The Sharks scratched an important item off their to-do list Wednesday by signing defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to a five-year contract extension through the 2017-18 season.
Vlasic will earn $21 million over the length of the contract, a $4.2 million cap hit that almost seems a bargain compared with what some other blue-liners have made as free agents this summer.
“It comes down to the player wanting to be here, understanding our commitment to winning and having to help us out a little bit to have a contract that’s fair for him and for our team-building,” general manager Doug Wilson said. “He gave us a value deal in a place where he wanted to be, and that is how it should work.”
It turns out Vlasic was equally motivated to get the business side of hockey behind him. He has another year to go on his current pact that will pay him $3.1 million and would have been able to test the free-agent market a year from now at 26.
“To me, I like to have something that’s known, secure, already set,” Vlasic said. “To me, unrestricted means you’re not sure what’s going to happen. I’m very happy I’m with the Sharks for the next six years.”
Vlasic jumped directly to the NHL after being the Sharks’ second-round pick in the 2005 NHL entry draft. His solid defensive play in 471 games over the past six seasons has transformed his nickname from Pickles to Steady Eddie, and he has chipped in 22 goals and 111 assists.
The $4.2 million annual cap hit is the third-highest among Sharks defensemen — behind Dan Boyle and Brent Burns but ahead of Brad Stuart.
In this summer’s free-agent market, it would seem to compare favorably to the $5.25 million annual salary given Dennis Wideman by the Calgary Flames, or the $4.6 million James Garrison will earn with the Vancouver Canucks after his breakout season with the Florida Panthers.
The five-year extension makes Vlasic the only Shark now signed for the 2017-18 season. He hedged on whether his deal includes a no-trade or no-movement clause but sounded as if he expected to be around for the duration.
“I don’t know if I can say anything, but there’s a good chance I’m going to be a Shark for the next six years,” he said, “and I want to be a Shark as well.”
Vlasic welcomed this week’s hiring of Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson as the Sharks’ associate coach, saying his experience will benefit the whole team. The decision to add Robinson also was very popular with others in Vlasic’s family home in Montreal.
“I’ve never seen him play. I’m too young,” Vlasic said, “but my dad loves him as a hockey player.”
The caliber of play in the ECHL is considered one step below the AHL, where the Sharks’ primary development team plays in Worcester. For the past two seasons, San Jose and the Edmonton Oilers have shared an ECHL affiliate in Stockton.
