Sharks winger Jeff Skinner left Thursday’s game against Calgary due to a lower-body injury and it will keep him out of the lineup for at least a week. He has been placed on injured reserve, according to the NHL’s media site. Taking his place on the roster will be center Zack Ostapchuk who has been recalled according to the AHL’s transactions log.
Skinner is in his first season with San Jose after signing a one-year, $3MM contract with them in free agency back in July. The 33-year-old has slowed down offensively over the last couple of seasons and that has continued early on in 2025-26 as he has been limited to four goals and three assists in 17 appearances while averaging a career-low 12:22 in ATOI.
As for Ostapchuk, this will be his second recall of the season after briefly being up with the Sharks last week although he didn’t see any game action. The 22-year-old has played in 11 games with the Barracuda this season, picking up three goals and an assist. He got into 56 NHL outings last season between Ottawa and San Jose, notching four points and 110 hits on their respective fourth lines.
The fourth line is likely where he will land as they only have 12 healthy forwards at the moment so the Sharks will either need to play Ostapchuk tonight against Seattle or dress seven defensemen which would give either Nick Leddy or Shakir Mukhamadullin a chance to get back into the lineup. Blueliner Vincent Iorio is also on the active roster but is with the Barracuda on a conditioning assignment, making him unavailable for tonight’s contest.