Ah, NHL Salary caps, the eternal equalizer. The one thing that keeps solid teams in the league while ensuring none of them get too out of hand or too underhand either. Salary caps, famously, have both an upper and lower spending limit, i.e., the ceiling and the floor. For 2025–26, the floor is $70.6 M; the ceiling jumps to $95.5 M—right in the Sharks crosshairs. Because of all the teams this season, the San Jose Sharks have been making big steps towards reaching the floor by adding big players like Dmitry Orlov and Nick Leddy to their roster, but the question remains, how do they plan on staying under the ceiling all season, else face those infamous fines?
There are other questions that remain as well, like, what do the San Jose Sharks have in mind for their long-term goals with these two mature players? How exactly will this all pan out? To briefly summarize, the Sharks have just come off letting go of defenseman Marc-Eduoardo Vlasic after 19 seasons with the team; this was to have some wiggle room in their salary cap and, presumably, sign on these two new players. The decision wasn’t met lightly by fans who found the move to be cold and tactical and seemingly a jab at Vlasic’s age, 38. However, with the Sharks having signed Orlov and Leddy, who are both 34, it’s clear it wasn’t really that that was the problem.
The Sharks are now over the salary cap floor after signing Dmitry Orlov and claiming Nick Leddy off waivers.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 3, 2025
To add some context to the whole thing, the Sharks have signed Dmitry Orlov of the Carolina Hurricanes for a $13 million 2-year deal, which amounts to $6.5 million a year—a lot, yes. But for two years, to have a player who regularly contributes to two-way play is perhaps not an investment in the future but a chance to buy some time to regroup. Similarly, with Nick Leddy, the Sharks managed to claim him on a waiver, thereby meeting the $4 million the St. Louis Blues were paying him but for just the last year of his four-year contract. Again, this is not an investment but a short-term fix…hopefully? Leddy was injured most of last season.
How are the San Jose Sharks looking heading into the new NHL season with Dmitry Orlov and Nick Leddy on their side?
Here’s where we get real: the San Jose Sharks have not been performing well the past few seasons. In the 2023-2024 season they ended as the worst in the league with 47 points, and though this past year has been slightly better, they still only have 52 points to their name at the end of the season. Other things, however, showed some promise; young players like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith showed immense potential, keeping the Sharks from seeming like a complete lost cause.
Hence, the signing of Dmitry Orlov and Nick Leddy is a significant change in strategy for the Sharks, who are now providing their changing team with the consistent backbone and knowledge necessary to reconfigure into something that doesn’t hang out at the bottom of the points ladder in the coming season.
With a bunch of other talented young players on their roster, such as Sam Dickinson, Henry Thrun, and Vincent Desharnais, San Jose’s game plan at this point looks quite clear. Hire the pros on short-term contracts so they can show the young ‘uns the way forward. A rare game plan, for sure, but one that may work?
We have yet to see.
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