weeks. They claimed forward Barclay Goodrow off waivers, signed Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg in free agency and brought in depth winger Carl Grundstrom in a trade with the Kings, although he’s still an RFA in need of a deal. That’s likely GM Mike Grier’s next order of business after getting one done for Dellandrea.

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2024-07-04T15:38:25Z dg43tfdfdgfd