The Sharks have signed former New York Rangers defenseman Libor Hajek to a one-year, two-way contract, adding to the competition along the blue line for an NHL roster spot during training camp in September.
Hajek, 28, played 110 games with the Rangers over five seasons from 2018-2019 to 2022-23, collecting 12 points and averaging just under 15 minutes of ice time per game. He spent most of the last three seasons with HC Pardubice of the Czech professional league, helping the club capture the league title this past season.
The 6-foot-3 and 209-pound Hajek, a left-shot defenseman, was a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016 and has played in 129 AHL games for three different teams from 2017 to 2023. He was most recently in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization at the start of the 2023-24 season before returning to his native Czechia.
The Sharks need at least two more defensemen to help fill out the 23-man roster for the start of the regular season. Already under contract with the Sharks are Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, Dmitry Orlov, Michael Kesselring, and Sam Dickinson, with Eric Pohlkamp, Luca Cagnoni, and Nolan Allan also presumably in the mix for an NHL roster spot. Pohlkamp was a Hobey Baker Award finalist this spring after helping the University of Denver capture a Division I national championship.
Hajek, though, has significantly more NHL and professional experience than Cagnoni, 21, and Allan, 23, and already has ties with Sharks general manager Mike Grier, who served as the Rangers’ hockey operations advisor from May 2021 to July 2022 before he was hired in San Jose.
BARRACUDA HOME OPENER
The San Jose Barracuda’s home opener for the 2026-27 season will be on Oct. 3 against the San Diego Gulls, the AHL announced on Wednesday. The full AHL regular season schedule will be released on Thursday.
The NHL will announce the home openers for each team next Wednesday, and the full regular-season schedule the following day.