In this edition of San Jose Sharks News & Rumors, P.K. Subban remains a free agent, and some are suggesting the Sharks may be a fit. Meanwhile, the team announced on Monday that they have re-signed forward Noah Gregor to a one-year contract. In other news, Brian Wiseman has been named as an assistant coach on David Quinn’s staff.
Sharks May Have Interest in Subban
This past week, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now suggested that signing Subban may make some sense for general manager Mike Grier. After all, the team will have a hole in their blue line moving forward as Nikolai Knyzhov was recently forced to undergo surgery to repair a torn achilles. Given that he remains unsigned near the end of August, Subban would come cheap for the Sharks or any other interested team, though one anonymous NHL scout warned Peng to temper expectations if he were indeed to come to San Jose.
“He’s not a very good defender anymore,” the scout explained. “His decision-making is all over the map. You’re never sure what he’s going to do on the ice. Some of the things that he does don’t make sense, so you can’t anticipate his moves if you’re his D-partner or teammate. He’s not trustworthy in that regard.
“He’s not a very good power play guy right now, even on the second unit. He’s a shooter, and his shot is hard, but he’s not in control of it. He scares his net front forwards to death.”
While this is only one person’s opinion, it is likely shared by a number of front offices around the league, and explains why Subban still remains without a deal in place. As Peng mentions in his article, however, this scout was simply saying that he is not going to come in and be a rock solid top four defenseman. That doesn’t necessarily mean he can’t help out the third pairing, something Grier may look to make happen, given their very underwhelming back end.
Sharks Extend Gregor
It was announced on Monday that they have re-signed Gregor to a one-year, $950,000 deal. The 24-year-old center, who was selected by the Sharks in the fourth round (111 overall) of the 2016 Draft, posted career highs this past season with eight goals and 23 points in 63 games.
“Noah elevated his play last season and set career highs in several offensive categories,” Grier said in a statement. “He can utilize his speed to create space in the offensive zone and we look forward to watching him take another step this year.”
By no means will Gregor ever be a gamebreaker at the NHL level, but he showed some significant improvements in 2021-22 and will look to do the same this upcoming season. At $950,000, he will be a solid depth piece for the Sharks moving forward, and should be able to earn himself another deal with the club in the future if he continues his upward trajectory.
Sharks Add Wiseman to Coaching Staff
Exactly one week after naming both Ryan Warsofsky and Scott Gordon as assistant coaches, the Sharks announced another to Quinn’s staff, this time in Wiseman. The 51-year-old is a former player who got in three games at the NHL level back in 1996-97 with the Toronto Maple Leafs before wrapping his professional career up at the conclusion of the 1999-2000 season.
Related: Sharks’ Biggest Question Mark in 2022-23 Will Be Defensive Corps
Since his retirement as a player, Wiseman spent several years as an assistant coach with the University of Michigan before becoming a part of the Edmonton Oilers staff over the past three seasons. During his time with the Oilers, he was tasked mainly with working on the group’s offensive strategies.
Looking Ahead for the Sharks
With the coaching staff appearing to be fully in place, there may not be a ton of Sharks news to monitor moving forward. That said, the Subban chatter is something to keep an eye on, as is the status of Jonah Gadjovich, who remains an unrestricted free agent. Aside from that, things should stay rather quiet until training camps begin next month.
