Scott Gomez had been skating with and talking with the San Jose Sharks this week, and now Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports it’s official:

Gomez is a Shark, for one year and a pro-rated $700,000.

Which is the kind of contract you can sign when you’ve been handed a buy-out windfall by the Montreal Canadiens.

As we mentioned previously, his connection with Sharks assistant coach Larry Robinson likely paved the way for this deal, as Robinson coached Gomez with the New Jersey Devils and the two have had a mutual respect for years.

But there’s another underlying aspect to his signing with the Sharks that we like.

As Coach Todd McLellan told the Mercury News:

"My interaction with him so far, he's coming across as a very hungry player, a guy that would love to prove himself right before he proves everybody else wrong," McLellan said, "and that's a pretty strong motivator." "Scotty has had a tough couple years, no doubt about it," McLellan said. "Everybody knows what's happened to him as far as his play and his health in Montreal. He's looking for a fresh start."

The San Jose Sharks have completely fallen by the wayside as a Stanley Cup pick for the majority of prognosticators – this one included – that have been burned time after time by them in the postseason. They’re not only the team that can’t get it done, but one whose window may have closed.

Which is to say that they’re a team that would like to prove itself right before it proves everybody else wrong.