The San Jose Sharks placed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic on waivers Thursday after 19 seasons with the team.
The team said the purpose of the move is to buy out the final year of the 38-year-old veteran’s contract.
Vlasic appeared in 1,323 regular-season games and 142 playoff games since making his Sharks debut in 2006.
The Montreal native has 379 career points (84 goals, 295 assists), including three points in 27 games in 2024-25.
“This was a difficult decision to make today, with how much Marc has meant to the San Jose organization for 19 years,” general manager Mike Grier said. “I was fortunate enough to be here with Marc for his first season with the Sharks, and knew he would become a great defenseman. Over the course of his career in the NHL, Vlasic was one of the premier shutdown defensemen, earning tough defensive assignments on the ice against the best players in the world and doing it with effectiveness.”
Vlasic broke the NHL record for career blocked shots earlier this season and ends his time in San Jose with 2,184.
He appeared in the playoffs 12 times with the Sharks, including a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
Internationally, he won gold medals with Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. He won silver medals at the World Championships in 2009 and 2017.
“With over 1,300 games in the NHL, he brought immense expertise and experience to the organization daily, and was selected to represent his country on multiple occasions at the highest level,” Grier added. “He will go down not only as one of the best defensemen in franchise history, but one of the best players.
“We want to thank him for his dedication and commitment to the organization, and wish him all the best.”
Vlasic has one season left on an eight-year, $56 million extension he signed in July 2017, giving him a $7 million cap hit for 2025-26.
Hall of Famers Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) and Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) are the only blueliners to play more games with a team than Vlasic, counting regular season and postseason.
–Field Level Media
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