The San Jose Sharks signed UFA forward Joel Ward to a three-year contract on Friday. According to SportsNet, his contract is worth $9.75 million, with an AAV of $3.25 million.
Originally undrafted, Ward spent the 2006-07 season mostly with the Minnesota Wild‘s AHL team, the Houston Aeros. According to hockey-reference, he played 11 games in the NHL with the Wild, only registering a point before playing for the Aeros again into the following ’07-08 season. He then signed with the Nashville Predators as a free agent, where he scored 40 goals and tallied 58 assists in three seasons.