Sharks sign Ferraro to four-year deal, take care of priority originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
The Sharks took care of one of their biggest offseason priorities Thursday by signing defenseman Mario Ferraro to a four-year contract.
The 23-year-old Ferraro was a restricted free agent but now is signed through the 2025-26 NHL season.
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San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng reported that the Annual Average Value of Ferraro's deal is $3.25 million. The AAV of his recently-expired entry level contract was $1,137,500 million.
"Mario has shown that he is a dynamic and reliable defenseman for our club, skating top-level minutes against the best competition every night and delivering solid results,” Sharks first-year general manager Mike Grier wrote in a statement released by the team. “His energy and work ethic are the reason why he has achieved so much in his early part of his career, and we look forward to watching him continue to grow and elevate his role on the team.”
A second-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Ferraro quickly has become a leader in the Sharks' dressing room, earning an alternate captain role during the 2021-22 season.
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In 63 games last season, Ferraro finished with two goals and 12 assists. He missed five weeks from the end of February through the beginning of April after fracturing his left fibula. The original diagnosis was supposed to keep him out 6-to-8 weeks but he managed to return a week early.
San Jose is where Ferraro wanted to be, and that was made clear by his agent in February. Now, the Toronto, Ontario native gets his wish.
The Sharks have undergone a major overhaul this offseason with the hiring of David Quinn as the new coach and Grier as the new GM. Brent Burns was traded. And while that might signal a rebuild, the goal remains to build a contender in San Jose.
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Ferraro stated during his exit interview after last season that he wants to help the Sharks win a Stanley Cup, and his new contract allows him to be a foundational piece of a potential championship team in the South Bay.
