San Jose Sharks
Four More Years: Sharks Re-Sign Ostapchuk
BUFFALO — The San Jose Sharks have re-signed Zack Ostapchuk.
Ostapchuk, 22, signed a four-year contract with a $2.35 million AAV.
The 6-foot-4 center emerged last season as an NHL-caliber fourth-line pivot for the San Jose Sharks.
Ostapchuk scored four goals and seven points in 59 games, won 51.6 percent of his faceoffs, and was a regular on the penalty kill.
Ostapchuk was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators with the No. 39 pick of the 2021 Draft. The San Jose Sharks acquired Ostapchuk during the 2025 Trade Deadline, along with Noah Gregor and a 2025 second-round pick for Fabian Zetterlund, Tristen Robins, and a 2025 fourth.
Ostapchuk was an RFA: The San Jose Sharks’ other major RFAs are Collin Graf, Michael Kesselring, Philipp Kurashev, and Shakir Mukhamadullin.
San Jose has by Jun. 29 at 2 PM PT to qualify this group.
Great to hear! Happy they signed another. Always good to have him on the team! Now for the rest!
Would love to see Chucky get bumped to the 3rd line with Wenny and Woody, just to see what he does with more ice time while at the same time give Bysted a chance at 4th line center ice time…BUT of course, what would that mean for the ice time for Toff, Delly, Goody, Gaudy, and Revo? *facepalm*
100% he eared it last season. I thought at times he deserved to play in the top 6 to prove this is a meritocracy ffs
What about Graf?
Wennberg Graf Sherwood. It’s gonna work
Graffer to me has easily earned top 6 mins. He’s too good not to be playing 18+ mins a game. He should be resigned to more AAV money than Eckie. Top 6 should be the usual suspects of: Smitty, Mack, Cherny, Misa, Graffer, and Stenberg. Those 6 will be fun to watch playing together.
I think Wenny with Chucky and Woody would be a pretty good 3rd line for a balanced scoring and shutting down aspect. Now, let’s see Grier address those blue line pot holes.
Who’s on your 4th line then?
Also need a spot for Toffoli. It’s a crowded group. As of this moment, Bystedt and Musty are knocking on the door and Lund might be too.
Yeah, that was my original face palm comment, the 4th line log jammed with some “locker room” kinda guys taking away what’s just as important if not more important as guys goal scoring abilities with Toff and Gaudy having to split time with Delly, Goody, Reavo, and Bysted.
Seems like a reasonable deal. I think I would have preferred shorter and more AAV but expiring as an RFA. Not sure if he would expire as an RFA on a 3 year deal. If not then it probably was never going to happen.
ZachO is worth the term
I never said he wasn’t. I’m saying I’d just prefer he be expiring as a RFA not UFA. If that was possible with a 3 year deal I would have preferred a 3 year deal at a slightly higher AAV. If it required a 2 year deal it probably wasn’t going to happen.
Ah, I slightly misread it. In this case, I think Ostapchuk might have left a bit of money on the table to get the 4 year term. I honestly think the distinction RFA and UFA doesn’t matter as much anymore. If you’re worth the money, you get paid. See Dorofeyev, Pavel; Robertson, Jason; Bouchard, Evan… All of those guys got the same deals they would have gotten as UFA’s. Perhaps the only difference is the team can trade the player for more comp as an RFA. Maybe paying Ostapchuk more AAV on a 3 year term would have been interesting… Read more »
It’s not about money. It’s about value. If he’s an RFA and you don’t want to bring him back at the money he wants the trade value you can get is a lot more than trading someone’s UFA rights.
I’ve seen enough. I don’t know if he hits the third line but he’s completely on track to be a contender-caliber 4C. Locked him up at a rising-cap-reasonable figure, if someone usurps him then he’s easy enough to bury or buy out.
Bury or buy out? Why wouldn’t they trade him if he was usurped? Seems like a lot of teams would jump at Chuky if he were available and in his prime.
Anyway, he’s sticking around for a while.
Also an option, just saying at that cap hit, you’re hardly penalized if the term bites you.
I think this is a great contract considering what I saw from Upchuck last year and how much they are paying all players this offseason. He seems like a legit young 4C to me!?
If he continues to grow and the team gives him some more dynamic linemates, I think he might only have scratched the surface.
I’m still rooting for Wetsch to be a future 4th line wing, he needs to grow offensively, too, but I like that kid’s scrap.
Now for Celebrini, Smith and Graf, and I’ve said many times I would give 8 year term to all 3 if I can arrive at a number that works for them.