According to a team announcement, the San Jose Sharks have activated veteran defenseman Nick Leddy from the injured reserve. A few hours ago, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News was the first to report that Leddy would be returning to the active roster.
It’s been nearly three weeks since Leddy last suited up with the Sharks. In the Sharks’ overtime win against the New York Rangers on October 23rd, Leddy left the game after one shift with an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since.
Leddy has skated in seven games for the Sharks this year, including the short game against the Rangers. He’s registered two assists in that brief timeframe with a -4 rating, averaging 17:12 of ice time per game.
It’s important to note that injuries have recently become a recurring theme for Leddy. In his first two full seasons with the St. Louis Blues in 2022-23 and 2023-24, Leddy skated in 160 out of 164 potential games, but only managed to appear in 31 last season due to injury issues.
Still, his importance in a lineup has decreased over the last few years. San Jose claimed Leddy in the early part of the offseason largely as a salary anchor to keep them above the salary cap floor. Understandably, given that he is a pending unrestricted free agent, and making a fairly modest $4MM salary this season, it would be unsurprising to see Leddy moved at the upcoming trade deadline in March.
Regardless, we’ll know tomorrow if Leddy will return to the lineup. The Sharks have played relatively well of late, so they may not be inclined to change things up despite Leddy returning to the active roster.