SAN JOSE — Defenseman Mario Ferraro holds the distinction of being the San Jose Sharks’ longest tenured player as he enters his seventh season with the organization.

The question now is whether there will be an eighth season in San Jose.

Ferraro, an alternate captain with the Sharks since the 2021-22 season, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer as he enters the final year of a four-year, $13 million contract he signed in Aug. 2022.

Ferraro said Thursday on the first day of the team’s training camp that there have not been any negotiations with the Sharks on a new contract, leaving his future in San Jose in question.

Perhaps the lack of negotiations is not a surprise. Since Mike Grier became the Sharks’ general manager about a month before he signed Ferraro to an extension, he has not re-signed any major pending UFA to a new deal.

Will that change this year?

“I signed for four years. I’ve got another year left,” Ferraro said. “So right now, I’m just getting ready to rock and roll here, and I’m getting excited for the season, so I’m patient. I’m just trying to get ready here, and how I perform is most important for myself as an individual entering the season.

“I’m a leader on this team. I’ve got to be here for my teammates and be the best that I can be so we can win more games this year.”

Ferraro, who turned 27 on Wednesday and just recently became a dad for the first time, has played 408 games with the Sharks since he made the NHL roster out of camp as a rookie before the 2019-2020 season. The Sharks, though, haven’t had a winning season in that time, and one veteran teammate after another has been traded to other teams as Ferraro experienced the depths of the organization’s total teardown.

A report by The Fourth Period in July indicated that Ferraro would be open to “a change of scenery.” But Ferraro said Thursday that he would like to sign a long-term extension to remain in San Jose and experience the other side of the rebuild.

“I love to sign long-term here. I want to win here,” Ferraro said. “But again, it’s not up to me. And whatever happens, that’s life, and it’s the profession that we’re in. So I accept whatever is going to happen in the future, but I’m going to play it out and make the most of this opportunity that I have this year, because it’s a big year for me, and it’s a big year for this team and this organization.”

The Sharks’ defense corps underwent an extreme makeover in the offseason, as Grier traded Henry Thrun, did not re-sign Jan Rutta, and bought out the final year of Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s eight-year, $56 million contract. The 38-year-old Vlasic, who remains a free agent, spent 19 seasons with the Sharks and is second on the team’s all-time games played list with 1,323.

“It’s always hard losing a teammate that you’ve been with for a long time,” Ferraro said of Vlasic. “And unfortunately, I’ve lost a lot of really good teammates. But at the end of the day, I’m very privileged to have said I played with a lot of great players. And obviously, Marc is no exception. He is a legend in a Sharks jersey. So obviously, we’ll see where he goes from here. I don’t know where he’s going to be playing, but best of luck to him. He will be missed.”

The Sharks have several other pending UFAs, including defensemen Nick Leddy, John Klingberg, Timothy Liljegren, and Vincent Desharnais, and forwards Alexander Wennberg and Jeff Skinner. Leddy, Klingberg, and Skinner were all acquired in the offseason and could be attractive trade pieces should the Sharks be out of the mix for a playoff spot after the Olympic break.

Still, Grier said in July that “the hope is not to have a fire sale again. We’ve kind of done what we’ve had to do these last three years, when you kind of went into the season having an idea that you’re probably going to be selling at the deadline.

“I think these players that were brought in were bought in to help our group grow and to make us a better team. They weren’t targeted with the idea that we’re just going to flip them at the deadline.

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“Obviously, we’ll see how the season goes, and if there’s an offer that comes in that makes sense and we’re not anywhere near the playoffs, it’s definitely something to think about then. But these players were bought in with the idea that they’re going to help us grow and be here with us throughout the season.”

Where that leaves Ferraro, who averaged over 21 minutes of ice time each of the last six seasons, is unclear.

“I’m a Shark, and that’s my mindset,” Ferraro said. “I’d love to stay a Shark, but I’m just focused on the season, and that’s all I control. That other stuff I can’t really. It’s not up to me.

“What is up to me is how I come out and compete every night, and I’m going to do that.”