When the San Jose Sharks signed four European free agents during the span of little more than one month this past spring, they surely did so with this season’s salary cap crunch in mind. Lean Bergmann, Joel Kellman, Tony Sund and Danil Yurtaikin are all players whose performance levels have yet to peak, but who have already enjoyed at least one season of professional experience. Individually, each skater costs far less than nearly any single impactful National Hockey League (NHL) free agent would cost. Together, the four represent a cumulative cap hit of just $3.53 million.
While playing moneyball is more important for the Sharks this season than it ever has been, there are other motives behind scouring European leagues for potentially impactful players.