San Jose Sharks re-sign Tommy Wingels
By Cory Buck
The San Jose Sharks have re-signed restricted free agent Tommy Wingels to a three-year contract worth $7.4 million, per CSN Bay Area. Wingels tallied 16 goals and 22 assists in 77 appearances last season, and gained a strong reputation on the team as a player who elevates his game in big moments. On a team looking to create more big moments, a cog like Wingels can be a sneakily valuable piece of a Western Conference regular season powerhouse looking to finally turn the corner.
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This past season was by far the best offensive year for Tommy Wingels. To go with his point production, Wingels tallied seven game-winning goals. While he’d only produced 22 points in 80 career NHL games before the 2013-14 campaign, Wingels managed to nearly double that in one season in which he was often paired with center Patrick Marleau. Now, Wingels gets a nice raise for his efforts. The 26-year old will be counted on for more of the same in 2014-15 and beyond.
The Sharks have been carefully building a roster with the hopes of still competing for the Stanley Cup while also keeping an eye to the future. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau aren’t getting any younger, but the pair of centers clearly still have enough gas in the tank to get the team a high playoff seed.
The Sharks were the biggest threat to Cup champion LA after they had the Kings down 3-0 in the opening round of the playoffs. Their ultimate collapse fueled speculation that management could tear the team apart, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. GM Doug Wilson is still confident in his core. Re-signing Tommy Wingels is just another sign that the Sharks are in it to win it in 2014 and beyond.