VANCOUVER — Mario Ferraro would like to play his entire career with the San Jose Sharks. Do the Sharks want the same thing?

Ferraro, 27, is a pending UFA.

San Jose Hockey Now can confirm David Pagnotta’s report that the San Jose Sharks have shown interest in bringing the gritty defenseman back on a short-term contract. SJHN believes that term was for two years and was rejected.

Ferraro, his first time hitting unrestricted free agency, is understandably looking for a longer commitment, likely starting at four years or longer. Based on UFA contracts last summer, a blueliner of Ferraro’s ilk should be able to command at least that kind of term.

Cody Ceci and Ryan Lindgren, both defensive defensemen in their 30’s, received four-year contracts, from the Los Angeles Kings and Seattle Kraken, respectively.

Will the San Jose Sharks and Ferraro be able to bridge the gap in term between now and the Mar. 6 Trade Deadline?

“I would love to be in San Jose,” Ferraro has stated repeatedly, most recently in January.

Ferraro is finishing a four-year contract this season, signed in the summer of 2022, with a $3.25 million AAV. That was 3.94 percent of the then $82.5 million salary cap.

2026-27’s salary cap is projected to be $104 million.

For what it’s worth, GM Mike Grier has stated a willingness, if the Sharks remain in the post-season mix, to keep his pending UFAs for the playoff run, and risk losing them in the off-season: “If we’re going well and things are good and we decide that we just roll through it and see what happens, it’s something we’re prepared to do.”

Grier has a host of defenseman who are set to be UFAs, Ferraro, John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, and Vincent Desharnais.

Ferraro is the only one who’s a Sharks’ lifer, though. Selected in the second round of the 2017 Draft by San Jose, he’s been a defensive stalwart in bad and good times.

From 2020-21, his sophomore season, to 2024-25, Ferraro was a top-four blueliner on struggling Sharks squads, averaging 22:14 a night. He’s also been the go-to guy for San Jose on the penalty kill.

This year, for a resurgent San Jose team that is flirting with a wild card berth, Ferraro continues to take on top-four minutes: He’s third on the D-corps, behind Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg, averaging 20:50 a night.

He’s also been alternate captain since the 2021-22 campaign.

“Just focused on the season right now and controlling what I can control,” Ferraro has said repeatedly, when asked about his pending free agency.