San Jose Sharks set to move on from pending RFA, per report
SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks are reportedly ready to move on from one of their pending restricted free agents.
Forward Klim Kostin, acquired by the Sharks from the Detroit Red Wings at the 2024 trade deadline and just finished the final year of a two-year contract, will not be given a qualifying offer by the team, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported Tuesday night.
Kostin, 26, had one goal and six assists and averaged 10:41 in ice time in just 35 games with the Sharks this past season. In the final year of a two-year, $4 million contract he signed with the Red Wings on July 1, 2023, Kostin missed time with the Sharks due to injuries in both December and January, and was also a healthy scratch on several occasions as he struggled to be consistent.
San Jose acquired Kostin on March 8, 2024, for defenseman Radim Simek and a 2024 seventh-round draft pick. In 54 games with the Sharks, the 6-foot-4, 232-pound Kostin had 17 points.
Pending RFAs who do not receive qualifying offers by Monday at 2 p.m. will become UFAs, making them available to sign with any team on July 1.
Because the salary cap is rising from $88 million this past season to $95.5 million next season, Seravalli noted that only a handful of RFAs around the NHL are not expected to receive qualifying offers, with Cody Glass (New Jersey) and Philipp Kurashev (Chicago) on that short list.
The Sharks have several pending RFAs. Forwards Noah Gregor, Nikolai Kovalenko, Thomas Bordeleau, Brandon Coe, and Carl Berglund are all pending RFAs with arbitration rights, as are goalies Georgi Romanov and Gabriel Carriere.
Pending RFAs with the Sharks who are without arbitration rights include forwards Danil Gushchin, Mitchell Russell, and Nolan Burke, and defensemen Jack Thompson.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier said on Tuesday that the team is still discussing its options and didn’t want to announce anything before speaking with each player and their agent.
One of Gushchin’s agents, Todd Diamond, told Bay Area News Group via email that he expects Gushchin to receive a qualifying offer.
Gushchin, a third-round pick by the Sharks in 2020, is the Barracuda’s all-time leading scorer with 150 points in 182 career regular-season games. This past season, the 23-year-old Gushchin had 51 points, including 28 goals, in 56 games.
EKLUND UPDATE: Starting on July 1, Sharks forward William Eklund is eligible to sign a contract extension, and Grier said he’s open to getting a new deal done with the 2021 first-round draft pick this summer.
Eklund is entering the final year of his entry-level contract and was the Sharks’ second-leading scorer this past season with 58 points in 77 games.
“He’s played well for us,” Grier said. “He’s got a lot of the attributes we like. He plays hard, he shows up every night and gives his best. So, it’s something I’m open to. I wouldn’t say it’s a priority, but we’re open to having those discussions and seeing where it takes us the rest of the summer and maybe into the fall.”
Diamond, who also represents Eklund, offered a similar response, writing via email that, “We are always open to discuss our clients with their respective GMs. If there is something that makes sense for both sides, we would certainly entertain it and bring it to William.”
Diamond also noted that Eklund, who underwent surgery on his left wrist that was cut by an opponent’s skate blade in a IIHF World Championship tuneup game in the Czech Republic in May, is “ramping up his rehab and should be good for training camp.” Eklund was set to play for Sweden at the World Championship for the first time in his career before the injury.
The Sharks open training camp in mid-September, with their first preseason game on Sept. 21.