To say the San Jose Sharks have not been the most active team during the 2013 NHL free agency period would be an understatement. On Wednesday, July 10, they drove home that point by announcing four new contracts that still somehow collectively amount to as little impact on the 2013-14 season as possible without being actually none.
The re-signing of unrestricted free agent (UFA) Alex Stalock was being reported before the weekend. Even in finally announcing it, they gave no details but Cap Geek is reporting it as a two-way deal worth $625,000—just $25,000 more than Harri Sateri, with both being paid only $125,000 per season in the AHL.
Signing Stalock would definitely be an impact UFA signing were it not already known—i.e. its impact was already felt on the first day of the NHL free agency period. He is the most ready San Jose prospect to step in for the departed Thomas Greiss as the backup goalie. His competition with Sateri for that role in training camp should give the team an emergency backup and ensure that at least one of them can handle the job successfully in 2013-14.
The signing that means the least for the upcoming season was signing prospect Alex Comrie, who possesses the kind of skill lacking beyond Matt Irwin and Dan Boyle on the current San Jose blue line. He scored three goals and 12 assists in 24 games with the AHL Worcester Sharks in 2012-13.
He will remain a restricted free agent (RFA) when the contract expires next summer, allowing the Sharks to keep him if he continues to develop. There is no way he makes it to the NHL before then.
There were already two players used in the 2013 season not to mention many with more AHL experience ahead of him. Then Wednesday, the Sharks added two players capable of filling in at those roles.
They welcome back another former player in Rob Davison. He signed a one-year, two-way contract paying him $550,000 in the NHL and $105,000 in the minors. This gives the team a blue line option with 219 games of experience at the highest level. However, the 33-year old is unlikely to ever play above the AHL level again. He never had any offensive skill (just three goals and 15 assists) and has not played in the since 2009-10.
The final signing would seem a great player to carry as San Jose's last skater because of his versatility. Matt Pelech played the blue line until last season, including five games with the Calgary Flames in 2008-09. He signed the exact same contract as Davison, but could well see more than the two games played in 2013.
Still, his impact will not be significant over any other reserve the Sharks would put in that role. His goal versus threshold was the equivalent of one score per 20 games below the average minor-league replacement player. At best, he is marginally better than current projected 13th forward John McCarthy and on the blue line over both Davison and Nick Petrecki, whose tender makes him the likely ninth player on the depth chart.
In other words, none of Wednesday's actual moves (i.e. not the Stalock contract that was previously accounted for) would make much of a difference unless there were three blue line injuries or two forwards out. While the latter is likely to be the case for much of the season and the man San Jose signed for that role fell short of that standard last season.
The good news is that none of these signings precludes the team from getting better help because they are two-way contracts. The list of Wednesday's signings shows what each will mean to the team.
