San Jose Sharks Cap Space: Examining the Sharks' salary in the off-season

The San Jose Sharks are a rebuilding team, but they have had an active off-season in terms of depth signings.

The Sharks still have Erik Karlsson under contract. He has requested a trade and the hope for San Jose is that they can move him. But even with his $11.5 million under contract, the Sharks still have $6,566,666 in cap space to make another move or two if they want.

Although San Jose has the cap space, they are a rebuilding team, so could acquire a player and a draft pick from a team needing to unload.

The San Jose Sharks' off-season moves

The San Jose Sharks still have yet to make their biggest move, which is trading away Erik Karlsson. What makes it so difficult is the fact he is making $11.5 million for four more years. As well, he just won the Norris - for the best defenseman - so the Sharks aren't going to give him away cheaply.

Mike Grier was named Sharks general manager on July 5. He spoke to reporters about the situation (via NHL.com):

"For people who think we're going to eat 50% of his contract and all this type of stuff, it's probably not going to happen. Erik's a special player. He's on the path to being a Hall of Fame player. He's healthy, I think he proved that last year. He's a special player who drives offense like not many others in this league.

"He's not someone who we're just going to toss aside and not take things into account and try and help the organization out."

Outside of a possible Karlsson trade, the San Jose Sharks did trade for and sign goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to a two-year deal to form a tandem with Kaapo Kahkonen.

They also acquired forward Anthony Duclair in a trade with the Florida Panthers, who will add some much-needed scoring to their roster.

"Anthony will bring speed and tenacity to our lineup on a nightly basis," said Grier. "He has a well-rounded game along with the ability to score and we are excited to have him join our organization."

In free agency, San Jose inked forward Givani Smith to a two-year deal, and defensemen Kyle Burroughs to a three-year deal. They also signed several players to two-way deals to try and compete for a roster spot in training camp.

Ultimately, the San Jose Sharks will likely be near the bottom of the standings next year, but they will still receive a ton of attention until a Karlsson trade happens.