The buyout may be the end of Vlasic’s NHL career

Longtime San Jose Sharks defenseman may have reached a relatively unceremonious end on Thursday, after the Sharks announced that he would be placed on unconditional waivers for purposes of a buyout. 

While the option allows the Sharks to continue investing in their rebuild and youthful project, it marks the end of an era on the blue line, and potentially the end of the 39-year-old’s NHL career. 

Since making his NHL debut with the Sharks in 2006, Vlasic skated in 1,323 regular-season games, scoring 84 goals and 379 points, while helping the franchise get to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. 

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli dove into the move and what it means for the Sharks and Vlasic moving forward. 

Seravalli: [Vlasic’s] minutes had dropped off significantly, and he played so few games last season, he gets two-thirds [of his contract] not to play this upcoming season. So, his NHL career is likely over. We had listed him as a buyout candidate a few weeks ago, and the Sharks made that official today. 

Yaremchuk: It’s not like the Sharks needed money, but similar to the TJ Brody situation, Frank, they’re just opening up a roster spot and, in a way, maybe doing right by the player. I know you just said his career might be over, but at least if he wanted to, he could put his hand up to the league and be like, ‘I’ll play again.”

Seravalli: But the other part is that it’s a lot of work, right? It’s a big commitment to get ready for a season, especially when you’re 39, and you barely played last year, as it was.  His body, I’m sure, has had some significant wear and tear, and he’s over 1,300 games into his career. I don’t know that he’d be absolutely itching to get back out there again, but we’ll see.

You can catch the Vlasic segment and the rest of Thursday’s episode here…