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Henry Thrun

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Henry Thrun

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In a late-night one-for-one swap, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Henry Thrun from the San Jose Sharks for forward Ryan Reaves. Both teams have confirmed the trade.

The trade is a good bit of business for both teams. The Sharks were in a position to thin out their defensive core after adding Dmitry Orlov and Nick Leddy last week, and raise their salary cap situation above the upper limit. For Toronto, they were able to move out an overpriced and underused asset for a quality defensive addition.

Thrun has been a relatively consistent blue liner in San Jose for two years. Throughout that time, Thrun has scored five goals and 23 points in 111 games with a -45 rating, averaging 18:39 of ice time per game.

While Thrun’s output in San Jose may appear unsettling, he should find more success in Toronto based on improved teammates and less responsibility. However, there is more reason for concern.

Throughout his career, Thrun has averaged a 42.6% CorsiFor% at even strength and an 89.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength. According to MoneyPuck, for defensive units that played 150 or more minutes for the Sharks last season, Thrun was on both of the worst units in terms of xGoals% with 31.3% and 30.7% respectively.

Still, there’s a legitimate argument that he’s an improvement for the Maple Leafs, considering what they gave up. Even at the time of signing, Reaves’ three-year, $4.05MM contract seemed high, especially considering that Toronto had struggled with salary cap space for a few years.

As expected, Reaves added plenty of physicality to Toronto’s lineup, but not much else. Over his two years with the Maple Leafs, Reaves scored four goals and eight points in 84 games with 268 hits and 77 PIMs while averaging 7:59 of ice time per night. Things got so bad for Reaves in Toronto that the team waived him toward the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

He won’t be expected to show any sort of improvement in San Jose. The Sharks have a glut of prospects making their way to the NHL level, and Reaves will be tasked with protecting the youth movement as one of the last true enforcers in the game.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

Sharks Reportedly Looking To Trade Timothy Liljegren, Henry Thrun

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After adding three veteran defensemen since the start of free agency, the San Jose Sharks have a glut of blue-liners on their roster. With a need to trim the ranks, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period is reporting that the Sharks have made defensemen Timothy Liljegren and Henry Thrun available via trade.

The report is unsurprising given that San Jose is looking to open a role for youngerster Sam Dickinson on the opening night roster. The Sharks drafted Dickinson with the 11th overall selection of the 2024 NHL Draft, and he recently had a career year with the OHL’s London Knights, scoring 29 goals and 91 points in 55 games with a +64 rating.

Assuming that Dickinson will be given every opportunity to earn a spot on the opening night roster, the Sharks will want to remove at least one beforehand. If Dickinson makes the team out of training camp, there’s no reason for San Jose to have nine defensemen on the roster, even with an abundance of salary cap space.

It’s curious that Pagnotta only mentioned Liljegren and Thrun in his initial reporting. The pair of blue liners should have value on the trade market, but only for teams looking to add to their bottom-pairing. If the Sharks are looking to make a trade of substance, Mario Ferraro may be the best candidate.

Last season, Liljegren scored six goals and 17 points in 67 games, while Thrun scored two goals and 12 points in 60. Meanwhile, Ferraro scored five goals and 17 points but averaged more than two minutes higher than his closest counterpart, Liljegren.

Furthermore, given that the Sharks are in a position to balance the handedness of their defensive core for the first time in a while, it would make more sense to trade Ferraro than the other two. That way, Dickinson could be given a spot in the second pairing to begin the 2025-26 campaign, and the team could readily pivot to veteran Nick Leddy should he falter. In the case they keep Ferraro and trade one of Liljegren or Thrun, that means they’d have to play a veteran on his off-hand, put Dickinson on his off-hand, or move a playable option to a depth role.

Injury Notes: Tkachuk, Guenther, Thrun, Penguins

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The Ottawa Senators will be without team captain Brady Tkachuk for a second straight game on Thursday night per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen. Senators head coach Travis Green told Garrioch that there was no update on Tkachuk’s injury after his first missed game. The top-line forward continues to carry a day-to-day injury designation after sustaining an upper-body injury in the overtime period of Ottawa’s Sunday’s loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ottawa suffered a tough 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres without Tkachuk on Tuesday. Fabian Zetterlund held onto a top-line role, and David Perron into a second-line role, in Tkachuk’s absence. Perron has managed four goals and five points over his last 10 games, while Zetterlund has recorded just one assist – hardly enough to make up for Tkachuk’s 11 points in 15 games since the start of march. The Senators’ captain is up to 29 goals and 55 points in 71 games on the season. Tkachuk is on pace for 64 points on the season – which would be the lowest he’s scored since breaking out with 67 points in the 2021-22 campaign. But even in a down year, the Senators will need to find a way to make up for Tkachuk’s net-front presence in his absence. They currently have a firm grip of the Eastern Conference’s first Wild Card.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Utah Hockey Club forward Dylan Guenther is going to stick in the lineup despite breaking his nose in Tuesday night’s loss to the Florida Panthers, shares Belle Fraser of the Salt Lake Tribune. Guenther took a puck to the face but opted to play through Tuesday’s game, telling Fraser after that his nose is a far away from his legs after the game. He added earlier today that he had to get nine stitches and that his breathing is at about 70 percent, but neither fact will hold him out of the lineup on Thursday. Guenther has three points in his last five games, and a dazzling 26 goals and 52 points in 63 games this season. He stands as Utah’s leading goal scorer – at the young age of 21 – and should continue to contribute to Utah’s playoff race. Utah currently sits nine points out of the Western Conference’s second Wild Card, with one game in hand.
  • San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun has confirmed that he’ll be returning to the lineup on Thursday, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. Thrun has been out of the lineup since February 27th with an upper-body injury, save for making a spot start on March 8th where he reaggravated his injury. Thrun was finding his NHL legs in the games leading up to his injury, and even played in a career-high 24 minutes of action in San Jose’s February 24th loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He’s recorded 10 points, 30 penalty minutes, and a minus-16 in 52 games this season. Those marks fall just narrowly shy of his 11 points, 16 penalty minutes, and a minus-22 in 51 games last season. Thrun is expected to return to San Jose’s third pair alongside veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic on Thursday.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins embarked on a three-game road trip on Thursday. They brought with them star Evgeni Malkin, who hasn’t played since March 23rd, while leaving behind Thomas Novak and Pierre-Olivier Joseph, per Penguins play-by-play voice Josh Getzoff. The pair of depth skaters will be forced to miss the next few games with undisclosed injuries. In the meantime, Malkin will look to make his return on Pittsburgh’s final multi-game road trip of the season. He’s continued to be a force in the Penguins lineup, with 15 goals and 46 points in 62 games this season. That’s the lowest scoring pace of Malkin’s career, though he still ranks fifth on the team in total scoring. Of the missing duo, only Joseph has managed a point – netting one assist in 24 games -while Novak has no scoring in two games with Pittsburgh. With two holes to fill, Pittsburgh is expected to enter Joona Koppanen and Ryan Shea back into the lineup.

Sharks Defense Notes: Thrun, Desharnais, Vlasic

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If being on the cusp of losing 100 games over the last two seasons wasn’t bad enough, the San Jose Sharks are playing with a battered defensive core. Thankfully, they should get one of those defensemen back fairly shortly.

In an update from head coach Ryan Warsofsky, shared by Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, defenseman Henry Thrun has been upgraded to a day-to-day recovery timeline. Peng adds that Thrun “probably” won’t play this weekend, but his return is nevertheless on the horizon.

Thrun suffered an upper-body injury earlier in March against the New York Islanders, and he’ll have missed eight games by the end of the weekend. He wasn’t having a stellar season by any stretch of the imagination before going down with the injury. Still, he has logged the fifth-highest average ice time for any Sharks’ blue liner who’s amassed more than 20 games played and is still on the roster. Should Thrun return by the beginning of next week, he should break his single season career-high in points (11), which he set last campaign.

Other notes from the Bay Area:

  • In another update on the Sharks’ blue line, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reported that Vincent Desharnais is questionable for San Jose’s contests this weekend. According to Pashelka’s report, Desharnais, one of the newest Sharks’ defensive core members, is dealing with a “fairly significant upper-body injury.” Since moving to San Jose after a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Desharnais hasn’t registered a point as a Shark in seven games, despite averaging 17:49 of ice time per game.
  • In a separate report from Peng, the oldest defenseman on the Sharks’ blue line, Marc-Édouard Vlasic, is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury but could play this weekend. Vlasic is no stranger to missing time with injury, as he’s only featured in 17 of San Jose’s 71 games this season. Still, despite averaging his lowest ATOI since the 2021-22 campaign, the 19-year veteran has already blocked 29 shots in those 17 contests.

Sharks Notes: Eklund, Vlasic, Thrun, Lund, Wennberg

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Sharks forward William Eklund has had discussions about playing for Sweden in the upcoming World Championship in his native Sweden, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News.  The 22-year-old is having the best season of his young career with 15 goals and 35 assists through 64 games, good for a share for first in team scoring with Macklin Celebrini.  That should have him in line to play a prominent role for his country with several of Sweden’s top players expected to be unavailable due to the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Elsewhere in San Jose:

  • Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is expected to get more imaging done soon on the upper-body injury that is plaguing him once again, Pashelka relays in the same column. The veteran is dealing with a recurrence of the injury that kept him out in the first half of the campaign.  Vlasic has played in just 17 games this season where he has two assists and 29 blocks in 15:28 of ice time per game, which is the second-lowest average of his career.  Head coach David Warsofsky indicated that it’s too early to know if this injury will be a season-ender for the 37-year-old.
  • Pashelka also mentions that blueliner Henry Thrun is expected to return to practice on Monday. He was initially listed as week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury on March 8th.  Through 52 games this season, the 24-year-old has a goal and nine assists in just under 17 minutes of playing time.
  • While recently signed forward Cameron Lund is burning the first year of his entry-level contract this season, he’s not expected to report to the team for a few more days, Pashelka reports (Twitter link).  Lund had 40 points in 37 games at Northeastern this season and should get into at least a few games down the stretch.
  • Center Alexander Wennberg should suit up tonight against Boston, reports Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link). He has been dealing with a lingering lower-body issue lately although it hasn’t caused him to miss any time recently.  Wennberg has eight goals and 23 assists through 64 appearances in his first season with the Sharks while logging over 18 minutes a night of action.

Sharks’ Henry Thrun, Jan Rutta Out With Injury Long-Term

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The San Jose Sharks are dealing with a pair of injured defenders who could be done for the year per Max Miller of The Hockey News. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Miller that veteran Jan Rutta is still weeks away from returning, and hasn’t yet returned to the team’s practices. Warsofsky was a bit less decisive on Henry Thrun, who he dubbed as being just beyond week-to-week. Miller adds that Rutta is at risk of missing the remaining five weeks of the season, while Thrun will continue to fight for a return.

Rutta hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury in San Jose’s January 23rd loss to the Nashville Predators. He’s missed 14 games since – a number that would double should Rutta miss the rest of the year. His season would end on a bad note if he does, with Rutta boasting just eight points, 28 penalty minutes, and a minus-six in 51 games. That, surprisingly, marks the lowest scoring pace of Rutta’s historically uneventful career – narrowly beating out his nine points in 56 games of the 2022-23 season. Rutta split the time between that down year and this one with a small resurgence last season. He recorded 19 points, 38 penalty minutes, and a minus-21 in 69 games of the 2023-24 campaign – the most he’s scored since he managed 20 points in 57 games as an NHL rookie.

Rutta filled a menial bottom-pair role throughout the season. San Jose has turned back to career-long Shark Marc-Édouard Vlasic to fill in Rutta’s role. Vlasic has played in nine games in relief, posting no scoring, a minus-eight, and two shots on net. He’s averaged 16 minutes of ice time each night across that stand.

But the Sharks haven’t wanted to tap into their defense depth behind Vlasic, leaving Thrun’s vacancy in the top-four a bit tougher to fill. He has worked his way into more-and-more ice time this season, ultimately rivaling upwards of 24 minutes of ice time in one of his most recent games. Thrun’s new absence comes after he reaggravated the upper-body injury that held him out for a week-and-a-half in early March. He’ll be set to miss even more time, after already missing five games due to the injury.

San Jose has recalled career minor-leaguer Jimmy Schuldt to step into the lineup with Thrun out. Schuldt has scored 18 points in 54 AHL games this season. He’s in his first season in the Sharks organization after spending the last two years with the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Schuldt tallied 56 points in 139 games with the Firebirds. He’s tagged into two NHL games over the course of his seven-year pro career – one just days after signing his first pro deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19, and one earlier this season with San Jose. He has one assist in the pair of outings. The Sharks could need an extended fill-in for Thrun, which could pave the way for Schuldt to find his first NHL goal.

Sharks Notes: Thrun, Giles, Gregor, Goaltenders

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The Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated defenseman Henry Thrun off injured reserve.  He had missed the last week and a half after suffering an upper-body injury late last month against Montreal.  The 23-year-old is in his first full NHL season and has played in 51 games with San Jose thus far, picking up a goal and nine assists while averaging just under 17 minutes a night, a full three minutes a night below his ATOI from last season after he was brought up from the Barracuda.  However, with Jake Walman now in Edmonton, Thrun should be in line for a bigger role with San Jose down the stretch.

More from San Jose:

  • The Sharks will get a look at one of their newcomers quickly as in the same announcement as Thrun’s, the team noted that forward Patrick Giles was recalled from the Barracuda. Acquired earlier this week from Florida in the Vitek Vanecek deal, the 25-year-old played in nine games with the Panthers this season but has spent most of the year in the minors.  In 39 contests on the farm with AHL Charlotte, he has five goals and two assists.
  • It would appear that part of the reason for Giles’ recall is the uncertainty with Noah Gregor’s availability, suggests Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). Gregor has to go through the immigration process before he’s cleared to play, a process that can sometimes take several days to get through.  Gregor, acquired from Ottawa in a literal last-minute deal before the deadline, will be entering his second stint with the Sharks and his availability for Saturday’s game against the Islanders is in question.
  • While San Jose did plenty of selling, they did try to make one small buyer move at the deadline. Speaking with reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News (Twitter link), GM Mike Grier indicated that he tried to acquire a second goaltender to allow Georgi Romanov to remain in the minors but that the price to do so was too high.  Instead, Romanov, who has just two career NHL appearances, will serve as Alexandar Georgiev’s backup with top prospect Yaroslav Askarov out due to a lower-body injury.

San Jose Sharks Place Henry Thrun On IR, Recall Jimmy Schuldt

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The San Jose Sharks needed some defensive depth after losing their new top-pairing defenseman to injury. The Sharks announced they’ve placed Henry Thrun on injured reserve and have recalled Jimmy Schuldt from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, in a corresponding roster move.

Thrust into a top-pairing role since San Jose traded Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars on February 1st, Thrun left the Sharks’ February 27th game against the Montreal Canadiens in the third period due to an upper-body injury. He finished that contest with a -2 rating in 12:13 of ice time.

The Southborough, MA native is on par with his production from last season, scoring one goal and nine assists through 51 games compared to a three-goal, eight-assist performance in the same number of contests last year. Practically matching last year’s production, it’s a notable change in contribution, given Thrun’s average ice time has dropped by approximately three minutes.

Despite missing the team’s contest on Saturday, Thrun’s recovery timeline is only considered day-to-day. San Jose likely made the IR placement retroactive to February 27th, meaning Thrun is eligible to return on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. Since the Sharks are on an Atlantic Division road trip until that time, Schuldt gives the team a seventh defenseman in case of another injury.

It’s unlikely Schuldt will play during the team’s back-to-back against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, but it would mark his first NHL contest since the 2018-19 season and the second game of his career. The St. Cloud State University product has spent the last six years in the American Hockey League, split between the Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Rochester Americans, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Barracuda, scoring 34 goals and 125 points in 343 games with 218 PIMs.

Pacific Notes: Flames, Thrun, Gibson

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The Calgary Flames have defined the last two Trade Deadlines by selling a suite of impactful veterans, but they’re set up to take much more of a back seat this year. General manager Craig Conroy told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis that their focus continues to be adding young players to round out their existing core – not to bring in any major additions. Conroy went on to add that the Flames would be interested in adding a left-shot defender, but that any deal would need to make sense for the club.

Calgary won’t have a ton of trade chips to move at the deadline, with veterans Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman, Rasmus Andersson, and MacKenzie Weegar all on the untouchables list. Conroy told Francis that their lack of assets has limited the calls the Flames are receiving – but that the market is also quieter than in years past. He went on to praise the efforts of players like Joel Hanley, Ilya Solovyov, and Jake Bean – who would stand in direct competition of any defenders acquired via trade.

The expressed interest could connect Calgary to a scant defender market at the deadline. Vancouver’s Carson Soucy, San Jose’s Mario Ferraro, and Pittsburgh’s Matt Grzelcyk headline a market full of middling left-defenders. The market price has already been set, after New York Rangers defender Ryan Lindgren was traded to the Colorado Avalanche alongside Jimmy Vesey in exchange for Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan, and two draft picks.

Other notes from out West:

  • Speaking of left-defense, the San Jose Sharks will be without youngster Henry Thrun in Saturday’s game against the Ottawa Senators per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. Thrun has one goal and 10 points in 51 games this season – one fewer than he scored in just as many games last year. The former Harvard Crimson captain is still very early in his career, but has improved his standing in San Jose’s lineup seemingly every night. He played a career-high 24 minutes in San Jose’s Monday loss to the Winnipeg Jets, and averaged 17 minutes per night on the year. San Jose will turn Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Jack Thompson – who have been exchanging minutes of their own – to fill in for Thrun’s absence.
  • Netminder John Gibson will draw back in for the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday per Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Gibson has missed Anaheim’s last three games after sustaining an upper-body injury on February 22nd. The Ducks recalled Oscar Dansk to serve as the backup behind Lukas Dostal in Gibson’s absence. Dansk has posted an .886 save percentage and 10-10-3 record in 27 AHL games this season. He’s been reassigned to the minor leagues per Mathieu Sheridan of The Hockey News. Meanwhile Gibson will return to platooning in the starter’s role, looking to build on his .916 save percentage and 9-9-2 record amid a resurging season.

Sharks’ Nikolai Kovalenko To Return, Henry Thrun Questionable

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The San Jose Sharks will have to shake up their lineup a bit in tonight’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. Forward Nikolai Kovalenko is expected to return from injury, while defenseman Henry Thrun is questionable to play due to a lower-body injury (per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). Peng adds that if Thrun is unavailable, veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic will step back into the lineup. Vlasic was held out of San Jose’s Monday night game due to illness.

With this news, Kovalenko will return to the lineup after missing San Jose’s last six games with an upper-body injury. The Russian rookie has been an interesting addition for the Sharks, who acquired him in the December trade that sent goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. Kovalenko has recorded six points, five blocked shots, 26 hits, and no penalties in 12 games with the Sharks since the move, bringing his season totals up to 14 points in 40 games. He’s managed those totals while serving in a third-line role, with limited special teams use. That depth assignment should make reincorporating Kovalenko a seamless process. He’s expected to step in for Carl Grundström, who only has one point in his last 15 games.

Thrun played yesterday against Boston, logging 15:51 of ice time in the Sharks 6-3 loss. The 23-year-old has eight assists in 40 games this year and has posted 33 hits and 44 blocked shots while averaging 16:56 of ice time per game. The Southborough, Massachusetts native signed a two-year $2MM extension with the Sharks last July and has been a regular for most of the season, other than a handful of healthy scratches.

PHR’s Josh Cybulski contributed to this article.

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