Sharks sign Alex Wennberg to two-year, $5M AAV contract

The team from the Golden State’s Bay Area continued to stay busy.

On Monday, the San Jose Sharks signed forward Alex Wennberg to a two-year contract. The deal will carry a $5 million AAV through the end of the 2025-26 season. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the signing.

It was the second notable signing by the Sharks as free agency opened. The team also locked down forward Tyler Toffoli for four years. General manager Mike Grier has been busy, as he signed prospect Will Smith to an entry-level contract, before taking Macklin Celebrini at last week’s NHL Draft.

Wennberg finished the 2023-24 season with the New York Rangers, as he was acquired by the team via trade with the Seattle Kraken right before the trade deadline in March. In 19 regular-season games with the Rangers, he scored a goal and four assists. He played in all 16 playoff games for the Blueshirts, scoring a goal and an assist, as New York lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Final. In 79 regular-season games, Wennberg registered 10 goals and 30 assists with the Kraken and Rangers.

Wennberg had been with the Kraken since the beginning of the franchise, as he was taken by the team in the 2021 Expansion Draft. He was a big contributor in Seattle’s lone trip to the playoffs in 2023, scoring 38 points during the regular season before posting seven points through two rounds of the postseason.

Wennberg was originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft. He spent the first four years of his career with the Blue Jackets, before signing as a free agent with the Florida Panthers in October 2020.

In 712 NHL games, the Stockholm, Sweden native scored 91 goals and 244 assists, including 19 points in 58 playoff games.

With the signing, the Sharks have 35 standard player contracts on the books for the 2024-25 campaign, with over $16.8 million in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly.