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Adin Hill Activated, Dzingel And Stalock Assigned To AHL

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The San Jose Sharks announced that they have activated goaltender Adin Hill off of IR today. In a corresponding move, goaltender Alex Stalock has been assigned to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL. Additionally, forward Ryan Dzingel, who cleared waivers, has been assigned to the Barracuda as well.

Hill last played on January 22nd when he was injured in a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stalock had been brought in through a March 2nd trade with the Edmonton Oilers, but had only played in one game for the Sharks, where he gave up six goals to the Nashville Predators in a losing effort. For Dzingel, it’s has been  a strange few weeks, having been traded from the Arizona Coyotes to the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 19th and immediately placed on waivers, then claimed by the Sharks. Dzingel played in six games for the Sharks, scoring a goal, before being placed on waivers yesterday, and clearing today.

Ryan Dzingel Clears Waivers

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Saturday: Dzingel has cleared waivers, Friedman reports.  He’s now eligible to be sent to the Barracuda of the AHL.

Friday: After finding himself a healthy scratch again recently, Ryan Dzingel is now on waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Because he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks themselves, the Toronto Maple Leafs now have an opportunity to potentially claim him and send him directly to the minor leagues. They’ll only be able to do that if they are the only team that puts in a claim though, so his future isn’t yet clear.

It’s been an odd year for Dzingel, who signed a one-year, $1.1MM contract with the Arizona Coyotes in the offseason. After playing in 26 games and not really finding his footing with the Coyotes, he was included in a trade that saw Ilya Lyubushkin head to Toronto. Before even getting on a plane, the 30-year-old forward was put on waivers, where the Sharks claimed him as they dealt with some forward injuries. Now, after just six games with the Sharks, he’s available to the whole league once again.

In this case, that $1.1MM cap hit actually works against him, as teams won’t want to carry the extra money if he’s not a regular in the lineup. If he’s claimed tomorrow he’ll have to stay on the active roster, at least for anyone but the Maple Leafs. For Toronto, who were open about the fact that they hoped to slip him through waivers and stash him in the minor leagues after the trade, he could be a valuable injury replacement option.

Still, it’s a far fall for a player who scored 49 goals over a two-season stretch just a few years ago and was traded for Anthony Duclair and two second-round picks in 2019. Dzingel has struggled ever since, and has just five goals and eight points in 32 total games this season.

Alex Stalock Sent To The AHL

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  • The Sharks have returned goaltender Alex Stalock to San Jose of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log.  The veteran was acquired from Edmonton to serve as goalie depth with both Adin Hill and James Reimer injured.  Hill is set to return tonight so Stalock will head to the Barracuda.  The 34-year-old was expected to miss the entire season due to a heart condition but returned to action last month.

Adin Hill Should Return Saturday, James Reimer Could Play Next Week

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The Sharks are set to get some much-needed good news on the injury front when it comes to their goaltending as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relays that Adin Hill is likely to start tomorrow against Los Angeles.  He has missed the last seven weeks with a lower-body injury and had posted a 2.78 GAA along with a .901 SV% in 24 games.

Meanwhile, James Reimer has resumed on-ice workouts and could be cleared to return at some point next week from his own lower-body injury sustained at the beginning of the month.  Since then, the Sharks have gone with veteran Alex Stalock and prospect Zachary Sawchenko who picked up his first career NHL victory on Thursday.

Jacob Middleton Drawing Trade Interest

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When discussing the San Jose Sharks and the trade deadline, usually the focus is put on pending unrestricted free agent Tomas Hertl. While the Sharks continue to try and sign Hertl to a long-term deal instead of making him available for trade, it’s easy to forget that there are several other names on the roster that could draw interest as March 21 approaches.

One of those is Jacob Middleton, as Pierre LeBrun explained in the latest edition of Insider Trading for TSN:

An under-the-radar name for the San Jose Sharks that is garnering interest: defenseman Jake Middleton, who has partnered with both Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns at times this year. He’s part of that penalty killing crew that ranks second in the NHL, he’s an RFA at the end of the year, he’s making only $725K. He’s a bit of an oldschool, physical brand that teams heading to the playoffs like to stash on their roster. Among the teams that have kicked tires I’m told, are Tampa Bay, Boston, and St. Louis.

Middleton, 26, is actually making $750K this season of course but carries a cap hit of just $725K. He’s also one of the many players that could become a Group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, should he fail to play in another 20 games before the end of the year. That certainly could complicate trade talks, as the Sharks have just six games before the trade deadline. Any acquiring team would have to know that he can’t be added as a press box depth piece with the expectation that he’ll be around as an RFA; he needs to play in order to retain that status.

Still, it’s easy to see why some teams would be interested in the 6’3″ defenseman. Not only does his cap hit come in lower than the league minimum salary, meaning he’d fit into the financial situation for basically every team in the league–whoever he was replacing on the roster would make at least as much as him, likely more–but he’s also stepped into a fairly substantial role in San Jose as they dealt with so many injuries on defense. Having never played more than 10 NHL games in a season before this year, he’s suited up 39 times and averages nearly 19 minutes a night. Just this week, he logged more than 25 minutes in an overtime loss against the Anaheim Ducks, blocking seven shots in the process.

With the Sharks falling completely out of the race with a poor last couple of weeks, the team will likely try to sell off any expiring pieces. If Middleton doesn’t figure prominently into their future plans–or, alternatively if they’re worried he won’t reach that games played threshold as Karlsson and others prepare to return–a trade would seem like the prudent move.

Erik Karlsson Could Return Thursday

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  • Erik Karlsson could be back this week as well, as San Jose Sharks head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that the veteran defenseman could suit up on Thursday. Karlsson was in the midst of a bounce-back season before undergoing forearm surgery in January and hasn’t played in nearly two months. In his first 33 games, the two-time Norris Trophy winner had 26 points, already eclipsing his total from the 2020-21 season.

AHL Shuffle: 03/08/22

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It’s an extremely busy Tuesday in the NHL, with 11 games on the docket. That includes a big eastern matchup between the Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and an incredibly important match between the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators. Those two central teams are neck and neck in the playoff race, meaning any head-to-head action is a huge opportunity to gain ground. As those teams and others prepare for action, we’ll keep track of all the minor league shuffling.

Atlantic Division

  • The Ottawa Senators have reassigned Dillon Heatherington to the AHL, after he failed to get into any games on this most recent recall. The veteran minor league defenseman last played for Ottawa in December but continues to be a depth piece that’s recalled as injury insurance. He has zero points in nine NHL games this season.
  • The Florida Panthers have sent Spencer Knight back to the AHL, after he stopped 29 of 30 shots yesterday against the Buffalo Sabres for his tenth win of the season. Knight continues to bounce up and down in order to get the most playing time possible, while the Panthers rely on Sergei Bobrovsky for the vast majority of the NHL action. Jonas Johansson, technically the NHL backup, has seen just a single game since being acquired in December.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs returned Mac Hollowell to the minor leagues today, as they welcomed Rasmus Sandin back to the ice after dealing with an illness. It’s unlikely Sandin plays tonight, though with him at least a possibility the team no longer needed Hollowell on the NHL roster.

Metropolitan Division

Central Division

  • The Chicago Blackhawks have recalled Alec Regula to the NHL once again, and he was skating on the third pairing at practice according to Charlie Roumeliotis of NBCS Chicago. The 21-year-old defenseman has played in four games for the Blackhawks this season and is still looking for his first NHL point.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent Marian Studenic to the AHL on a conditioning assignment, something that’s understandable given he hasn’t played since the Stars claimed him off waivers last month. Studenic has appeared in 17 games this season, all with the New Jersey Devils, and has one goal.
  • Per The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford, the St. Louis Blues have recalled forward Alexey Toropchenko from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (tweet). The forward has zero points in five games in the NHL this season, but does have a solid 20 points in 42 games at the AHL level.

Pacific Division

  • The San Jose Sharks have reassigned Jasper Weatherby and Santeri Hatakka to the AHL, suggesting that some players–particularly Erik Karlsson—could be available to play in the coming days. Weatherby, meanwhile, has spent most of the season with the Sharks, playing in 45 games so far and racking up ten points. The 24-year-old forward is still waiver-exempt, meaning he can move up and down without issue whenever the team needs him again.
  • Earlier today, the Edmonton Oilers sent defenseman Markus Niemelainen down to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. The 23-year-old has split time between the NHL and AHL this season, tallying 7 points in 23 games at the AHL level and just one assist in 20 games at the NHL level.

This page will be updated throughout the day

Trade Deadline Primer: San Jose Sharks

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As the calendar turns to March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks are a team in transition. From 2015-16 through the 2018-19 season, the Sharks made the playoffs each year, winning six playoff series in the process. But a Stanley Cup championship eluded them, and since falling to the Blues in the 2018-19 Western Conference Final the Sharks have not been back to the playoffs, finishing in the league’s basement in each of the past two seasons. Longtime GM Doug Wilson has stepped away from the team on indefinite medical leave, and assistant GM Joe Will has a host of decisions to make in his boss’ absence as the trade deadline nears. The Sharks are unlikely to make the playoffs this season, and as a result, it is up to Will to navigate the Sharks’ decision-making process with several players of note hitting unrestricted free agency. They are probably going to be sellers, but how far will they go?

Record

24-25-7, 7th in the Pacific

Deadline Status

Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$16MM today, $21.7MM in full-season space, 47/50 contracts used, 0/3 retention slots used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: SJS 1st, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, BUF 5th, SJS 6th, SJS 7th, ARZ 7th, MIN 7th

2023: SJS 1st, SJS 2nd, SJS 3rd, SJS 4th, SJS 5th, SJS 6th, SJS 7th

Trade Chips

The discussion surrounding the Sharks’ trade deadline approach has rightfully revolved around center Tomas Hertl. Hertl is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, and he has spent his entire career with the Sharks since being drafted by the team in the first round of the 2012 draft. Hertl is a top-six center, occupying the sweet spot in between being a low-end first-line center and being an elite second-line option. Hertl had an offensive breakout in 2018-19, when he scored 35 goals and 74 points in 77 games, and he has been hovering just under the point-per-game mark for the past two seasons. He has 22 goals and 42 points in 52 games so far this year, and 30 goals and about 65 to 70 points is a reasonable expectation for Hertl, who is right in his prime as a 28-year-old player. Hertl isn’t a suffocating defensive presence but he also isn’t a slouch in that area either, and he drives play well enough to handle being the centerpiece of his own line. He’s a truly valuable player, the kind of player numerous NHL clubs would like to add. But Hertl’s virtues complicate his status as a trade chip, as the Sharks are “taking a run” at keeping Hertl, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Sharks have good reason to want to extend Hertl, he’s a fantastic player for all the reasons previously mentioned, but should the two camps not be able to arrive at a deal before the trade deadline, expect Hertl to return a significant bounty of assets to the Sharks from whatever team acquires him.

After Hertl, the Sharks don’t have any additional players who profile as true difference-makers set to be available at the deadline. That’s not to say they don’t have some attractive assets, though. One of those assets is Alexander Barabanov. Like his frequent linemate Hertl, Barabanov is also a pending unrestricted free agent. After a long career in the KHL, Barabanov first made his way into the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but struggled there and was traded to the Sharks. With the Sharks, Barabanov found immediate success, posting 7 points in 9 games for the big club in 2020-2021, and this season he has found chemistry with the Sharks’ scorers to the tune of eight goals and 27 points in 48 games. He’s enough of a skilled offensive player to be able to fit on one of a team’s scoring lines and has been productive this year. He should be able to provide a team with some solid secondary scoring and the ability to play higher in the lineup should a more accomplished skill player have trouble with injuries. His cap hit is only $1MM, which makes him an ideal candidate for teams tight up against the upper limit of the salary cap. If a team needs some scoring depth at a cheap price, (both on the cap sheet and in terms of acquisition cost) Barabanov is a solid option.

One more winger the Sharks could shop to other teams is veteran Andrew Cogliano. Cogliano has an expiring $1MM cap hit, like Barabanov, but his play style could not be more different. Cogliano is now 34 years old, and whereas he once could reliably provide thirty-plus points of offense he now has seen that production mostly dry up. He has only four goals and 14 points on the season, but at this point he wouldn’t be acquired for his offense. It’s his penalty killing, reliability, and veteran leadership that gets him paid these days, and those three things that he brings to the table are coveted by many general managers across the league. Cogliano probably won’t return much for the Sharks, but for a team looking to add some reliable reinforcements to their special teams and their bottom-six, Cogliano is a proven, respected player to target.

Others to Watch For: G James Reimer, F Ryan Dzingel, D Jaycob Megna

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks

The Sharks, like many teams struggling on the fringes of the NHL’s playoff races, need more talent. Due to management’s uncompromising chase of a Stanley Cup this past decade, the Sharks have seen their pipeline of young talent erode. They have had some quality players emerge from their system, like Mario Ferraro, but in total young players like him have been few and far between. The Sharks now have an improved prospect system, ranked 14th leaguewide by the Athletic’s Scott Wheeler (subscription required) but they still could use more should some of their prospects not pan out as hoped. When approaching this season’s trade deadline, a priority should be adding to the team’s stable of draft picks, a collection that is currently missing the additional valuable picks that many other rebuilding clubs can boast.

2) Investment in Young Goalies

A goalie, perhaps more than any other player on the ice, can change a team’s fortunes in any given game. With the decline and then eventual departure of Martin Jones, the Sharks lost the player they once believed would be their long-term answer in net. This past offseason, the team traded a 2nd round pick for the Coyotes’ Adin Hill, but he has not had an ideal season for the Sharks. He has played in 24 games and has a .901 save percentage, which is not a confidence-inspiring number. To put it simply, the Sharks need more options to decide who will be their goalie long-term. The Sharks do not have a blue-chip goaltending prospect in their system, and since the 2016 draft, they have only selected two netminders. One has to wonder if developing goalies has been an organizational priority in the past, but from the perspective of the deadline, that isn’t relevant. What matters is that the Sharks need to make finding a long-term goalie a priority, and they can start at this trade deadline.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Erik Karlsson And Jaycob Megna Expected To Return Thursday

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  • The Sharks are hoping to have defenseman Erik Karlsson back in the lineup on Thursday, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He has been out for the last six weeks with a shoulder injury that has been giving him trouble since the start of the season although it hasn’t held him back offensively as the 31-year-old has 26 points in 31 games.  Pashelka adds that blueliner Jaycob Megna could also return on Thursday.  The 29-year-old underwent surgery last month to repair a foot fracture, one that carried a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks.  It appears he’ll be on the short end of that range.

James Reimer Out Week-To-Week

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  • James Reimer is considered out week-to-week according to head coach Bob Boughner, who spoke with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Reimer’s injury further explains why the San Jose Sharks traded for–and subsequently recalled from the AHL–Alex Stalock. Adin Hill is still out with an injury, though Boughner explained that the goaltender “felt good” this morning. Losing Reimer is a pretty hefty blow to the Sharks’ fortunes, as the veteran netminder was having a nice bounce-back season and has a .916 save percentage in 34 appearances.

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