- With the Sharks in a full-scale rebuild, many have wondered about the futures of their remaining veteran forwards. One of those is Tomas Hertl and it appears he’s also wondering about his future and where he fits in San Jose’s long-term plans. The center told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News that he’d like to discuss his fit with the organization moving forward. Before adding him to the speculative rumor mill, Hertl acknowledged that those discussions likely wouldn’t happen until the end of the season. The 30-year-old has six years left on his contract after this season with a cap hit of just over $8.1MM. Other teams will likely want San Jose to pay that down somewhat if Hertl and GM Mike Grier decide in the summer or down the road that a parting of ways makes the most sense for the franchise so a move, if one could be coming, could take a while.
Sharks Rumors
Sharks Notes: Ferraro, MacDonald, Hertl
The Sharks moved blue-liner Mario Ferraro to injured reserve on Monday, per CapFriendly. Ferraro, 25, has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury sustained against the Kings over a week ago.
While he’s eligible to return at any time, given he’s been sidelined for at least seven days, Ferraro is likely to sit out the Sharks’ two remaining games before the All-Star break, according to the last update on his status. The Sharks have an odd schedule surrounding the break – after getting two games in on Tuesday and Wednesday before the league schedule shuts down for a brief prior, they’re off for an extended period of time after the break. Ferraro will have a full two weeks to recover after the Sharks’ back-to-back slate this week, and all signs point to him returning for their Feb. 14 contest against the Jets.
Signed through 2026 with a $3.25MM cap hit, Ferraro is the Sharks’ de facto number-one defender after trading Erik Karlsson to the Penguins last summer. It’s a tough spot for the 6-foot, 209-lb Canadian to be in, although he’s on pace to break his previous career-high in points. He’s scored once and added 13 assists in 47 games this season, averaging nearly 23 minutes per game. He’s boasted better even-strength possession numbers than the average Shark this season, but the team’s abhorrent defensive depth means he’s been on the ice for 90 total goals against – the most of any player in the league.
Other updates from San Jose:
- Ferraro was moved to IR to create a roster space for Jacob MacDonald, who the team activated from IR yesterday. The defenseman-turned-winger has been one of the team’s most effective goal-scorers when in the lineup this year, but a laundry list of appearances has limited him to 17 games. Despite that, his six goals are tied for sixth on the team. The 30-year-old’s latest absence was a lower-body injury that kept him out of the lineup since Christmas, resulting in a 15-game absence. It’s unclear whether he’ll draw into the lineup tonight for a Sharks team that’s gaining some relative momentum, winning three out of their last four games.
- Adding to their win total over the next two days may be tough without the services of first-line center Tomáš Hertl, who head coach David Quinn said is listed as day-to-day with an undisclosed injury (via The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka). The 30-year-old did not practice yesterday and may have been injured in the same collision against the Sabres last Saturday that sidelined Buffalo winger Jack Quinn for the next eight weeks. Unsurprisingly, Hertl’s 15 goals and 34 points lead the Sharks, as does his nearly 21 minutes of ice time per game among forwards. A Hertl absence would mean a slightly elevated role for captain Logan Couture, who has an assist in slightly over 18 minutes per game in four contests since returning from a lower-body injury.
Sharks Activate Ty Emberson, Move Henry Thrun To IR
- The San Jose Sharks have activated defenseman Ty Emberson off of injured reserve, moving counterpart Henry Thrun to IR. Emberson has played in 21 games this season, just a few shy of officially marking it as his rookie season. He has seven points on the year, tied for third among the team’s defenders. Fellow rookie Thrun has yet to pass Emberson’s scoring totals, netting just three points through 23 games of his own this season.
Pacific Notes: Kraken, Greer, Thrun
The Seattle Kraken have activated Matthew Beniers off of injured reserve. The former second-overall pick is expected to make his return to the Kraken lineup on Friday, after missing the team’s last five games. Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen are expected to be game-time decisions, per Mike Benton of Kraken Audio Network.
Getting this trio of players back will be substantial for Seattle, as each ranks inside the team’s top seven scorers. Tolvanen leads the pack with 12 goals and 29 points through 47 games, while Schwartz has managed 20 points, split evenly, in 31 games, and Beniers has 19 points in 42. The former Calder Trophy-winning Beniers was in a bit of a lull before his injury, with just one goal through his last seven games. He’ll look to catch up to Tolvanen and Schwartz in the scoring column with a return against the St. Louis Blues on Friday.
Other notes from the Pacific Division:
- The Calgary Flames are not yet sure if A.J. Greer will require surgery after his ankle went awkwardly into the boards in the team’s Thursday night game. The forward is expected to miss, “considerable time”, though, per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Francis speculated that Greer’s injury could lead to Clark Bishop getting recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, though former first-round pick Jakob Pelletier is making his AHL season debut this weekend and could also be considered for a recall soon.
- San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun will be out until after the All-Star Break, per team reporter Curtis Pashelka. The 22-year-old is working his way back from a shoulder injury, with Pashelka adding that nothing seemed structurally wrong, insinuating that Thrun might have dodged the worst outcome. With Thrun out, San Jose will give top defensive prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin his first NHL game. Mukhamadullin has managed 26 points in 39 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda this season.
San Jose Sharks Recall Shakir Mukhamadullin
The San Jose Sharks have recalled top defensive prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin to the top league, marking the first call-up of the 22-year-old’s career. Mukhamadullin currently ranks fourth in scoring among U22-defenseman in the AHL, with 26 points in 39 games. It’s Mukhamadullin’s first full season in North American pros, though he played in 12 minor league games and scored 10 points at the end of last season.
Mukhamadullin moved over to the AHL at the end of Ufa’s KHL season last year. He recorded 25 points in 67 games with the club last season, a mark that led the team’s defensemen in scoring. Mukhamadullin grew up through Ufa’s system and totaled 167 games and 43 points with the club across four seasons.
Mukhamadullin was a focal piece of the trade that sent Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils, with the former first-round selection joined by two first-round picks, as well as forwards Fabian Zetterlund and Andreas Johnsson, as well as fellow Russian defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk, who has already played in 35 games with the Sharks this season.
Mukhamadullin is one of three remaining players from the 2020 NHL Draft’s first round to not yet play his NHL debut, alongside Dallas’ Mavrik Bourque and fellow Sharks teammate Ozzy Wiesblatt. Wiesblatt has appeared in 25 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda this year, netting two goals, seven points, and 25 penalty minutes in what is his second full AHL season.
Mario Ferraro Out With Undisclosed Injury
- After suffering an undisclosed injury in the team’s most recent game, Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that San Jose Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro will not play tonight. Fortunately, subsequent reporting indicated that the injury to Ferraro was not as bad as expected, but the Sharks will likely be keeping him out through the All-Star break to fully recover.
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Sharks Reassign Scott Sabourin To AHL
The San Jose Sharks have reassigned veteran forward Scott Sabourin to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. Sabourin was called up two weeks ago by the Sharks and did get into three games during his recall. Sabourin had no points, nine penalty minutes and averaged just over nine minutes of ice time per game. Although he did play during his recall, he has been a healthy scratch the last few games and hasn’t dressed since January 16th. Overall, he dressed in three of the seven games the Sharks played since his recall on January 8th.
Sabourin played just 6:36 in his final game against the Chicago Blackhawks but did have a spirited fight with Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi after Tinordi had stepped up and hit Sharks teammate Justin Bailey. Tinordi and Sabourin each received five minutes for fighting in what was a battle between two NHL heavyweights.
The 31-year-old Sabourin has been largely a career AHLer as he only has 46 games of NHL experience, the bulk of which came in 2019-20 when Sabourin played for his hometown Ottawa Senators. That year Sabourin had two goals and four assists in 35 games, all of which are career highs.
Sabourin returns to the Barracuda, where he has been able to provide some offense to mix in with his physicality. In 29 AHL games this season, Sabourin has nine goals and four assists along with 92 penalty minutes.
No Extension Talks Between Sharks And Duclair
- Pending unrestricted free agent winger Anthony Duclair has not yet had any discussions about a contract extension with the Sharks, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 28-year-old has eight goals and eight assists in 41 games so far but has also been scratched as of late. Duclair, who represents himself, said that he expects to sit down at some point with GM Mike Grier to discuss a new deal. He’s currently making $3MM and with a 31-goal season under his belt on this contract back in 2021-22, he’s likely going to be looking for at least a small raise on that contract.
Sharks Officially Activate Logan Couture And Nico Sturm Off IR
The Sharks will indeed welcome back not just one but two centers tonight when they take on Anaheim. The team announced (Twitter link) that they have activated Logan Couture and Nico Sturm off injured reserve as expected. To make room on the active roster, center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Ty Emberson have been transferred to IR, moves that were suggested as likely on Friday.
Couture has missed the entire season with what previously had been an undisclosed injury. Today, he told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News that he had been dealing with osteitis pubis. He twice tried to come back from this already but suffered setbacks each time, resulting in cortisone shots, extended rest, and a different training regimen as the team tried to figure out how to best treat the injury.
The 34-year-old is coming off of one of his best seasons offensively as he recorded 67 points while playing in all 82 games for only the second time of his career. A 14-year veteran, some have wondered if Couture could be a trade candidate at some point with San Jose clearly in a full-scale rebuild. He’ll need to demonstrate not only that he is fully healthy but that he is also still capable of producing at a top level as Couture has three years left on his contract after this one with a $8MM cap charge. The Sharks, meanwhile, only have one salary retention slot remaining through the end of next season.
Nevertheless, his return will be a welcome one for a team whose offense has struggled mightily this season, recording just 89 goals in 45 games, putting the Sharks dead last in the league in that department. Couture is expected to play alongside Alexander Barabanov and Fabian Zetterlund in his debut.
As for Sturm, the 28-year-old has been out for more than a month after re-aggravating a wrist injury. He has played in 26 games so far and while he only has two goals and two assists, he’s among the NHL’s leaders in faceoff percentage, checking in at just over 62%. With faceoffs and penalty killing being elements that teams often try to upgrade before the trade deadline, it’s possible that Sturm, who has one year left after this one at $2MM, could be someone that teams inquire about in the coming weeks.
Sharks Notes: Granlund, Emberson, Couture
Mikael Granlund has been ruled out of the San Jose Sharks’ next three games by head coach David Quinn. Team reporter Sheng Peng speculated that Granlund could be moved to injured reserve, along with Ty Emberson, who is designated as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Granlund has had a bright season despite San Jose’s struggles, boasting 29 points in 38 games, good for second on the team in scoring. He’s served as a top-line player for the Sharks, averaging over 20 minutes of ice time each game. He’s on pace for 63 points this season, a mark that’d be his highest since the 2021-22 season and the fourth time that the forward has netted 60 or more points.
Emberson has played in 21 of San Jose’s 45 games this season, averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time. The 23-year-old defenseman has managed seven points in his appearances, playing out the first games of his NHL career. He is one of four rookies on the Sharks roster, alongside Nikita Okhotyuk, Henry Thrun, and Danil Gushchin.
The Sharks are also seeing the return of captain Logan Couture, who is making his season debut after missing the team’s first 45 games with a lower-body injury. Couture has played 14 seasons and 927 games with the Sharks, ranked fifth in club history in games played. He’s carried that team captaincy since the 2019-20 season when he took over for Joe Pavelski after his move to the Dallas Stars.