SAN JOSE, Aug. 10 -- The San Jose Sharks avoided arbitration with Niklas Sundstrom Thursday, re-signing the restricted free agent left wing.
Acquired on draft day in 1999 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sundstrom collected 12 goals and 25 assists in 79 games last season.
A defensive specialist and solid penalty-killer, the 24-year-old Swede set a team record with three game-tying goals and added two assists in 12 playoff games as the Sharks reached the Western Conference semifinals.
San Jose was 19-4-6 during the season when Sundstrom recorded a point.
The 6-foot, 195-pound winger won a gold medal with Sweden at the 1998 World Championships and has 77 goals and 123 assists in 394 games with the New York Rangers and Sharks.
The Sharks also signed journeyman defenseman Steve Bancroft and left wing Jarrett Deuling.
Bancroft, 29, combined for eight goals and 32 assists in 76 games last season with Cincinnati and Houston of the International Hockey League. A 1989 first-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has appeared in one NHL game with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Deuling, 26, had 17 goals and 25 assists in 75 games with the Sharks' top minor league affiliate, the Kentucky Thoroughblades of the American Hockey League.
