Former Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington is still a free agent, and the San Jose Sharks could use a player with his skills.
Kylington played 33 games in the 23-24 season after sitting out all of the 22-23 season in the NHL’s Player Assistance Program. In his 33 games, he scored three goals and five assists.
Kylington set career-highs in almost every category during the 21-22 season with 73 games, nine goals, 22 assists, +34, and 18:10 TOI per game.
The Swede is a terrific skating defenseman who can relieve defensive pressure through his skating and breakout pass. His offensive instincts have begun to follow those skills, and, surprisingly, nobody has signed the 27-year-old.
With the 2024 offseason in the dog days of Summer, Kylington’s contract likely won’t be too high of a cap hit. His last contract was two years with an AAV of $2.5 million. According to PuckPedia, the Sharks have a projected $12,771,705 cap space.
Given how long Kylington has been on the market, the Sharks could likely try to get him on a PTO for training camp if there are any unknown uncertainties. San Jose added Jake Walman this offseason and will get Matt Benning back from injury, but adding a d-man with the skating ability of Kylington would only boost the team.
Shakir Mukhamadullin will get his chance in the NHL at some point this season if he doesn’t make the team out of training camp, but at 27 years old, singing Kylington doesn’t need to be a short-term thing as he is in the prime of his career.
San Jose has a ton of forwards and wants to create internal competition at training camp. Signing Oliver Kylington will help provide the same competition for the defense.
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