San Jose re-signs Gambrell before expansion draft

SAN JOSE >> The Sharks signed forward Dylan Gambrell to a one-year, $1.1 million contract extension, officially meeting their exposure requirement for the expansion draft the Seattle Kraken will hold next week.

For Wednesday’s expansion draft, NHL teams can protect either seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters — regardless of position — and one goalie.

With the Sharks expected to protect seven forwards, they needed to expose at least two more forwards who are signed through next season and played either 40 games this past year or 70 or more games the last two years. The Sharks signed the first of those forwards, Matt Nieto, to a twoyear, $1.7 million deal last month.

If the Sharks do not make any personnel changes before the expansion draft, they figure to protect Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc, Rudolfs Balcers and newly signed Jonathan Dahlén. Balcers remains a restricted free agent.

Among their defense corps, the Sharks need to protect Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic because of no-movement clauses in their contracts, and will also likely shelter Brent Burns and expose Radim Simek. Among their goalies, the Sharks can choose to protect either Martin Jones or Josef Korenar.

Other forwards who are candidates to be exposed to Seattle besides Gambrell and Nieto include Ryan Donato, Jayden Halbgewachs and Alex True, all of whom are pending RFAs.

Gambrell, the Sharks’ second-round draft pick in 2016 out of the University of Denver, could make sense for the Kraken, if only from a geographic standpoint. Gambrell is from Bonney Lake, Wash., roughly a 40mile drive south of Seattle, and is one of only five active NHL players from the state.

This season, Gambrell, playing mainly as the Sharks’ third-line center, had 12 points in 49 games and led all San Jose forwards in shorthanded time on ice (111:22). He has 23 points in 110 NHL games.

“Dylan appeared in his first full-time role last season with us and showed he is a reliable player,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. “He played in a lot of different situations and utilized his speed to be an effective player.”

If Gambrell, who turns 25 next month, returns to the Sharks, he’ll likely compete to be the team’s fourth-line center. Besides searching for goaltending help, Wilson is in the market for a third-line center who can chip in offensively and take some of the defensive load away from Couture and Hertl.

KIVLENIEKS REMEMBERED AS FRIEND, HERO >> Late Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was hailed as a friend and hero during a memorial service held in Upper Arlington, Ohio for the player who died on the Fourth of July from an errant fireworks mortar blast.

Authorities have said the firework at a private home northwest of Detroit tilted slightly and started to fire toward people nearby. Kivlenieks was in a hot tub and was trying to move out of the way of the firework when he was struck.

He suffered chest trauma and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Fellow Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins, a close friend of the 24-yearold Kivlenieks, told the mourners at the Schoedinger Funeral Home in Upper Arlington that his teammate saved him and his pregnant wife the night he was killed.

Merzlikins said he and his wife were roughly 20 to 30 feet behind Kivlenieks when he was struck, telling the crowd: “He saved not just many lives ... He saved my (unborn) son, he saved my wife, and he saved me.”

To honor his fallen friend, Merzlikins said his son’s middle name will be Matiss.

BISHOP TO BE AVAILABLE IN EXPANSION DRAFT >> Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has waived his nomovement clause to be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft next week after approaching his team with the idea.

The move, which the team confirmed Thursday, allows Dallas to protect veteran goalie Anton Khudobin from the Kraken.

Any player with a nomovement clause must be protected from the expansion draft unless he waives it. Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner is among the players who have agreed to waive that clause and be exposed to Seattle, while Minnesota bought out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise and Florida bought out Keith Yandle — all players with no-movement protection in their contracts.