The Mario Ferraro Decision

With Marc-Édouard Vlasic being bought out and Logan Couture stepping away from hockey, Mario Ferraro is the longest tenured San Jose Shark. Ferraro is entering his seventh year and has been a mainstay on the Sharks' blue line since 2019-2020. Ferraro is also entering the final year of his four-year $13 million deal with a $3.25 million AAV.

Ferraro is a polarizing player because his value is hard to determine. He's not known for his offense, with a career high of 21 points in the 2023-24 season, and his defense is based chiefly around playing hard and blocking shots. While Ferraro plays a ton of penalty kill minutes (he played a team-high 209 minutes), there is an analytical argument to make that it might be his strength.

While the Sharks can roll Ferraro (and Liljegren) back out with the additions they made in Dmitry Orlov, Nick Leddy, and John Klingberg, and expect to see Ferraro see a bit of a reduced role, especially with Orlov now the Sharks' top defenseman. The Sharks should also expect to see younger defenseman start to demand NHL minutes sooner rather than later.

Shakir Mukhamadullin was arguably the Sharks' best defenseman before he got hurt last season and should be ready to take on a larger role this year. Jack Thompson split last season between the Sharks and the San Jose Barracuda and will be pushing for an NHL job this fall. This also doesn't include Sam Dickinson. The Sharks' 2024 11th overall pick is also expected to push for an NHL job this fall and is unfortunately stuck between playing in the NHL and going back to the OHL.

Mario Ferraro is entering the last year of his deal and is due for a raise from his current contract. If Ferraro signs a new contract during the season, Evolving Hockey projects an extension at 6 years at $4.83 million AAV. While the money doesn't matter (Sharks projected to have $62 million in cap space next year), the roster spot might be more necessary as the Sharks continue their rebuild.

Offering Ferraro a six-year deal doesn't seem like a great idea for a team in the middle of a rebuild. While being able to pencil in 75+ games a season and over 21 minutes a night for the next six years would be worth locking in, Ferraro could start to break down with his style of play.

With the combination of young players on the verge of making the NHL (not to mention Luca Cagnoni and Eric Pohlkamp), and a long-term Ferraro contract on the horizon, it might behoove Mike Grier to look to move Ferraro sooner rather than later.

Ferraro's value around the NHL is interesting because players like Ferraro are always coveted around the deadline (points to Cody Ceci) to help a team. While the return should be solid (probably a late second or early third) it's more about opening up a spot for another player to get extended NHL time.

If Sam Dickinson can win a job out of training camp and stick around past his nine games, moving Ferraro might be the best option for the Sharks to open up a long-term spot for him. Ferraro is the best option to move, as he nets you the best return and keeps Grier from locking him up to a long-term contract.

While Ferraro has been a good soldier for the Sharks during their rebuild, it might be best to look to move on before re-signing Ferraro to a long-term contract.