- The Sharks have recalled goalie Troy Grosenick from San Jose of the AHL, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports (Twitter link). This comes on the heels of starter Martin Jones being seen limping following their last game so it appears that Grosenick will be an insurance policy for the time being. The 28-year-old has seen limited action in the minors this season, playing in just 15 games while posting a 2.91 GAA and a save percentage of .891.
Sharks Rumors
Martin Jones May Be Playing Through A Leg Injury
- Paul Gackle of the Mercury News notes that Sharks goaltender Martin Jones was seen walking with a noticeable limp on his left leg following Thursday’s loss to Colorado, suggesting that Jones may be playing through an injury. He speculates that the injury could be related to one Jones suffered in late November that caused him to miss a game. At the very least, San Jose can take comfort in the fact that they still have Aaron Dell who can take on a bit more of the workload if need be for the time being but if that’s the case, that will make it even less likely that they’ll look to move Dell, arguably their best trade chip.
San Jose Sharks Looking For Depth Center
According to Paul Gackle of The Mercury News, the San Jose Sharks are “actively shopping” for a fourth-line center. San Jose has been using wingers in the position for various chunks of the season, and need someone as more of a permanent fixture.
The Sharks find themselves in second place in the Pacific Division, but are by no means safe in that position. The Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks are all within striking distance, and wildcard spots will be hard to come by with how well the Central is playing this season. The Sharks will need to strike soon if they want to solidify their playoff run, and center depth is the top issue they need to address at the moment.
It’s not like the team doesn’t have the flexibility to get something done. The Sharks are headed to the trade deadline with plenty of cap room and 46/50 roster spots currently occupied. If someone shakes loose from one of the imminent sellers, or perhaps a roster crunch forces another solid player onto waivers, you can be sure the Sharks would jump. Perhaps a player like Dominic Moore from Toronto, who has been a healthy scratch since December (though is expected to get back into the lineup tomorrow night) or Mark Letestu in Edmonton who has seen his role diminished greatly in recent weeks.
With Paul Martin moved to the minor leagues recently, there could be teams interested before long. If the veteran defender can recapture some of his previous performance, he could be used as a trade piece for a center. Unfortunately, the Sharks don’t have their second or third round pick in the upcoming draft, pieces often used to acquire depth centers at the deadline. Giving up any more picks in 2018 could leave them out in the cold come draft day, and weaken any potential negotiations down the road.
Paul Martin Placed On Waivers; Montreal Claims Logan Shaw
The early reports were true, and Paul Martin has indeed been placed on waivers by the San Jose Sharks according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. LeBrun also notes that the Montreal Canadiens have claimed Logan Shaw off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks.
Martin, 36, has had a rough season as he battled through injuries and a lack of playing time. The Sharks have seemingly moved on from him, and are currently looking for a trade partner to give him another opportunity. While a waiver claim could certainly offer that, it’s more likely that he goes unclaimed and heads to the San Jose Barracuda to try and rebuild some value. His $4.85MM cap hit this year and next is a real impediment to any team that is interested, and any deal right now would likely have to include some degree of salary retention.
If Martin does clear, and immediately starts to play for the Barracuda, there is obviously still a place for him in the NHL. The veteran defenseman recorded 26 points and more than 19 minutes a night just last season, and has been an effective stay at home counterpoint to Brent Burns’ roving nature in the past.
It’s important to note that both the Minnesota Wild and Toronto Maple Leafs are at the 50 contract limit, and would need to move out a player in order to make a claim or acquire Martin in trade.
Shaw on the other hand was just waived by the Ducks after they claimed J.T. Brown from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and now finds his way to Montreal to help their forward depth. The 25-year old has eight points in 42 games for the Ducks this season, and provides some size—though not a ton of physicality—for the Canadiens to insert into their bottom-six.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Paul Martin Could Be Headed For Waivers
As reported by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, veteran defenseman Paul Martin is being shopped by the San Jose Sharks. That claim was confirmed by GM Doug Wilson to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, who said the team is working with Martin and his representatives to try and get him a new opportunity. On Twitter, he relayed comments from Martin’s agent Ben Hankinson:
It’s kind of a tough one for him because he knows he can play and he wants to play with the Sharks. Right now, there isn’t a spot for him. That’s his first choice but obviously the goal is to play somewhere and help a team win in the NHL. Now we’re going down that path and trying to find a team. Paulie wants to play and he’d love to win. Kind of walking down that pathway now to see where he could be a fit.
Additionally, Pashelka reports that Martin could find himself on waivers in the next few days, which would result in a stint with the San Jose Barracuda if not claimed.
Martin has played in just three games this season after dealing with several injuries and the impressive play of several other Sharks’ defenders. In the third year of a four-year, $19.4MM contract, the 36-year old defenseman comes with a $4.85MM cap hit, a prohibitive factor for many potential claiming clubs. It’s hard to imagine any team would claim him on waivers, which would come with the responsibility of his entire remaining contract. More likely may be a trade with the Sharks retaining some salary, in order to receive a real asset in return.
If he does end up on waivers and goes unclaimed, a stint in the AHL might actually be the best thing for the veteran. Though he’d obviously like to be playing in the NHL, he hasn’t been able to show that he’s still able to contribute at this level, and sitting in the press box isn’t doing anything to change that. A few weeks logging big minutes in the AHL might entice a team to bring him aboard for their playoff run. Martin does have plenty of playoff experience, suiting up for 115 postseason games in his career with three different clubs. He logged more than 22 minutes a night with the Sharks in 2015-16, on their way to the Stanley Cup final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In the meantime, the Sharks have activated Dylan DeMelo from injured reserve and loaned Marcus Sorensen to the minor leagues. DeMelo hasn’t played in 10 days, and has suited up for 22 games this season.
Pacific Notes: Cogliano, Martin, Dell, Bellemare
The Department of Player Safety announced they will have a hearing today for Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano for his illegal check to the head on Los Angeles Kings forward Adrian Kempe during the first period of Saturday night’s game between the two teams.
A possible suspension for the iron man Cogliano in jeopardy. The veteran has not missed a game since 2007 and has played 830 consecutive games, ranking fourth highest in NHL history, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti. Elliotte Friedman added that he is just 134 games behind Doug Jarvis, who played with Montreal, Washington and Hartford between 1975 to 1988.
- On his Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada, Friedman reports the San Jose Sharks are trying to trade defenseman Paul Martin. The veteran defenseman, in his third season with San Jose, was injured in the second game of the season and has only appeared in one game since then on Dec. 7. He played a four-game stretch of games in the AHL on a conditioning loan, but has been called up and has been a healthy scratch since. With the emergence of defensemen Tim Heed and Joakim Ryan on San Jose’s blueline, there is no place for Martin. With defenseman Dylan DeMelo about ready to be activated off of injured reserve, the team hopes to send Martin elsewhere. Martin played 159 games in his first two seasons with the Sharks. The problem is Martin is owed $4.85MM both this year and next, which might make moving the veteran much more difficult than it looks.
- Paul Gackle of the Mercury News writes that while the Sharks are likely to move goaltender Aaron Dell before he hits unrestricted free agency this summer, the team cannot consider moving their backup goaltender until the last possible moment as the team finds itself fighting for a playoff spot. The Sharks are currently one point out of a playoff spot in a highly competitive race. “We need great goaltending in the second half,” head coach Peter DeBoer said. Due to the recent struggles of starter Martin Jones, the team doesn’t want to lose Dell too quickly in case Martin, who has struggled since the beginning of December, fails to bounce back. Gackle adds that in a perfect world, the team would try to send Dell off as soon as possible to get a fourth-line center or a wing.
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Steve Carp writes the Vegas Golden Knights avoided a possible injury Saturday in their game against Edmonton when forward Pierre-Eduoard Bellemare took a puck to the face off a shot from defenseman Darnell Nurse. The veteran tough-guy took three stitches and only missed one shift.
Sharks Expect More Out Of Boedker
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes (subscription required) that the San Jose Sharks are hoping to get more production from winger Mikkel Boedker after he was a healthy scratch in the team’s last game before their bye-week started. The veteran who signed with the team two offseasons ago, is struggling even more in his second year with the team. He had 10 goals and 26 points last year and so far has only three goals and six assists. “We need some production out of him,” head coach Peter DeBoer said. “That’s the bottom line. If he’s not producing points, he’s got to at least be producing chances to score. When he’s not, he can’t help us.”
Pacific Notes: Vancouver’s Defense, Kane, Muzzin, Sekera
The Vancouver Canucks have been hurting for offense for quite some time. Yet despite adding veteran Thomas Vanek and rookie sensation Brock Boeser to the team’s lineup, the team is ranked 27th in the league in scoring. The Vancouver Sun’s Jason Botchford writes that the main reason is due to the defense’s inability to move the puck forward and help create offense.
Vancouver lacks a true offensive defenseman as the team seems to have little, but defensive blueliners in their rotations. The team’s top offensive defenseman is offseason acquisition Michael Del Zotto, who has 12 points this year, but Botchford says that the 27-year-old has rarely been the answer this season. The teams had hoped that third-year defenseman Ben Hutton might improve on his rookie year’s 25 points. Yet he has no goals and just six assists so far this year. Alexander Edler also has failed to improve on his offense as well.
Botchford says the team does have one possibility in AHL’s Philip Holm, who has seven goals and 19 points in 30 games this year in Utica. However, the team has not used him this year despite their need for an offensive spark. The team has a logjam of defenders and a trade deadline deal to move out Erik Gudbranson might be the best thing for the Canucks as it would allow the team to start playing the 26-year-old Holm.
- The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz (subscription required) writes that while he believes that San Jose Sharks might be interested in acquiring Buffalo Sabres forward Evander Kane at the trade deadline, there are definitely some issues with doing that. While Kane would provide the Sharks an immediate top scorer (his 35 points would make him San Jose’s top point-getter) which could offer the Sharks the depth needed to field three solid lines, there are other factors San Jose would have to consider before making a trade. The current asking price by Buffalo is a first-rounder, a top prospect and a conditional pick. The team lacks resources as they attempt to retool their franchise, so moving those three assets would be tough to do. On top of that, the team would have to have confidence to re-sign Kane to a long-term deal and would they want to do that. He has a history of concerning incidents in his past, including a recent scuffle with teammate Justin Falk. Would the team want to sign him to a seven or eight year deal?
- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin is listed as doubtful, according to Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen. Muzzin, who had played in a consecutive 281 games, broke that streak last Saturday when he missed a game against Nashville with an undisclosed injury. He is not expected to play tonight against the Ducks, but is making progress.
- Bruce McCurdy of the Edmonton Journal grades the performances of all the Oilers after Friday’s victory over Arizona and points out the defenseman Andrej Sekera has improved every game he’s played since returning and is already looking more as himself since returning from a torn ACL.
Snapshots: USA Hockey, Florida-Boston, Hyka
Recently young Colorado prospect Cale Makar turned down the opportunity to head to Pyeongchang with the Canadian Olympic squad, but as Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports, Troy Terry didn’t hesitate. Terry will be part of Team USA at the Games in the middle of another exceptional season at the University of Denver.
Interestingly, Chambers notes that USA Hockey was hesitant to select two players from the same college program meaning Dylan Gambrell—also having an excellent season with DU, scoring 27 points in 22 games—won’t be heading overseas. Gambrell, a second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks has scored at better than a point-per-game pace since he entered the NCAA.
- The Florida Panthers-Boston Bruins game that was cancelled due to inclement weather recently has been rescheduled for April 8th, extending the NHL season by one day. The original schedule had all teams finishing by April 7th, while the playoffs are set to begin on April 11th.
- Tomas Hyka has been added to the AHL All-Star roster in place of Brandon Pirri, an impressive accomplishment for the first-year player. Hyka was signed out of the Czech professional league in the offseason, and has 23 points in 26 AHL contests. He earned an NHL call-up in December, but didn’t get into a game for the Vegas Golden Knights.
2018 All-Star Rosters
The NHL released the rosters for this year’s All-Star game in Tampa Bay, leading to an inevitable onslaught of discussion over who missed out and who didn’t deserve to go. The event will take place on January 27-28th. The full rosters can be found below:
Atlantic Division:
F Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning (captain)
F Nikita Kucherov – Tampa Bay Lightning
F Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
F Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
F Brad Marchand – Boston Bruins
F Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
D Victor Hedman – Tampa Bay Lightning
D Erik Karlsson – Ottawa Senators
D Mike Green – Detroit Red Wings
G Andrei Vasilevskiy – Tampa Bay Lightning
G Carey Price – Montreal Canadiens
Head Coach: Jon Cooper
Metropolitan Division:
F Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals (captain)
F Taylor Hall – New Jersey Devils
F Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
F Josh Bailey – New York Islanders
F John Tavares – New York Islanders
F Claude Giroux – Philadelphia Flyers
D Seth Jones – Columbus Blue Jackets
D Noah Hanifin – Carolina Hurricanes
D Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins
G Henrik Lundqvist – New York Rangers
G Braden Holtby – Washington Capitals
Head Coach: Barry Trotz
Central Division:
F Patrick Kane – Chicago Blackhawks
F Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
F Blake Wheeler – Winnipeg Jets
F Brayden Schenn – St. Louis Blues
F Eric Staal – Minnesota Wild
F Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
D P.K. Subban – Nashville Predators (captain)
D Alex Pietrangelo – St. Louis Blues
D John Klingberg – Dallas Stars
G Pekka Rinne – Nashville Predators
G Connor Hellebuyck – Winnipeg Jets
Head Coach: Peter Laviolette
Pacific Division:
F Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers (captain)
F Johnny Gaudreau – Calgary Flames
F Brock Boeser – Vancouver Canucks
F James Neal – Vegas Golden Knights
F Rickard Rakell – Anaheim Ducks
F Anze Kopitar – Los Angeles Kings
D Drew Doughty – Los Angeles Kings
D Brent Burns – San Jose Sharks
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Arizona Coyotes
G Jonathan Quick – Los Angeles Kings
G Marc-Andre Fleury – Vegas Golden Knights
Head Coach: Gerard Gallant