Marleau, Pavelski Ink Four-Year Deals To Remain With Sharks

 

Teams looking to bring in help at center through free agency will have some very slim pickings when the market opens next Thursday. About one week after the Montreal Canadiens plucked Tomas Plekanec from the market on a six-year, $30 million deal, the San Jose Sharks have taken away perhaps the most coveted center of the 2010 unrestricted free agency class, Patrick Marleau.

Marleau will remain with the Sharks on a four-year deal that will pay him $6.9 million annually. That counts as a $600,000 raise from the $6.3 million earned in each of the past two seasons. He is still the third highest paid player on the Sharks, behind Dany Heatley ($7.5 million per season) and Joe Thornton ($7.2 million per season).

If this was two years ago, the Sharks likely would have let Marleau walk. The 2007-08 campaign was not too kind to him with just 19 goals and 48 points with a staggering minus-19 mark. Last summer was not one of Marleau’s brightest moments, either, as a better offensive showing from Marleau during the regular season was followed by another first round elimination in the playoffs. That led to management exploring the idea of a roster shakeup and eventually brought upon the removal of Marleau as team captain.

Marleau has since proven himself to still be an important offensive threat for the Sharks and had an incredible year in 2009-10 as the second leading scorer on the Sharks. He put up a career-high 44 goals last season (fourth in the league) and added 39 assists for 82 points – three points behind his previous high of 86 in 2005-06. Marleau added 13 points in 14 postseason contests as the Sharks dropped their choker label and advanced all the way to the Western Conference Finals.

Marleau’s entire 12-year career has been with the Sharks, which made this extension just as much a loyalty issue as a talent one. He is the franchise’s all-time leader in just about every important offensive category, “including games played, goals, assists, points, power play goals, game-winning goals and shots,” according to TSN.

General Manager Doug Wilson also put pen to paper on a new contract for pending restricted free agent Joe Pavelski. In four NHL seasons, all with the Sharks, Pavelski has developed into a key all-around commodity. He doesn’t have the notoriety of a Thornton, Heatley or Marleau, but it’s hard to call him a depth or role player since his contributions to the organization are so critical. After posting 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points during the regular season last year, he went on to lead the Sharks in scoring with 17 points during their run to the Western Conference Finals. Three of his team-leading nine playoff scores counted as game-winners.

Pavelski’s new deal will keep him around for another four year at a rate of $4 million per season. The 25-year old just completed a two-year, $3.275 million contract.

Both Marleau and Pavelski also represented their countries in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Marleau skated away with the Gold Medal as a member of Team Canada, while Pavelski took the Silver with Team USA.

These two signings raise the Sharks’ payroll to $46.648 million. Devin Setoguchi, Manny Malholtra, Scott Nichol and Jed Ortmeyer are all in need of new deals, while the Sharks need a top four defenseman to replace the retired Rob Blake. But the five percent raise in the salary to $59.4 million should give Wilson enough breathing room with around $13 million left to play around with.