The San Jose Sharks signed Chicago Blackhawks restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson to a four-year, $14 million offer sheet on Friday.
Chicago's Niklas Hjalmarsson, right, defending against Philadelphia's Mike Richards in the Stanley Cup Final, was given an offer sheet by the San Jose Sharks.
The Blackhawks have seven days to match the offer. If they choose not to match, they will receiver San Jose's first- and third-round picks in next year's NHL draft as compensation.
Hjalmarsson, 23, would help replace captain Rob Blake, who announced his retirement at age 40 last month. The Sharks were looking for a defenseman on the market and found one from one of their key competitors in the Western Conference.
"We feel Niklas is a top-three defenseman in the National Hockey League," general manager Doug Wilson said. "We saw his abilities firsthand in the playoffs last season and he was an important piece of a Stanley Cup-winning team. He is a solid player that would be a good fit on our team now and in the future."
Hjalmarsson helped Chicago sweep the Sharks in the Western Conference final last season and then beat the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Stanley Cup. The Swede had a goal and seven assists in the postseason, including two assists against the Sharks.
He averaged a little more than 21 minutes of ice time a game.
He made $660,000 last season.
Teams rarely make offer sheets because it's futile as teams usually match. There have instances, though, of teams letting their players go, such as the Anaheim Ducks not matching a five-year, $21.25 million offer by the Edmonton Oilers to Dustin Penner in 2007. Brian Burke, then the Ducks' general manager, criticized his Oilers counterpart Kevin Lowe for inflating the marketplace.
The Blackhawks were vulnerable to an offer sheet because they were facing salary cap problems after winning the Cup. They already already have traded defenseman Brent Sopel and key forwards Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd this offseason. They now have a decision to make on what to do with Hjalmarsson without knowing how much goaltender Antti Niemi might win in salary arbitration.
He had two goals and 15 assists in 77 regular season games. That was his first full season in the NHL, having played sparingly for the Blackhawks in the previous two years. He has three goals and 18 assists in 111 career games.
If Hjalmarsson does join the Sharks, he would be the second key addition in free agency this offseason, following last week's signing of Finnish goalie Antero Niittymaki.
The Sharks are still trying to reach a deal with restricted free agent forward Devin Setoguchi.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
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