When longtime NHL defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic held his exit interview with the San Jose Sharks at the end of last season, he was under the impression that he would be back for a 20th year with the team.
Then, Vlasic was informed near the end of June that the Sharks were buying out the final year of his contract, leaving him disillusioned with the organization he spent his entire professional life with after he was drafted by the team in 2005.
“I had a good end-of-season interview (with the team),” said Vlasic, who spoke Thursday at the Sun Life Pro Am at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, in comments translated from French to English. “They told me that I played well, especially defensively, and that they liked that I was a mentor to the young guys. They told me they wanted me to do that next year, so when I left, I thought I’d come back.”
Instead, the Sharks announced on June 26 that they were placing Vlasic on unconditional waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout. Vlasic, 38, was set to enter the final year of an eight-year, $56 million contract that carried an average annual value of $7 million.
“I still have a residence in San Jose,” Vlasic told reporters in his first public comments since the buyout. “It would have been honest of them to tell me right after the season, ‘By the way, we may (buy out your contract), so prepare your house.’ Instead, they did it on June 30.
“Now, I have a lot of things to think about.”
Asked on July 1 about buying out Vlasic’s contract, Sharks general manager Mike Grier said it was a tough decision but that the team wanted to create a roster opening in a bid to upgrade their maligned defense corps. Since buying out Vlasic, the Sharks signed Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg in free agency and claimed Nick Leddy off waivers. They also did not re-sign veteran Jan Rutta and traded Henry Thrun to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
If Vlasic was upset or shocked by the Sharks’ decision at that time, it didn’t come across to Grier.
“I think he understood where we are at as an organization, and the decisions that we have to make as far as roster construction,” Grier said last month of Vlasic. “So, he handled it really well, very professional. It’s not something I’m surprised by. He’s a class act.”
Vlasic was a second-round draft pick by the Sharks in 2005 and played all of his 1,323 NHL games with the franchise over 19 seasons.
Vlasic was, for the majority of his career, one of the NHL’s premier shutdown defensemen, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game for the Sharks from 2006 to the end of the 2018-19 season, which was the last time San Jose made the playoffs. In 2014, Vlasic enjoyed one of the biggest highlights of his career as he helped Canada win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Vlasic’s playing time, though, tailed off in recent years, and this past season, he averaged a career-low 14:38 while scoring just three points in 27 games. Vlasic had an upper-body injury that kept him out of the first half of this season, and he had been a healthy scratch several times over the last two years.
Now an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, Vlasic wants to show the Sharks that they made a mistake letting him go.
“It’s exciting and I’m motivated to practice, find a new team and put it in the teeth of the Sharks,” Vlasic said.
Related Articles
San Jose Sharks prospects to take part in slimmed-down Rookie Faceoff event
Will Steph Curry be the Bay Area’s last first-ballot Hall of Famer?
San Jose Sharks announce 2025-26 regular season schedule
San Jose Sharks’ home schedule this season has some unusual start times
Longtime San Jose Sharks coach, executive dies after battle with cancer
Vlasic, who also revealed that he will become a father in December, said if he did return to the Sharks, he didn’t want a repeat of what happened in 2024-25.
“I have a lot more to offer and (the Sharks) know it too,” said Vlasic, adding, “where I’m going to play, it doesn’t (matter). Vancouver, Buffalo, Florida, Tampa… I’m going to go where someone wants me.
“Life is good, I can’t wait for the baby to arrive, and the buyout of the contract was secondary,” Vlasic added. “In my mind, retirement, I’m not there yet. Will there be anything after that? Will it be Europe afterwards? I don’t know.”