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Alexander Barabanov Healthy Scratched

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The Buffalo Sabres have loaned netminder Dustin Tokarski to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League just a few days after recalling the 34-year-old. Tokarski was recalled and reassigned last week before being recalled again over the weekend due to an illness to Sabres backup Eric Comrie.

Tokarski backed up Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s today in a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and was nearly summoned to play as Luukkonen struggled stopping just 11 of 15 shots in the loss. Tokarski hasn’t played in an NHL game since February 18th, 2023, and is 7-7-2 with a .887 save percentage in 17 AHL games this season.

In other evening notes:

  • A day after sending forward Mark Jankowski to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL, the Nashville Predators have recalled the 29-year-old. Jankowski has a goal in five games this season in the NHL but is currently third in AHL scoring with 15 goals and 32 assists in 40 games. He was named the AHL’s Player of the Month for January and will now re-join the Predators as they continue their five-game road trip tomorrow night in Vegas when they take on the Golden Knights.
  • The San Jose Sharks healthy scratched forward Alexander Barabanov today in their 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The 29-year-old has seen his name in trade rumors over the last few months despite struggling through a poor offensive season with just three goals and six assists in 34 games. Barabanov has put together a couple of solid offensive seasons in San Jose but hasn’t had the same quality of teammates this year which has led to poor offensive results. Barabanov is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but it doesn’t appear he was held out of action for a pending trade. Based on reports, it seems as though Barabanov was scratched for his defensive play in a previous game.

San Jose Sharks Activate Henry Thrun, Place Logan Couture On IR

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Missing the last six games due to a shoulder injury, San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun was officially activated off injury reserve by the team after he successfully took part in warm-ups before this afternoon’s game. In a corresponding move, the team has placed captain Logan Couture on injured reserve for the second time this season.

Not much of an offensive weapon on the blue line, Thrun has played adequately in his first full season with the Sharks. Only playing on a unit with veteran defenseman Jan Rutta, the two have combined for 2.19 Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck, the second-best mark on the team.

Now activated off of injured reserve, Thrun joins eight more defensemen on the active roster for San Jose, a team that has had a difficult time maintaining any sort of health over the regular season. In a position to give multiple different players their first shot in the NHL, the team has awarded Thrun’s efforts with nearly 20 minutes of ice time per night.

On the opposite side of the transaction, Couture has been out of the lineup since January 31st after reaggravating the groin injury that prohibited him from playing in the first 45 games of the season. Being one of the few offensive talents on the Sharks’ roster, Couture was only able to manage one assist in six games upon his return.

Recovery Timeline For Hertl Still A Week Away

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  • It will still be another week or so before the Sharks learn exactly how long Tomas Hertl will be out for, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 30-year-old has missed the last three weeks after undergoing surgery to remove cartilage from his left knee.  While it has been a particularly rough year for most players in San Jose, Hertl has fared relatively well this season, all things considered.  Despite missing six games, he still leads the Sharks in scoring with 34 points through 48 games.  Pashelka notes that there is optimism that Hertl will be able to return at some point before the regular season comes to an end in April but with San Jose so far out of playoff contention, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get shut down for the season altogether.

Kevin Labanc Looking For Fresh Start

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Suffering from what is becoming a career-worst season, San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc is looking for a fresh start outside of the Bay Area. In an article today, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now confirmed that both Labanc and his agent made the request clear, and referenced that they would like a resolution by the trade deadline or the offseason.

The resolution will eventually come, as Labanc is in the last year of a four-year, $18.9MM contract signed with the Sharks, allowing him to sign with any of the other 31 teams regardless of San Jose’s desires. Unfortunately, with only seven points in 32 games, Labanc may find his market to be incredibly limited both at the trade deadline and when free agency eventually rolls around.

In the article specifically, Peng notes that the Vancouver Canucks had an interest in acquiring Labanc as recently as last offseason, but could not confirm if they still hold any desire for him, especially with some of their additions already this season. Nevertheless, if the Sharks are unable to find a taker for Labanc by the trade deadline, a strong finish to the season should certainly be a priority for him in the hopes of boosting his free-agency stock by the summer months.

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Ty Emberson, Alexander Barabanov Cleared To Return

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  • Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson and winger Alexander Barabanov will return from respective upper-body and undisclosed injuries against the Jets tonight, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now. It’s the Sharks’ first contest since the All-Star break – they’re the last team to return to action and will do so without the services of top-two centers Logan Couture and Tomáš Hertl for the foreseeable future. Emberson missed seven out of the last nine games before the break with an upper-body injury, while Barabanov didn’t finish their final contest before the break on Jan. 31 against the Ducks. With nine points and an even rating in 23 games, Emberson has battled through various injuries to break out as San Jose’s best shutdown blueliner this season after being claimed off waivers from the Rangers. The 29-year-old Barabanov hasn’t been as effective of a secondary presence as in years past, only producing three goals and nine points in 31 appearances while averaging 16:23 per game.

Logan Couture Sustains Setback, Out Week-To-Week

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  • Sharks captain Logan Couture is now listed as week-to-week after suffering a setback related to the groin issue that sidelined him for the first 45 games of the season, head coach David Quinn said Monday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). He will not travel with the team on their upcoming road trip and has been ruled out of the next two games as a result, but his absence now appears to be much longer than that. He’d played in just six games this season before the All-Star break, recording one assist and averaging 18:45 per game. With that news, the already basement-dwelling Sharks will be without each of their top two centers for the foreseeable future – Tomáš Hertl is undergoing knee surgery and could miss the rest of the season. For now, offseason trade pickup Mikael Granlund is expected to anchor the top line, while emerging rookie William Eklund will get a longer look at center on the second line.

Tomáš Hertl To Undergo Knee Surgery, Out Several Weeks

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Sharks center Tomáš Hertl will be out for several weeks while he recovers from a surgical procedure to clean out loose cartilage in his left knee, GM Mike Grier said Monday. Hertl has been placed on injured reserve as a result, per the NHL media site.

Hertl was previously listed as day-to-day with a recurrent lower-body injury. He issued the following statement on his decision to play in this month’s All-Star Game despite missing the two prior games with the knee ailment:

I have been experiencing soreness in my left knee on and off this season. After speaking with doctors and our medical staff earlier this year, it was clear that the injury was not going to get any worse and I could continue to play through it, including attending the NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto. After returning from Toronto and having additional conversations with my family and our team medical staff over the last week, I made the decision to have this procedure done now so that I can return to 100% as soon as possible. I look forward to returning to the ice and getting back with my teammates as soon as I can.

With just over two months remaining in the regular season and the Sharks contending for the draft lottery instead of the postseason, the surgery could very well be season-ending. If so, San Jose will have had their top two centers, Hertl and captain Logan Couture, available for the same game only four times in 2023-24.

Now two seasons into an eight-year, $65.1MM extension signed in 2022, Hertl has done everything he can for a bottom-feeder Sharks team without much of a supporting cast this year. The 30-year-old is averaging nearly 21 minutes per game, a career-high, and leads the team in goals (15) and points (34). He’s excelled in the faceoff circle, too, winning upwards of 56% of his draws for the first time since his rookie year.

He’s managed to stay above water possession-wise relative to his teammates despite extremely difficult usage, posting a 46% Corsi share at even strength that ranks seventh on the team. Hertl’s been worth the money early into his massive extension, even if the team’s lack of success has largely rendered it irrelevant.

San Jose’s 17th overall pick in the 2012 draft, the Sharks lifer has now appeared in over 700 games for the club in parts of 11 seasons. He ranks seventh in franchise history in games played (712), fifth in goals (218), seventh in assists (266), and sixth in points (484).

With Hertl out long-term, expect shutdown men Ryan Carpenter and Nico Sturm to see a slight increase in minutes for the rest of the year, especially with Couture still not at full health. It could also mean another NHL look for 2020 second-round pick Thomas Bordeleau, who has 19 points in 26 games with AHL San Jose this season.

Logan Couture Day-To-Day With Soreness Related To Groin Injury

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  • Sharks captain Logan Couture has missed the last two practices with soreness related to the groin injury that’s sidelined him for all but six games this season, head coach David Quinn confirmed Sunday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). He’s listed as day-to-day and hasn’t been ruled out for the Sharks’ next game, a Wednesday tilt against the Jets. Couture, 34, has yet to score since returning last month and has one assist while averaging 18:45 per game.

Leon Gawanke To Sign With DEL’s Adler Mannheim

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Feb. 9: Gawanke has cleared waivers and will now sign with Adler Mannheim of the Deutsch Eishockey Liga, Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic reports Friday.

Feb. 8: The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Leon Gawanke on waivers for the purpose of contract termination, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The 24-year-old has spent all season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, where he leads defensemen in scoring with eight goals and 27 points through 38 games – the highest point-per-game pace of Gawanke’s five-year AHL career. This success comes after Gawanke tied for the league’s lead in goals scored by a defenseman last season, with 20 through 68 games.

The Sharks acquired Gawanke in a minor-league swap this summer, sending Artemi Kniazev to the Winnipeg Jets in return. Winnipeg has also seen their acquisition move away, with Kniazev starting the season in the AHL but moving to the KHL’s Kazan Ak-Bars in the new year. Gawanke signed a one-year, two-way, $775K contract with the Sharks that he is now poised to terminate. If he does clear waivers, he will get the change to negotiate as an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

Gawanke was a fifth-round selection in the 2017 NHL Draft. He made his professional debut two seasons later and has since spent all of the last six years in the AHL – save for a six-game stint with Germany’s Berlin Polar Bears during the 2020-21 season. Gawanke has been the top-scoring defenseman on his team in four of his pro seasons, but whether that will be enough to earn him a new deal is yet to be seen.

Prospect Brandon Svoboda Traded In USHL

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  • Sharks prospect Brandon Svoboda is on the move as USHL Fargo announced that they acquired the center from Youngstown. San Jose picked the 19-year-old in the third round last June but his production has been limited this year with just 11 points in 25 games so far.  Svoboda is committed to Boston University for next season and will be looking to finish up his USHL career on a high note as he’s joining the league-leading Force.

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