We are at that time of the year, everyone! The NHL Drafts for the next year will be taking place tomorrow at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Free agents are figuring out where they’d like to play next season and certain players are receiving buyouts from their franchises in order to terminate contracts and move in different directions. This last one is a bit murkier than the others, and the term ‘buyout’ itself doesn’t always leave a good taste in the mouth, but that doesn’t mean a buyout can’t be done with class, as was the case with Marc Edouard Vlasic of the San Jose Sharks.

It was announced earlier today that the Sharks have decided to part ways with Vlasic after 19 seasons! Ouch, this means that the Sharks are paying Vlasic a sum of his yearly contract, allowing him to become a free agent for the remainder of his term. The franchise issued an emotional statement, with general manager Mike Grier saying, “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.” However, Vlasic’s buyout doesn’t mean he’s retiring!

The 38 year old player was only able to play 27 games last season due to an injury, but following this buyout, if he isn’t claimed by another team before the 1st of July, Marc-Edouard Vlasic will become an unrestricted free agent. It is, however, unfortunate for Vlasic, who was set to receive $7million for the final season of his contract with the Sharks; this early buyout means the team saves some money to get down to whatever else they had up their sleeve, plans-wise! However, fans are still distraught at the sheer coldness with which this 19 season long relationship was severed.

Fan’s react to the sudden buyout of Marc-Edouard Vlasic by the San Jose Sharks after 19 seasons

Some fans reacted with honest emotion, feeling, clearly, a little thrown by the immediacy of the announcement. “I’m not ready to see him go…” This fan wrote, indicating that many of the Shark’s community might need some more time to process this news.

Another fan commemorated the 19 seasons that Marc-Edouard served the Sharks for, writing, “thank you for everything marc-edouard <3.” After playing 1465 games for the Sharks, Edouard set a record for the most career blocked shots this season and ended up making a total of  2,184 blocks for the Sharks! Now, that is something worth commemorating.

Another fan got a bit personal, writing, “we will miss you,” indicative of the deep bond that forms between fans and their franchise’s long-term players. 19 seasons is no joke, and in this time, Marc-Edouard made such a lasting impact that even Sharks GM Mike Grier had to say, “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.”

Another fan stated the obvious, simply saying, “Should it kept him one more year so we could’ve gotten that double dime?” while it seems like the kinder thing to have done, the Sharks seem to be wasting no time getting their salary cap in order to make some other pretty significant changes, some of which fans seem to be in on.

Which brings us to our final fan reaction, “Thank you to a Sharks legend. Frondell will take over from here now.” Yes, it’s true that the Sharks have the second pick in the draft tomorrow, and yes, it’s true Swedish player Anton Frondell has come up with some real gold in the second half of his season, so who’s to say, but it looks like the fans know where they want to put the Marc Edouard money and we’ll just have to stay tuned to the drafts to see if that’s what pans out.