SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks found their starting goaltender for next season, acquiring Martin Jones in a trade from the Boston Bruins on Tuesday.
The Sharks sent a 2016 first-round pick and unsigned forward prospect Sean Kuraly to the Bruins for Jones, four days after he had been dealt from San Jose’s biggest rival Los Angeles to Boston.
“Martin was at the top of our list of players that we had targeted,” general manager Doug Wilson said. “We’re extremely excited to have him on board.”
The Bruins acquired Jones at the draft Friday in a package for left wing Milan Lucic. With Tuukka Rask entrenched as the starter, the Bruins ended up flipping the pending restricted free agent Jones for more young players.
In all, Boston got two first-round picks, defense prospect Colin Miller and Kuraly for Lucic. The Bruins used the pick from the Kings on defenseman Jakub Zboril.
Finding a No. 1 goalie had been one of the top priorities for the Sharks this offseason as they look to get to the postseason after having their 10-year playoff run snapped this past season.
San Jose dealt the negotiating rights to pending unrestricted free agent Antti Niemi to Dallas over the weekend. Niemi had been the starter the past five seasons but the Sharks were looking for a younger, and more consistent, option in goal for next season.
Although the 25-year-old Jones played just 15 games last season, he has been a standout backup for two years in Los Angeles, winning his NHL-record first eight career starts in late 2013 before earning a Stanley Cup ring in 2014.
Jones has played 34 games and started 29 in two seasons as Jonathan Quick’s backup on the Kings. He has a 16-11-2 record with a 1.99 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and seven career shutouts.
Jones has a much lengthier record in the minors, having posted an 84-57-10 record with a 2.42 goals-against average and .920 save percentage in parts of four seasons with Manchester in the AHL.
Jones joins a goaltending group that includes last year’s backup Alex Stalock and minor league Troy Grosenick. Stalock struggled in intermittent playing time last year with an 8-9-2 record and 2.62 goals-against average. He showed promise the previous year with a 1.87 goals-against average in 24 appearances.
Grosenick had a shutout in one of his two appearances last season, but spent most of the year in the minors or recovering from a concussion.
Kuraly was drafted by San Jose in the fifth round in 2011. He had 19 goals and 10 assists in 40 games for Miami University last season. He is entering his senior season.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.