San Jose Sharks sign Mario Ferraro to four-year contract

The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Mario Ferraro to a four-year contract extension with a $3.25 million cap hit

“Mario has shown that he is a dynamic and reliable defenseman for our club, skating top-level minutes against the best competition every night and delivering solid results,” said Sharks general manager Mike Grier in a statement announcing the signing. “His energy and work ethic are the reason why he has achieved so much in his early part of his career, and we look forward to watching him continue to grow and elevate his role on the team.”

Ferraro was a restricted free agent after finishing up his entry-level contract with a $925,000 cap hit. He signed his ELC two years after the Sharks selected him in the second round of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Ferraro had a solid season with the Sharks in 2021-22, with two goals, 12 assists, and 14 points in 63 games. He also led the Sharks in blocked shots with 151 and was third on the team in hits with 140.

Ferraro’s underlying numbers haven’t quite come into form just yet, as he has just a 46.3% shot attempt share and a 48.2% expected goal share since entering the league in 2019-20. However, those numbers did climb a bit in 2021-22, particularly with his expected goal share at 50.98%. Considering he hasn’t played on a high-calibre Sharks team yet, and consistently faces tough competition, there’s promise of him improving over the course of this four year deal.

The Sharks find themselves about $1 million over the salary cap with the Ferraro signing, which means the Sharks will probably be looking to move out some salary to make room for it. The easiest solution would be moving one of James Reimer or Adin Hill, as both of them and Kaapo Kahkonen have cap hits north of $2 million, and with cheap experience in Aaron Dell in the minors, it might make sense to offload one of those contracts.