Mackenzie Blackwood to sign two-year contract with San Jose Sharks

Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli has reported that the San Jose Sharks are close to a new contract with goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.

The deal would be for two years at $2.5 million per season.

The Sharks didn’t give Blackwood a qualifying offer after acquiring him from the New Jersey Devils for a draft pick earlier in the week. Blackwood is coming off of a difficult season that saw him finish with a 10-6-2 record with the Devils and a 1-1-0 run with the AHL’s Utica Comets. Blackwood has a career NHL record of 65-57-18 with eight shutouts and a .906 save percentage.

Blackwood, 26, could be a big bounce-back candidate for the Sharks. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Blackwood was seen as one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL, highlighted by a 22-14-8 record with three shutouts and a .915 save percentage in 2019-20. It’s been downhill ever since, and Blackwood fell out of favor in New Jersey when it mattered most.

The Devils elected to go with a goaltending duo of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid during the playoffs, with mixed results. Blackwood struggled to stay healthy, and his play in the crease left a lot to be desired. At this price with a rebuilding Sharks team with low expectations, Blackwood could find a way to bounce back big this coming season.

The Sharks have 26-year-old Kaapo Kahkonen under contract for one more year at $2.75 million. The team also have Georgi Romanov, Magnus Chrona and Eetu Makiniemi under contract in the AHL to give them some extra goaltending depth.

According to CapFriendly, the Sharks have $13.304 million in projected cap space. Fabian Zetterlund is the only pending RFA at this time, with nine forwards and eight defensemen currently under contract. Filip Bystedt and Thomas Bordeleau are two prospects with a shot to make the team up front, while Valtteri Pulli and Shakir Mukhamadullin could fight for a role on the back end.