Sharks Agree To Terms With D Brad Stuart
JOSH DUBOW,AP Sports Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks have agreed to terms on a three-year contract with newly acquired defenseman Brad Stuart that will prevent him from becoming a free agent.
General manager Doug Wilson said Saturday that the length and amount have been agreed to and the only holdup is submitting the contract to the league for approval.
The Sharks acquired the rights to Stuart earlier this month from Detroit for pending free agent Andrew Murray and a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2014.
Stuart had made clear that he wanted to be closer to his family, which still lives in San Jose. He had had six goals and 15 assists in 81 games last season for Detroit. He had a plus-16 rating and led the Red Wings in hits with 177 and was second in blocked shots with 115.
Wilson made that announcement after wrapping up the final day of the NHL draft by selecting center Chris Tierney in the second round, right wing Christophe Lalancette in the fourth, center Daniel O'Regan in the fifth, defenseman Clifford Watson in the sixth and defenseman Joakim Ryan in the seventh.
The Sharks drafted center Tomas Hertl of the Czech Republic with their first-round pick on Friday as they tried to add depth to the organization after a disappointing first-round exit in the playoffs.
"We're pleased with what we accomplished this year," Wilson said. "The truth will be told in future years with how they can help our hockey team."
The Sharks used their first pick of the day to take Tierney out of London of the Ontario Hockey League with the 55th overall selection. They got that second-round pick as compensation for not signing 2007 first-round pick Patrick White.
San Jose previously traded its own second-round pick to Carolina for Ian White and a second-rounder acquired last year from Minnesota to Tampa Bay for Dominic Moore.
Tierney, who turns 18 on July 1, was ranked as the 118th best North American skater by the NHL Central Scouting service. He had 11 goals and 23 assists with a plus-25 rating in 65 games for London last season. He played mostly on the fourth line.
"He was a good younger player on a real good team who had a lot of good players," scouting director Tim Burke said. "He should be able to step up into another role next year. He's a guy if he's on a bad team he probably goes higher because he would be seen more."
The Sharks then traded two picks to Chicago for a fourth-rounder and selected Lalancette from Acadie-Bathurst of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the 109th overall selection. Lalancette, 18, was ranked as the 62nd best North American skater by the NHL.
Lalancette, listed at 6-foot, 170 pounds, had 16 goals, 31 assists and a plus-5 rating in 63 games last season in the QMJHL.
The Blackhawks got one of San Jose's two seventh-round picks this year, 191st overall, and a fourth-rounder in the 2013 draft. The Sharks wanted to add a pick in the middle rounds and Lalancette was a player they had targeted.
"We were lucky that worked out," Wilson said.
The Sharks then took undersized high school center O'Regan of Needham, Mass., in the fifth round with the 138th overall pick. O'Regan, who is committed to go to Boston University, was ranked 112th among North American skaters and played well for the U.S. Under 18 Team in Slovakia in 2011.
"He's not the biggest guy but he plays above his size," Burke said. "He's one of those guys we didn't move up to take and we were lucky. We thought he might fall because of his size."
San Jose took Watson of Sioux City in the USHL in the sixth round with the 168th pick. Watson, the 170th ranked North American skater, had no goals and eight assists in 58 games last season. He is planning to go to Ohio State in 2013.
Ryan, 19, was the 198th overall pick. He had seven goals and 10 assists in 34 games as a freshman last season at Cornell.
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