Sharks re-sign Ryane Clowe

According to the Sharks' page at NHLPA.com, Ryane Clowe has been re-signed with a salary of $1.6 million being reported for next season. Although no official statement has been made by the team, the Player's Association website has been notorious for breaking deals all offseason long. All that remains to be seen is the length of Clowe's term, which is unspecified by the PA. I'll save my unparalleled insight (which, undoubtedly, is what keeps you, my expansive reader base, from offing yourselves) for when the signing becomes official and we are aware of the contract length. However, if Clowe's cap hit over the term of the deal is in fact the $1.6 million he will be tendered next season, the Sharks will be ever-so-slightly under the cap although you know they'd still like to shed themselves of McLaren's contract in order to have the option of making a splash at the deadline.

UPDATE I lied. According to NHLSCAP.com, the Clowe contract -- assuming it averages a $1.6 million cap hit, a largely unsubstantiated postulation at this point -- actually puts the Sharks exactly $225, 834 over the league's $56.7 million cap, making the divesting of McLaren a necessity rather than a convenience.

UPDATE part deux It's official. And it is a one-year deal, meaning the cap hit is indeed $1.6 million and the above cap space-related information still stands. Coming off a season drastically shortened by injury, a one-year deal makes sense for Clowe, who will have a longer period to prove himself and perhaps score a wealthier contract next offseason when he will once again have RFA status.