San Jose Sharks bring Jacob Peterson back for a year

Jacob Peterson will stay with the San Jose Sharks on a one-year contract after an impressive 12-game audition last season, the team announced Friday. The Sharks are yet to reveal the value of the contract.

Peterson arrived in California in a seemingly indescribable deep trade, swapping places with fellow 2017 draft pick Scott Reedy, who went to the Dallas Stars in trade on March 3. While Reedy stayed in the AHL, Peterson had a chance with the Sharks and ran with it.

The 22-year-old has delivered 6 assists and 8 points in 11 games for the big club; he worked his way to the Sharks power play in the final stretch. While Peterson struggled to get a -10 rating for San Jose, it’s hard to produce offense for a mediocre team in meaningless games, and he made a good impression on general manager Mike Grier.

« Jacob is a smart and versatile young striker who fitted in well with our squad last season, » Grier said. « We’re looking forward to seeing him again and building on that start. »

Peterson posted modest numbers in the AHL (32P in 52GP) last season and will likely never make the top six, but getting the NHL production of an inexpensive young player who costs very little to acquire is a more for a San Jose team in the midst of what could be a lengthy rebuild.

Grier gave that process a good start by picking Will Smith, who he hopes will be the team’s leading center of the future, in the 2023 Entry Draft, but he still has plenty of work to do over the summer.

Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl and especially Erik Karlsson are productive veterans with expensive terms on their contracts. If the second-year general manager can move any or all of those players to contending teams, a new era can begin in San Jose.