{"id":138993,"date":"2023-07-01T12:07:17","date_gmt":"2023-07-01T16:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=138993"},"modified":"2023-07-01T12:07:17","modified_gmt":"2023-07-01T16:07:17","slug":"mackenzie-blackwood-signs-new-contract-via-free-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2023\/07\/01\/mackenzie-blackwood-signs-new-contract-via-free-agency\/","title":{"rendered":"Mackenzie Blackwood Signs New Contract via Free Agency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/sharks\/\" target=\"_self\">San Jose Sharks<\/a> signed pending RFA goalie <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/blackma01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-07-01_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a> to a new contract today. This avoided allowing the goaltender to reach the free-agent market. The deal comes in at $2.5 million annually over two years, for a total of $5 million.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Hearing Mackenzie Blackwood will not be hitting the market. Sounds like he&#8217;s agreed to terms with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/sjsharks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#sjsharks<\/a>, expected to come in around 2 years x $2.5 million.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DailyFaceoff?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@DailyFaceoff<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CapFriendly?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@CapFriendly<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/frank_seravalli\/status\/1675166818506350595?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">July 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Mackenzie Blackwood Contract Signed with San Jose Sharks<\/h2>\n<p>A former second-round pick from the 2015 draft, Blackwood played solely with the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/devils\/\" target=\"_self\">New Jersey Devils<\/a> to date. A few days ago, the Devils moved his negotiating rights to the Sharks in exchange for a sixth-round pick. The Sharks moved quickly enough to keep him from hitting free agency, getting a contract done with Blackwood first thing Saturday morning.<\/p>\n<p>In 22 games last season, Blackwood went 10-6-2 with a .893 save percentage and 3.20 goals against average. That games played number ranks as the lowest out of his five-year stint in New Jersey, partially due to injury but also poor performance. He struggled, even more, the year prior, with weaker statistics and a losing record overall.<\/p>\n<h3>What this Means for the Future<\/h3>\n<p>For his career thus far, Blackwood boasts a 65-57-18 with a .906 save percentage and 2.97 goals against average. Those numbers leave a lot to be desired, especially after the strong start he had in years one through three. Maybe a change of scenery helps him regain his form and play more to his potential.<\/p>\n<p>That said, going to San Jose doesn&#8217;t exactly mean a better team in front of him. He leaves a Devils squad on the rise, that just went two rounds deep in the playoffs and take higher expectations into next season. The Sharks, by comparison, remain in the throngs of a rebuild, and in search for ways to unload players to make room for their own prospects. Blackwood&#8217;s contract is short enough, though, that he could wind up elsewhere before it ends.<\/p>\n<p>This is a &#8220;prove yourself&#8221; opportunity for the goaltender. If Blackwood struggles, it could be his last full-time NHL opportunity before he must accept a two-way contract. If he succeeds, it could rejuvenate his career completely.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo &#8211; Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The San Jose Sharks signed pending RFA goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to a new contract today. This avoided allowing the goaltender to reach the free-agent market. The deal comes in at $2.5 million annually over two years, for a total of $5 million. Hearing Mackenzie Blackwood will not be hitting the market. Sounds like he&#8217;s agreed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2377,"featured_media":138997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,4547,4548,25],"tags":[2152,7478,662,6425,6905],"class_list":["post-138993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-sharks","tag-mackenzie-blackwood","tag-new-jersey-devils-analysis","tag-nhl-free-agency","tag-san-jose-sharks-analysis","tag-san-jose-sharks-news"],"modified_by":"Colton Osmond, Dept Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2377"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}