The Sharks could get some help on the wing on Tuesday as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that winger Alexander Barabanov could be activated from injured reserve for their game against the Islanders. The 28-year-old didn’t play at all in the preseason due to a lower-body injury and while they were hopeful he’d be good to go for their international games, that clearly wasn’t the case. Barabanov had 39 points in 70 games last season and head coach David Quinn acknowledged that the winger could find himself on the top line in short order. San Jose has scored just six goals in four games so far this season so any help up front will certainly be welcomed.
Sharks Rumors
Three Players Clear Waivers
Oct 13: All three have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.
Oct 12: The season is just getting started and waivers won’t stop. Three more players have been placed on the wire today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, including Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames, Scott Harrington of the San Jose Sharks, and Pierre-Cedric Labrie of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In Pospisil’s case, he had been on season-opening injured reserve but must have recovered enough to now be sent to the minor leagues. There is little risk of claiming the 22-year-old forward, even if he did have a nice season for the Stockton Heat last year.
Selected 105th overall in 2018, Pospisil had seven goals and 25 points in 47 games for the team, while also racking up 95 penalty minutes. His size and physicality have always been his calling card, going back to his junior days with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL where he had a whopping 253 penalty minutes in 49 games as a rookie.
Harrington, meanwhile, played in one of the two games for the Sharks overseas but now with the team needing to reduce their roster for the return to North America, there isn’t room. The 29-year-old played almost all of last season in the minors with the Cleveland Monsters and appears likely to do it again, this time with the Barracuda.
It was interesting to see Labrie even get an NHL contract, let alone stick around this long on the roster. The veteran forward is an AHL staple with 685 games played at that level, and hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since 2013. He will almost certainly spend the entire year in the minor leagues, though perhaps the team just wanted him signed in case they needed a physical presence for a handful of games this year.
Barabanov And Nutivaara Won't Play In Opening Two Games
- The Sharks will be without winger Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Markus Nutivaara for the first two games of the regular season, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The pair did not accompany the team on their trip to Czechia against Nashville. The two have been listed as day-to-day for the last week and they’ll have nearly two more weeks to recover with their first game back in North America not until the 14th. San Jose is carrying the maximum of 27 players on the trip.
San Jose Sharks Announce Front Office Hires
- The San Jose Sharks and GM Mike Grier today announced several new hockey operations hires. Dominik Zrim, Director of Salary Cap Management/CBA Compliance; A.J. Bernstein, Coordinator, Hockey Analytics; Martin Uhnak, European Scout, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, Switzerland; Cody Ward, Assistant Video Coach; and Brian Ganz, Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach. Already with the Sharks, but now promoted, is Stephen DiLustro, who was promoted to Director of Strength and Conditioning, who had been working under Mike Potenza in that role. Interestingly, Zrim is one of the co-founders of website CapFriendly, which tracks player transactions and salary, as well as salary cap related topics.
Kings Forward Jacob Doty Receives Two-Game Suspension
The Department of Player Safety has handed down another suspension, announcing (video link) that Kings forward Jacob Doty has received a two-game suspension for interference on Sharks winger Jeffrey Viel.
The incident occurred midway through the second period in Wednesday’s preseason contest. Doty was assessed a five-minute major penalty along with a game misconduct on the play. Viel, meanwhile, was able to remain in the game.
The league’s ruling states that the suspension is to “be served in the next two consecutive games in which he is eligible to participate for his Club”. In this case, it’s likely the next two preseason games that the 29-year-old won’t be suiting up for. Doty has spent the last three seasons in the Kings’ farm system, primarily playing with AHL Ontario; he had three points and 89 penalty minutes in 41 games with the Reign in 2021-22.
Sharks Sign Scott Harrington
Scott Harrington’s tryout with San Jose was a successful one as the team announced that they’ve signed the 29-year-old to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed while he is the first player to get upgraded to a full contract from a PTO agreement. GM Mike Grier released the following statement:
Scott came into camp on a tryout, performed well, and earned his contract. He’s a high character person and we are excited to have him join the Sharks.
Harrington spent most of last season with AHL Cleveland, an affiliate of the Blue Jackets, where he got into 50 games, recording three goals and four assists. On the surface, nothing particularly special. However, it’s worth noting that it was his first taste of action in the minors since a pair of appearances in 2016-17. Between that time, Harrington had been a regular depth defender in Columbus.
For his career, Harrington has 210 NHL games under his belt between Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Columbus with only seven of those appearances coming last season. He has 38 points in those outings while averaging 13:37 per night in ice time. Harrington will still have to battle for a roster spot but there is definitely an opening with the long-term injury to Nikolai Knyzhov. Harrington could slot in as their seventh defender, a role he’s quite comfortable holding if nothing else. If the Sharks want to send him to their AHL affiliate to start the season, however, they will need to send Harrington through waivers over the coming weeks.
Waivers: 09/30/22
After waivers opened yesterday, quite a few players have ended up on the wire today. Teams keep making cuts to their rosters, and any veteran player needs to clear before being assigned to the minor leagues. Here are the names on waivers today.
Dallas Stars
Riley Barber
Ben Gleason
Tanner Kero
Jerad Rosburg
Joseph Cecconi
Rhett Gardner
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
San Jose Sharks
Tampa Bay Lightning
Daniel Walcott
Darren Raddysh
Maxime Lagace
Trevor Carrick
Washington Capitals
Michael Sgarbossa
Riley Sutter
Mike Vecchione
Hunter Shepard
Alexander Barabanov Day-To-Day
- San Jose Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Sharks coach David Quinn told the media, including Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Though the injury is not specified, day-to-day status should mean the injury won’t have a lasting impact that would keep the 28-year-old from being ready for opening night. The forward, who had 39 points in 70 games last season, projects to be among a few key sources of offense this year for the Sharks. Not surprisingly given this news, Barabanov is not in the lineup for tonight’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Snapshots: Czechia, Columbus, Landeskog
The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators that they will not welcome Russian-born players into the country for the Global Series games, scheduled to be held on October 7 and 8 in Prague. A report from the Associated Press confirms that a letter has been sent to the NHL explaining that visas are not to be issued to Russian players because of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, deputy commissioner Bill Daly has expressed “no concern” to the AP about players traveling to Czechia, and Sharks general manager Mike Grier told reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic that the NHL is handling the situation. Grier also explained that his position is “we all go or we don’t go,” suggesting he will not take the Sharks to Prague if Alexander Barabanov and Evgeny Svechnikov, the team’s two healthy Russian players, are not allowed to participate.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have made several changes in their hockey operations department, naming Trevor Timmins assistant director of amateur scouting, and hiring Marshall Davidson, Dale Derkatch, and Roman Polak (previously reported) as scouts. Zac Urback has been promoted to director of hockey analytics, and Mike Eaves, formerly the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, will now serve as a pro scout.
- Gabriel Landeskog “won’t skate anytime soon” according to Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, who told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that the captain is still dealing with an injury from last season. Landeskog is expected to miss the start of the year.
Kurtis Gabriel Retires From Pro Hockey
In a Twitter post Monday, forward Kurtis Gabriel announced his retirement from professional hockey after a nine-year career.
Gabriel, 29, spent last season with the Toronto Marlies and Rockford IceHogs in the AHL, also getting two NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also spent time in the Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and San Jose Sharks organizations.
He retires with 371 AHL games under his belt, including 72 points and a whopping 639 penalty minutes. He had five points in 51 NHL games, totalling 153 penalty minutes as well.
With his 6’4″, 212-pound frame, Gabriel was one of the few prototypical enforcers left in pro hockey. Off the ice, he’s a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Well-loved wherever he played, Gabriel promises to have many post-career options if he wants to stay in the game.
The Newmarket, Ontario native was originally a third-round draft pick of the Wild in 2013.