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Sharks sign former Rangers defenseman to one-year, two-way contract
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- Sharks sign former Rangers defenseman to one-year, two-way contract
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Looking to add depth on the back end, the San Jose Sharks signed defenseman Libor Hajek to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2026-27 season, general manager Mike Grier announced Wednesday.
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The agreement carries an NHL salary cap hit of $850,000, with Hajek earning $350,000 if assigned to the AHL and receiving a guaranteed minimum salary of $425,000 for the season, according to PuckPedia.
The 28-year-old returns to North America after spending the last three seasons with HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga. During the 2025-26 campaign, he recorded 13 points, including six goals and seven assists, along with a plus-6 rating in 44 regular-season games. He also contributed three assists in 17 playoff games as Pardubice won the Czech Extraliga championship.
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Across his three-year run with Pardubice, Hajek compiled 32 points (13 goals, 19 assists) in 111 games with a plus-26 rating. Overall, he has appeared in 138 Czech league games over parts of six seasons, amassing 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists).
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Before returning to Czechia, Hajek spent five seasons with the New York Rangers , skating in 110 NHL games from 2018-19 through 2022-23. He accumulated four goals and eight assists for 12 points while logging a minus-9 rating and averaging 14:53 of ice time per game. He also played 129 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch, Hartford Wolf Pack and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, including 11 contests with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the 2023-24 season before heading back overseas.
Originally selected 37th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2016 NHL Draft, Hajek was later acquired by the Rangers in the trade involving Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller .
The left-shot defenseman now joins a rebuilt Sharks blue line that includes Michael Kesselring , Darnell Nurse , Jacob Trouba , Dmitri Orlov and Sam Dickinson . Hajek is expected to compete for organizational depth while also providing experience for the San Jose Barracuda and the club's developing defensive prospects.
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