Sharks Notes: Karlsson, Goodrow, Thornton, Hawryluk
Despite the devastating news that star defenseman Erik Karlsson will miss the rest of the season Saturday with a broken thumb, there may be a silver lining when looking at the injury.
One small consolation is that by placing Karlsson on long-term injured reserve, it will free up $11.5MM in salary, which could give the team some more flexibility in taking on salary at the trade deadline, according to The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required). The team currently has just $5.7MM of cap space it could use at the trade deadline, meaning it would be unable to take back any team’s salary which could increase their return in trades. Now with that $11.5MM available to use, San Jose may be able to benefit even more at the trade deadline.
Another concern initially came when Karlsson fell awkwardly over Joe Thornton as many believed he had re-injured his surgically repaired groin injury, which he dealt with for much of last season. The 29-year-old hasn’t been the same since undergoing offseason surgery and hasn’t been nearly as mobile this year. Kurz added in a separate tweet that Karlsson will have his thumb surgery Monday in Los Angeles, by Dr. Steven Shin, who operated on NBA’s Stephen Curry and the NFL’s Drew Brees.
- With the “For Sale” sign up and visible, there are many teams who have inquired about Sharks forward Barclay Goodrow, who is having a career season with eight goals, 24 points and 80 penalty minutes. The 26-year-old is very attractive to capped-out teams as he carries just a $925K salary and has one more year on his current contract before he hits unrestricted free agency in 2021. However, the Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka writes that there has been no indication from the Sharks that they would be willing to move Goodrow, who has become a very versatile piece on the team, who can play any position, play on the penalty kill, and has received a signficant upgrade in minutes since Tomas Hertl went down with a season-ending injury. The team fully expects him to be a part of their future.
- Longtime Shark Thornton has also been in trade rumors recently, but has a no-movement clause, which means that if Thornton is traded, it will be at his request. However, rumors still suggest that he might be a good fit with the Boston Bruins, for a reunion with the team that originally drafted him and which he played for eight seasons before being traded to the Sharks. Another recent team to come up in rumors is the Colorado Avalanche, where he might be a perfect addition, according to ColoradoHockeyNow’s Adrian Dater. Thornton would serve as a good short-term replacement for Nazem Kadri, who is out weeks with a lower-body injury. He also might be a better candidate to play in a bottom-six role over Tyson Jost, who has struggled mightily recently, going 30 straight games without a goal.
- Kurz also notes that the Sharks could be interested in forward Jayce Hawryluk, who was put on waivers today. Hawryluk is well known by head coach Bob Boughner, who coached him in Florida last season. With the team looking for depth on their bottom-six, Hawryluk would make sense.
Florida Panthers Place Jayce Hawryluk On Waivers
The Florida Panthers have placed forward Jayce Hawryluk on waivers, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. The forward has been injured for most of the season, but has struggled to establish himself in Joel Quenneville‘s lineup.
Hawryluk, 24, was a high second-round pick in 2014, but needed a few years in the AHL to develop his skills. It looked like he turned the corner last year when he posted 32 points in 31 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds, prompting a promotion to Florida where he became a regular, appearing in 47 games, scoring seven goals and 12 points.
This year, he appeared in eight games for Florida before suffering an upper-body injury in late October that kept him out of the lineup until mid-December. He was sent on a conditioning stint to Springfield where he played six games, but only chipping in one assist. However, with his conditioning stint time having run out, Florida was forced to recall him where he has failed to register a point in seven games. His playing time dropped to just 7:43 on Feb. 10 and he has been a scratch for the past three games, although Quenneville said that was due to illness.
The team is hoping they can slip Hawryluk through waivers so he can get more time in the minors with the hope he can find his game last year.
Minor Transactions: 12/23/19
Even though the NHL roster freeze is in effect, there are still a handful of transactions that will happen today. These are moves that are still allowed to maintain roster levels, as a huge chunk of the league will play today. Things kick off with an afternoon tilt between the Carolina Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs, with Jake Gardiner returning to play his former team after signing a four-year deal in the offseason. As those few moves take place, we’ll keep track of them right here.
- Mathieu Joseph is back with the Tampa Bay Lightning, recalled today after just a few days in the minor leagues. Joseph was a regular in the Lightning lineup for the last year and a half, but was struggling to really find his game of late and needed a reset in the AHL.
- The San Jose Sharks, who don’t play again until Friday, returned three players to the minor leagues today. Noah Gregor, Joel Kellman and Jacob Middleton will all spend the break as part of the San Jose Barracuda, though it would come as no surprise to see at least one of them recalled again later in the week.
- Jayce Hawryluk has been recalled by the Florida Panthers ahead of their game against the Lightning tonight. Hawryluk has three points in eight games with the Panthers this season but was injured earlier in the year. His conditioning stint has now come to an end, after six games with the Springfield Thunderbirds.
- The Detroit Red Wings have sent Filip Zadina, Brian Lashoff and Calvin Pickard down to the minor leagues. With the Red Wings off until Saturday, they’ll have plenty of time to make the decision on who to bring back up after Christmas.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Jeremy Bracco from the minor leagues, while giving an ominous update on Trevor Moore. Moore will be out of today’s game with a mysterious injury, likely related to the issue he was dealing with recently after getting bumped in practice.
- The Vancouver Canucks have returned Jalen Chatfield to the AHL over the break. Chatfield has been recalled several times by the Canucks this season, but has yet to actually play in an NHL game.
Jayce Hawryluk Sent On Conditioning Stint
The Florida Panthers have assigned Jayce Hawryluk to the minor leagues on a conditioning stint, likely signaling that he is finally ready to play again. The 23-year old hasn’t played since suffering an upper-body injury at the end of October, but had three points in his first eight games with the Panthers this season.
Not that the Panthers need much help as they sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 15-10-5 record, but Hawryluk is a proven option for their bottom-six that suited up 42 times last year. Originally drafted 32nd overall in 2014, he has found his way to being a top offensive option eventually at every level and still has time to develop into one for the Panthers.
Even if he never becomes that top-six player however, he’ll be welcomed back to the Panthers this season to play in a lesser role. In order to go to the minors under regular circumstances he would need to clear waivers, meaning he’ll be back up once the team feels he’s ready for NHL action.
Snapshots: Vanek, Hawryluk, Biro, Tavares
While Thomas Vanek remains unsigned, the veteran winger indicated to John Vogl of The Athletic (subscription required) that he did turn down one contract offer over the summer. Instead, his preference is to wait and try to land with a contending team to take one last shot at a Stanley Cup title and then retire at the end of the season. The 35-year-old is coming off a reasonable season offensively that saw him record 16 goals and 20 assists in 64 games with Detroit in 2018-19, numbers that suggest he can still contribute. While he continues to skate in the hopes of getting another contract though, it appears he’s going to be very selective when it comes to where he’s willing to sign.
More from around the hockey world:
- Panthers winger Jayce Hawryluk will miss at least a month due to an upper-body injury (likely to the shoulder), notes George Richards of The Athletic (Twitter link). The injury was sustained on a hit from Colorado’s Nikita Zadorov on Wednesday night. Hawryluk has played in eight games with Florida so far this season, picking up a goal and two assists from the fourth line. With Vincent Trocheck also believed to be unavailable, Florida is now down to 11 healthy forwards on their roster.
- We won’t see much activity in college free agency until March but Bob Stauffer of 630 CHED in Edmonton reports (Twitter link) that undrafted Penn State winger Brandon Biro is attracting some NHL interest already. The 21-year-old senior had an impressive junior year with 40 points in 37 games and is off to an even better start in 2019-20 with five goals and seven helpers in just seven games.
- While the Maple Leafs were hoping to have center John Tavares back tonight, that won’t be the case. However, Tavares told reporters, including TSN’s Mark Masters, (Twitter link) that he hasn’t suffered a setback. Instead, with Toronto being off until Tuesday, the team doctors have decided that an extra three days of rest would be most beneficial for him.