The San Jose Sharks have been without Kevin Labanc since he left last week’s game against the Dallas Stars in the first period, and it appears as though they will be without him for a considerable amount of time moving forward. Sharks’ head coach Bob Boughner told reporters including Curtis Pashelka of the Mercury News that Labanc will undergo surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder.
The 26-year-old forward has been a disappointment for much of this season, registering just three goals and six points in 21 games so far. His minutes have been slashed and Boughner even made him a healthy scratch recently, telling the media that Labanc “needs to be better.” He does, if he’s going to live up to the $4.725MM cap hit that he carries, but it won’t be now as a shoulder surgery like this is usually comes with a months-long recovery timeline.
In just the second season of a four-year, $18.9MM contract he signed in 2020, Labanc hasn’t come close to the 17-goal, 56-point season he registered in 2018-19. Last year he potted just 12 goals in 55 games, not exactly the development the Sharks were expecting when they locked him up long-term. Now with this injury, 2021-22 looks like it will be an extremely disappointing season as well, not exactly the ideal situation when the contract is back-loaded, and will see his salary jump to $5.875MM for next year.
San Jose obviously does have an in-house replacement for Labanc in Evander Kane, though it still seems as though he won’t be putting on a Sharks jersey anytime soon.