SAN JOSE – After fighting to stay in the lineup with the Dallas Stars last season, forward Ty Dellandrea is competing to have a steady role with the San Jose Sharks.
Dellandrea is expected to start on the fourth line with Nico Sturm and Carl Grundstrom on Tuesday when the Sharks play the Dallas Stars to begin a three-game road trip. The game is Dellandrea’s first at American Airlines Center since he was traded from the Stars to the Sharks in June.
Through training camp and the season’s first two games, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky has liked much of what he’s seen from the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Dellandrea, who’s played a north-south game while being responsible away from the puck.
Dellandrea, selected 13th overall by the Stars in 2018, has averaged just 9:20 in ice time through the Sharks’ first two games but has also been one of the Sharks’ leading penalty-killing forwards.
“I thought he was one of our best players on Saturday night,” Warsofsky said of Delladrea’s effort during the Sharks’ 2-0 loss to the Ducks. “He was skating, and he had his legs. Looking back, I’ve probably got to get him some more ice time in certain situations because he was going, and I’ve got to have some more feel for that.
“But I thought he was really good on Saturday and had some opportunities to score some goals. … He’s been really good for us.”
Even though he went from a Stanley Cup-contending team in Dallas to a rebuilding one in San Jose, Dellandrea has reason to be happy about a change of scenery.
A year after scoring 28 points in 82 games for the Stars, Dellandrea was a healthy scratch 40 times last season, scoring just nine points in 42 games for a deeper Dallas team that won the Central Division. He was also scratched in 13 of 19 playoff games as the Stars advanced to the Western Conference final.
The Stars made some additions before the 2023-24 season, bringing in forwards Matt Duchene, Sam Steel, and Craig Smith and giving bigger roles to younger players like Wyatt Johnston and Logan Stankoven.
Add that to a stable of proven veteran forwards like Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin, Roope Hintz, and Jason Robertson, and Dellandrea was on the outside looking in roughly half of the time last season. As a pending restricted free agent, his future with the Stars was murky at best.
“They had some really good teams, and they’re trying to win a Cup, and so they had a lot of good players, a lot of depth players,” Dellandrea said when asked about his reduced opportunities.
“I think I had a great start two years ago, and as it came towards the end and I was in and out of the lineup, it was hard for me to be consistent and keep my game on an everynight basis. So I think that affected how I was playing and performing.”
Shortly after the Sharks acquired Dellandrea for a 2025 fourth-round draft pick initially owned by the Winnipeg Jets, they signed him to a two-year, $3.4 million contract.
It was a low-risk move by Sharks general manager Mike Grier that could pay off if Dellandrea recaptures the form he showed two years ago and can chip in 25-30 points while playing 13-14 minutes a game.
“He was a first-round pick, so he’s changed his game a little bit to probably what he thought he was going to be as an NHLer, and he’s still trying to find his way,” Warsofsky said of Dellandrea. “I can’t speak to what happened in Dallas, but I think it was a great move from (Grier). (Dellandrea’s) a competitive kid, and he’s got some leadership qualities, too.
“Not a big vocal guy, but he leads by his play.”
