Headlines

  • Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets
  • Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration
  • Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61
  • Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov
  • Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley
  • Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Sharks Rumors

Sharks Don’t Intend To Demote Will Smith

January 13, 2025 at 8:23 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski 2 Comments

The San Jose Sharks have no intention to demote former fourth overall pick Will Smith to the American Hockey League despite the slow start to his rookie season (as per Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News). Smith joined his teammates today as they boarded a charter flight to Detroit to kick off a five-game road trip against the Red Wings.

It’s been a tale of three wildly different seasons for the 19-year-old after he started the year with no points in his first eight games, then he turned the corner and posted 11 points over a run of 14 games, but then he slumped again, adding just three points in his last 15 games. Smith’s up-and-down offensive contributions have followed a very similar pattern to San Jose’s win/loss record. The Sharks were winless in their first nine games, then went on to win 10 of their next 19 contests before slumping to a 3-13-1 record in their last 17 games.

While the fate of an entire team can’t be attributed to a single rookie, the correlation is stunning. Smith’s bumpy rookie season is not uncommon for highly touted rookies, and every team uses different tactics to assist the player. San Jose has used “development days” throughout the first half of the year as a means of managing Smith’s workload so he has time to work on improving his game. The Sharks also have Smith living with Sharks legend Patrick Marleau, which should also aid in his development.

Smith is in the unenvious position of trying to become a two-way professional hockey player on a team that is likely to be at the bottom of the NHL standings at the end of this season. Another difficult transition for Smith has been in board battles where the 6’0” 181lb forward has had to engage in battles with NHL forwards who outweigh him by a considerable amount.

San Jose Sharks Will Smith

2 comments

Sharks Reassign Shakir Mukhamadullin

January 13, 2025 at 11:37 am CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Sharks returned defense prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin to AHL San Jose on Monday, per a team announcement. The club now has an open roster spot, which could be used to activate Klim Kostin, Nikolai Kovalenko, or Vítek Vaněček from injured reserve in the coming days.

Mukhamadullin, 23, had been on the Sharks’ roster since Dec. 10. It was his first recall of the season after he sat out the first couple of weeks on season-opening injured reserve with a lower-body issue.

Selected 20th overall by the Devils in the 2020 draft and traded to San Jose in the Timo Meier deal in 2023, Mukhamadullin is the second-best defense prospect in the Sharks’ system behind 2024 first-rounder Sam Dickinson and checked in at 82nd in Scott Wheeler of The Athletic’s league-wide prospect ranking last summer. A well-rounded left-shot talent checking in at 6’4″, the Russian native had a goal and an even rating in 10 appearances over the last few weeks while averaging 15:24 of time on ice per game.

While it’s a small sample and limited minutes, Mukhamadullin has arguably been the Sharks’ most defensively competent blue-liner this season. His 1.2 goals against per 60 minutes at even strength is the lowest on the team, and his 48.6 CF% trails only Jake Walman among San Jose defenders with double-digit games played.

That’s a promising result for Mukhamadullin after it took him a while to get off the ground in the minors. He had six assists and a minus-three rating in 14 AHL games, diminished play in both ends after he recorded 34 points and a plus-three rating in 55 games last season.

Things are looking up for the youngster, who will now get some more runway in the AHL before his next opportunity in the Show. He’s set to be a restricted free agent this summer but won’t be eligible for arbitration.

San Jose Sharks| Transactions Shakir Mukhamadullin

0 comments

San Jose Sharks Make Several Roster Moves

January 11, 2025 at 7:45 pm CDT | by Brennan McClain Leave a Comment

As expected, the San Jose Sharks made multiple roster moves before tonight’s contest against the Minnesota Wild. The Sharks organization announced they’ve activated forward Carl Grundström and defenseman Jake Walman from the injured reserve while placing forwards Klim Kostin and Nikolai Kovalenko on it in a corresponding roster move.

Despite moving a pair of forwards to the injured reserve, the transaction is a major addition to San Jose’s lineup. Walman has objectively been the Sharks’ top defenseman this near averaging nearly a point-per-game for the first time in his career with five goals and 25 points in 31 games while averaging 22:50 of ice time per night. His defensive metrics have depressed slightly since his time with the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues but Walman is still one of the only Sharks’ defensemen with a positive expected +/- and CorsiFor% over 50.0%.

Grundstrom is expected to reprise his familiar role in San Jose’s bottom-six. He’s scored one goal and five points in 30 games for the Sharks this season which is seven points lower than his 20-point, 82-game average with the Los Angeles Kings last year. Still, Grundstrom is second amongst San Jose’s forwards in hitting with 85 showing he can still provide quality physicality if he isn’t finding his way on the scoresheet.

The oft-healthy scratched Klostin is one of the forwards moved to the injured reserve to make room for Walman and Grundstrom’s activation. After scoring five goals and 10 points in 19 games for the Sharks after being acquired from the Red Wings at last year’s deadline his offensive output has fallen off a cliff this season with one goal and four points in 26 contests. He’ll likely miss three games on the injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury yesterday and may not find himself in the lineup once he returns.

Kovalenko hasn’t suited up for San Jose since the team’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights on January 7th due to an upper-body injury. He’ll be quicker to return than Klostin given he was considered day-to-day and will have already missed two of three games needed to be eligible for activation. He got off to a quick start with the Sharks after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche tallying five assists in his first five games but only has one goal in the following seven contests.

Injury| San Jose Sharks| Transactions Carl Grundstrom| Jake Walman| Klim Kostin| Nikolai Kovalenko

0 comments

Kovalenko Won't Play Friday Due To Upper-Body Injury

January 9, 2025 at 6:58 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

  • Sharks winger Nikolai Kovalenko will not play tomorrow against Utah due to an upper-body injury, notes Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury was sustained on Tuesday versus Vegas.  Kovalenko has fared relatively well since being acquired last month from Colorado, notching a goal and five assists in a dozen games with San Jose after tallying just eight points in 28 games with the Avs.  He’s listed as out day-to-day.

Calgary Flames| Edmonton Oilers| OHL| San Jose Sharks Brady Stonehouse| Connor Zary| Evander Kane| Nikolai Kovalenko

0 comments

Zetterlund Dealing With Lower-Body Issue, Walman Could Return Friday

January 8, 2025 at 8:01 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

  • Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund is dealing with a lower-body issue but should still be able to play on Friday versus Utah, mentions Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury hasn’t resulted in him missing any time yet although he hasn’t taken part in several practices due to it.  After a strong first year in San Jose, Zetterlund is producing at a slightly better rate this year despite the lingering injury, posting 11 goals and 16 assists through the first 43 games of the season.
  • Still with the Sharks, defenseman Jake Walman is also hoping to be available for Friday’s game against Utah, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). Walman has yet to play since the holiday break due to a lower-body issue of his own.  He has been one of the breakout performers of the season after coming over in an offseason move from Detroit and has five goals and 20 assists in 31 appearances so far while logging nearly 23 minutes a game, numbers that lead San Jose’s blueliners.

Columbus Blue Jackets| Injury| San Jose Sharks| St. Louis Blues Fabian Zetterlund| Jake Walman| Radek Faksa| Sean Monahan

0 comments

Cody Ceci Interested In Extension With Sharks

January 7, 2025 at 1:05 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson 4 Comments

Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci hopes to begin talks on a contract extension with the Sharks later this month, he told Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News on Wednesday.

San Jose general manager Mike Grier acquired Ceci from the Oilers and a 2025 third-round pick in exchange for depth defender Ty Emberson in August. Ceci is in the final season of a four-year deal with a $3.25MM cap hit, which ended up being a tad too rich for incoming Edmonton GM Stan Bowman’s blood as he looked to retool the roster for another run to the Stanley Cup Final.

The trade has worked out reasonably well for both sides. The Oilers gained over $2MM in cap space and have gotten serviceable minutes out of Emberson, who has five assists and a minus-four rating in 37 appearances. San Jose gained a veteran presence who can log heavier minutes in Ceci, who’s averaging 22:02 per game this season – second on the team behind Jake Walman.

The 31-year-old Ceci has 11 points through 42 games, roughly in line with the offensive totals many have come to expect from the 2012 first-round pick. He leads the team with 73 blocked shots, but that’s also indicative of a lack of possession control. His 43.1 CF% at even-strength is fifth-worst among Sharks with at least 10 games played this season, and his -13.8 expected rating, while exaggerated slightly due to his heavy minutes, is the worst on the club.

That said, he’s been given difficult usage on one of the league’s thinnest blue lines. Ceci averages 18:43 per game just at even strength, leading second-place Mario Ferraro by more than a minute, and is the only Shark averaging more than three minutes per contest on the penalty kill.

All told, he’s putting up similar results to his numbers in a complementary role in Edmonton the past few years while receiving arguably the most challenging minutes of his 12-year NHL career. Whether there’s mutual interest in a commitment past this season remains to be seen. However, it would make sense for the Sharks to retain at least one of Ceci or Jan Rutta – both veteran pending UFAs – as short-term stop gaps until more defense prospects like Sam Dickinson and Shakir Mukhamadullin are ready for top-four minutes.

From Ceci’s point of view, he likely wouldn’t receive more playing time – or money – anywhere else. San Jose projects to have $37.9MM in cap space next season, assuming an upper limit increase to $92MM, with just seven roster spots to fill. He’d likely earn a bit of a premium, at least on his average annual value on a two- or three-year extension, compared to other destinations on the open market.

San Jose Sharks Cody Ceci

4 comments

Carl Grundstrom Back At Practice Today

January 6, 2025 at 9:22 pm CDT | by Josh Cybulski Leave a Comment

Murat Ates of The Athletic expects the Winnipeg Jets to check in on Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Jets have had interest in the 30-year-old in the past and Ates thinks they could take another look at him in hopes of boosting their blueline.

Winnipeg doesn’t have a ton of draft capital in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, having moved several picks out the door in previous trades. The Jets likely wouldn’t need to move a first-round pick to acquire Ristolainen and would probably scoff if that was the cost of acquiring him from Philadelphia.

In other Western Conference notes:

  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy practiced today in a no-contact jersey (as per SinBin.vegas). Roy has been out of action since December 15th with an upper-body injury. The 27-year-old’s injury progressed unusually after he was first given a maintenance day and then missed several practices and eventually a game. A short time later he was put on the injured reserve and has been there since. Roy had a career year last season, posting 13 goals and 28 assists in 70 games but wasn’t able to carry the momentum into this year as he had a slow start with just six goals and seven assists in 31 games.
  • San Jose Sharks forward Carl Grundstrom was a full participant in practice today (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). The 27-year-old suffered an undisclosed injury on December 28th in a game against the Calgary Flames but is reportedly close to returning. The Umea, Sweden native has been used sparingly in 30 games, averaging just nine minutes of ice time per game. The former second-round pick has a goal and four assists and will likely return to a spot in the team’s bottom six when he is healthy.

San Jose Sharks| Vegas Golden Knights| Winnipeg Jets Carl Grundstrom| Nicolas Roy| Rasmus Ristolainen

0 comments

Sharks Activate William Eklund, Place Jake Walman On IR

January 4, 2025 at 1:44 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Sharks have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight versus New Jersey.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated forward William Eklund off injured reserve.  To make room on the roster, blueliner Jake Walman has been placed on IR.

Eklund has been dealing with an upper-body injury sustained just before the holiday break.  After a strong rookie year that saw him record 45 points in 80 games, the 22-year-old is on pace for a more productive campaign, notching seven goals and 20 assists through his first 36 appearances this season.

While it’s the fourth straight year in which Eklund has seen NHL action, his first two years didn’t see him burn a year of his entry-level deal since he played under ten games in each one.  Accordingly, he’s signed through the 2025-26 campaign but will be extension-eligible this summer and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the two sides try to work out an early long-term deal.

As for Walman, he has been out with a lower-body injury that also occurred a little before the break.  After being acquired in a salary cap dumping trade from Detroit, the 28-year-old has had a breakout year with the Sharks, recording five goals and 20 assists in 31 games while logging nearly 23 minutes a night of playing time.  He leads all San Jose defenders in points with 25 while his ATOI leads all Sharks players.

Despite the IR placement, Walman may not be there for long.  Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now notes that Walman skated before practice for the second straight day today, suggesting that he might not be too far from a return.  San Jose is eligible to back-date the placement to December 22nd and if they do so, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.

San Jose Sharks| Transactions Jake Walman| William Eklund

0 comments

Sharks Place Carl Grundström On IR, Activate Marc-Édouard Vlasic

January 2, 2025 at 1:20 pm CDT | by Josh Erickson Leave a Comment

The Sharks placed winger Carl Grundström on injured reserve Thursday retroactive to Dec. 28 with an undisclosed injury, Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News reports. His roster spot will likely go to defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic, who told reporters (including Max Miller of The Hockey News) that he’s ready to make his season debut after sitting on IR for the first 40 games with a back injury.

Grundström, 27, already missed Tuesday’s 4-0 loss to the Flyers with the injury he sustained early in last weekend’s loss to the Flames. He left the game in the first period and didn’t return after he was on the receiving end of a massive hit from Calgary defenseman Brayden Pachal.

It doesn’t appear his absence should stretch out much longer. He skated today in a non-contact jersey, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, so he’s at least been cleared to skate. The IR placement rules him out of the Sharks’ next two games, but the Swede could return next Tuesday against the Golden Knights if he’s ready.

The Sharks acquired Grundström’s signing rights from the cross-state rival Kings in late June before signing the restricted free agent to a two-year, $3.6MM the following week. He hasn’t been as much of a factor as San Jose hoped, averaging a career-low 9:00 per game and contributing just one goal and four assists through 30 appearances. He’d been a healthy scratch in four out of nine games before being injured.

In his more limited ice time, the 2016 second-rounder has still been the physical presence the Sharks acquired him to be. He leads the team with 18.87 hits per 60 minutes, translating into some good defensive metrics. Grundström boasts a relative shot attempt share of 3.2% at 5-on-5, his highest since his 15-game rookie trial with Los Angeles in the 2018-19 campaign.

The Sharks are also without budding star winger William Eklund for the time being due to an upper-body issue in addition to the lingering absence of captain Logan Couture due to osteitis pubis. That’s led to increased opportunities for guys like bang-and-crash winger Klim Kostin, who will skate in a first-line role alongside Mikael Granlund and Luke Kunin tonight against the Lightning.

For the 37-year-old Vlasic, it’s a long-awaited return after returning to the ice for practice over a month ago. The Sharks’ all-time leader in games played by a defenseman (1,296) has been plagued by injuries since the beginning of last season on top of his already sharp age-related decline, which contributed to him posting 12 points with a career-worst -27 rating in 57 games in 2023-24 while averaging only 16:17 per game.

Vlasic will skate in a third-pairing role alongside Jan Rutta while rookie Shakir Mukhamadullin serves as a healthy scratch, Peng reports. He still has another season to go on the massive eight-year, $56MM extension he signed in 2017.

San Jose Sharks| Transactions Carl Grundstrom| Marc-Edouard Vlasic

0 comments

Barracuda Sign Samuel St-Hilaire To AHL ATO

January 1, 2025 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

  • With Yaroslav Askarov up with the Sharks for the foreseeable future, their farm team has found a temporary replacement for him. Per a team release, the AHL’s Barracuda has signed goaltender Samuel St-Hilaire to an ATO agreement.  The 20-year-old had a 2.56 GAA and a .904 SV% over parts of three seasons with QMJHL Rimouski and was on Canada’s entry for the World Juniors last year.

AHL| Carolina Hurricanes| Dallas Stars| Pittsburgh Penguins| San Jose Sharks| Transactions Dustin Tokarski| Jackson Blake| Justin Hryckowian| Nate Clurman| Samuel St-Hilaire| Ty Smith

0 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
    Top Stories

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

    Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Mammoth Begin Extension Talks With Logan Cooley

    Blues Pushing For Bowen Byram Trade

    Hurricanes Sign Nikolaj Ehlers To Six-Year Deal

    Sharks Sign Dmitry Orlov, Claim Nick Leddy

    Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

    Blues Waive Nick Leddy

    Recent

    Players Still Eligible For Offer Sheets

    Canadiens Sign Jakub Dobes To Two-Year Contract

    Capitals Sign Hendrix Lapierre To One-Year Deal

    Sharks Interested In Adding Top-Nine Winger

    Mark Letestu Named Head Coach of AHL’s Colorado Eagles

    Eleven Players Elect Salary Arbitration

    Lyndon Byers Passes Away At 61

    Golden Knights Looking To Trade Ben Hutton

    Kraken Re-Sign Tye Kartye

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Dmitri Voronkov

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version