Michael Misa To Remain With Sharks For The Remainder Of The Season

Over the first month or so of the season, there is often talk about which junior-eligible rookies will go past the 10-game mark, officially burning the first year of their entry-level contract.  Sometimes, teams will scratch a player from time to time to push back the decision but within a couple of months, the call has been made.

It was a different situation this season for Sharks forward Michael Misa.  The number two pick in June broke camp with San Jose but had his playing time managed early on.  However, after seven games, he suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for around a month.  From there, he was eligible for an AHL conditioning stint and then he was off to the World Juniors.

As a result, Misa still hasn’t officially started his entry-level contract and is eligible to be assigned back to junior.  However, that won’t be the case as the youngster told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that GM Mike Grier informed him that he’d remain with the Sharks for the rest of the season.

Despite that, it wouldn’t be too surprising if his ice time continues to be managed; he was a healthy scratch yesterday against Dallas but is in the lineup tonight.  For starters, having been away from the team for so long, there is some value in getting him a bit of extra practice time first.  Second, San Jose has quietly played its way into a playoff spot so the focus won’t entirely be on player development the longer that they stay in the race.  That could result in the odd night off for Misa as well.

Once Misa eventually gets into his tenth NHL game, he’ll officially activate the first season of his contract.  Considering that the Sharks are at the maximum of 50, his getting there would put them over the limit.  Accordingly, the longer they wait to get Misa to that point, the more time Grier has to make a move.

From there, the next threshold to watch for is 40 games on the active roster which is when he’d accrue a season of service time toward UFA eligibility.  For now, he’s a long way away from getting to that point so if management decides that they want to keep Misa below that threshold, there could be some finessing of his playing time as well.  But while his minutes could still be limited, Misa at least has the peace of mind that he’ll be up in the NHL for the rest of the season.