Sharks sign Marleau, Pavelski to 4-year deals
The San Jose Sharks signed star forwards Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski to four-year contracts Thursday, keeping them off the free-agent market.
General manager Doug Wilson said earlier in the week that it would be a ``home run'' if he could lock up his two most important potential free agents this week and he was able to deliver.
``We are very pleased that Patty and Joe have committed to this organization now and in the future,'' Wilson said. ``They expressed a strong belief in the direction this franchise is heading but also understand the challenges to keeping a talented group like ours together.''
The moves to keep Marleau and Pavelski come two days after Wilson informed longtime goaltender Evgeni Nabokov that the team would not offer him a contract when he becomes a free agent. Wilson said he couldn't afford to spend too much of the team's cap space on goaltending. He was able to use that money to help keep the two star forwards.
ESPN reported that Marleau, who was eligible to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1, will receive $27.6 million. Pavelski, who could have been a restricted free agent, got $16 million.
Marleau and Pavelski helped lead San Jose to one if its most successful seasons in franchise history. The Sharks posted the top record in the Western Conference for the second straight year and beat Colorado and Detroit in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
San Jose fell short in its second appearance ever in the Western Conference final, getting swept by eventual Stanley Cup champion Chicago.
``They have solidified their place in the game among the league's top forwards and we are excited as an organization to have Joe and Patty back in San Jose to build on what we accomplished last season,'' Wilson said.
Marleau, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1997 draft, is first on the career list of almost every major offensive category for San Jose. He has goals (320), assists (373) and games played (953) than any player in franchise history.
Marleau, 30, is coming off his most productive season. He scored a team-leading 44 goals, the fourth most in the NHL, and finished with 83 points playing mostly on a line with fellow Canadian Olympians Joe Thornton and Dany Heatley.
Marleau had eight goals and five assists in the playoffs, scoring the game-winners in San Jose's final two wins over Detroit in the second round, and five goals in four games against Chicago in the conference final. Marleau's 34 playoff goals since the 2003-04 season are the third most in the NHL.
Pavelski, 25, emerged as one of the top young players in the league this season. He played well for Team USA at the Olympics, where he won a silver medal, and then had a breakthrough early in the postseason.
He had nine goals, eight assists and three game-winning goals in 15 games. He scored two goals in the first-round clincher against Colorado and two in each of the first two games of the second round against Detroit, becoming the first player since Mario Lemieux in 1992 to have three straight multigoal games in the postseason.
Pavelski tied his career high in the regular season with 25 goals despite missing 15 games early with a broken foot. He also finished fourth in the league in faceoff percentage, winning 58.1 percent of his draws.
The Sharks now will try to lock up some of their other unrestricted free agents, including forwards Manny Malhotra and Scott Nichol and defenseman Niclas Wallin.
