- Sharks winger Klim Kostin skated with a no-contact jersey at practice today but could still return to the lineup tomorrow versus Dallas, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. The 25-year-old has missed the last four weeks with a lower-body injury and was originally expected to return sometime after the break so he appears to be ahead of schedule. Kostin has a goal and three assists in 26 games this season but also has 82 hits. After putting up 19 goals in the past two seasons combined, he could be a trade candidate for a team looking to add some grit on their fourth line.
Sharks Rumors
Afternoon Notes: Dickinson, Pitlick, Acklin, Philp
The NHL is gearing up for a two-week break for the 4-Nations Face-Off, giving teams plenty to do before many of their players head off for vacation, international play, or minor-league stints. The spree of afternoon news begins in Chicago, where center Jason Dickinson has avoided the worst-case scenario after suffering a scary-looking injury in the team’s Wednesday loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Dickinson took an awkward crash into the boards that trapped his leg under him in the second period. He left the game immediately and was later seen leaving the arena in a walking boot. After testing, Dickinson has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and should only miss a couple of games, head coach Anders Sorensen told ESPN.
That’s relieving news after Dicksinon seemed poised to miss the long-term. He hasn’t racked up the points this season, with just seven goals and 16 points in 53 games – but Dickinson has returned to his role as one of Chicago’s top defensive centers. He leads all Blackhawks forwards with 137 minutes of ice time on the penalty-kill, and ranks fourth on the offense in xGA/60 (expected goals-against per-60) per Evolving Hockey. Dickinson’s stout defense has earned him top minutes, centering a top-six line between Teuvo Teravainen and Ilya Mikheyev – the two players above him in xGA/60. His role would have been tough for the Blackhawks to replace for an extended period, but with this news the team can rest assured that he’ll be available when they return from break.
Headed to the West Coast, the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda have signed veteran forward Rem Pitlick to a minor-league contract for the rest of the season. Pitlick hasn’t played this season, but spent last year split between the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Rockford IceHogs. He accumulated 57 points in 59 games between the two squads, and got called up for nine appearances with the Chicago Blackhawks – though his stat line read no points, two penalty minutes, and a minus-seven. Those appearances brought Pitlick up to 132 career NHL games over the course of his seven-year pro career. He has totaled 21 goals, 54 points, and 54 penalty minutes. A deal with the Barracuda will mark a chance for him to rediscover his red-hot minor league scoring, and try to show his worth to a San Jose Sharks club that currently ranks dead-last in the NHL.
Across the Conferences, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin, has stepped down from the squad per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Acklin had been in the role since 2022, and previously served as a Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the team. In his presedential role, Acklin oversaw the day-to-day business operations, strategic planning, corporate partnerships, and marketing and communication of the Penguins brand. He also supported the development of a live music venue in Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District, and supported maintenance of the former site of Civic Arena – the Penguins’ home rink from 1967 to 2010.
After stops at each region of the States, we head North for our final update – where the Edmonton Oilers have assigned forward Noah Philp to the AHL for the duration of the 4-Nations break. Philp has been one of Edmonton’s top call-up options this season. He received his NHL debut on October 31st and has since played in 12 games with the Oilers lineup, including their most recent nine outings. Philp has just two assists so far, and is still searching for his first NHL goal. He’s been much more productive in the minors, where his 17 points in 28 games places him fourth in points-per-game (0.60) among players with 20-or-more appearances. Philp will now get a chance to build on those totals while the Oilers are away.
Sharks To Activate Ty Dellandrea From Injured Reserve
The Sharks will have forward Ty Dellandrea back in the lineup tonight against the Canucks, head coach Ryan Warsofsky tells Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. They’ll need to open a roster spot to activate him from injured reserve, which they’ll likely do by transferring Nikolai Kovalenko to IR.
Dellandrea last played on Jan. 23, missing four games with an upper-body injury. He also missed four games with a UBI earlier in the year and has been healthy scratched on a few occasions, limiting him to 41 of San Jose’s 55 games. Aside from ranking third on the team with 99 hits, he hasn’t been much of a factor. He has just one goal and four assists with a -15 rating, averaging 11:45 per game and posting some of the worst possession metrics on the team with a 41.9 CF% at even strength.
He has been an infrequent penalty killer, averaging around a minute per game shorthanded. It’s still not quite what the Sharks expected out of Dellandrea when they parted ways with a fourth-round pick to acquire his signing rights from the Stars last summer, one year removed from a 28-point campaign in Dallas. The 2018 first-round pick regressed to nine points in 42 games last year, though, so there were warning signs that his offensive development had stagnated.
The 24-year-old signed a two-year, $2.6MM contract with San Jose, so he’ll have another year to prove he’s an NHLer, barring a trade in the next few months. If he can’t add more value via his point totals or in his possession game, he’s a non-tender candidate in the summer of 2026.
Dellandrea will center the fourth line between Carl Grundström and recent waiver pickup Walker Duehr in his return, sending Colin White to the press box (via Max Miller of The Hockey News).
Kovalenko, meanwhile, missed their Tuesday game against Montreal with an undisclosed injury and isn’t expected back before the 4 Nations Face-Off. He’s one of a long list of IR-bound Sharks that includes Klim Kostin, Jan Rutta, Nico Sturm, and captain Logan Couture, who’s yet to play this season due to osteitis pubis.
Sharks Still Open To Moving Mario Ferraro, Avalanche Interested
The Avalanche are one of the teams displaying interest in Sharks defense mainstay Mario Ferraro as they continue to listen to trade offers, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.
San Jose hasn’t been actively shopping Ferraro but has been listening to offers for over a year. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported in December 2023 that the Sharks were beginning to field calls on the blue-liner. Pagnotta said before last year’s draft that they continued to weigh offers. He’s stuck around in the Bay Area in part due to a high asking price, something that made sense for Grier earlier in the process with plenty of term left on his contract and no urgency to move him.
However, Ferraro will enter the final year of his contract in 2025-26 and has a $3.25MM cap hit right in line with his market value, if not slightly lower. The Sharks could always opt to hold onto him and initiate extension negotiations over the offseason, but that would be out of line with Grier’s recent moves. Pending UFAs Mackenzie Blackwood and Cody Ceci both expressed interest in extensions with the Sharks midseason but have both been traded.
At first glance, Ferraro’s numbers are ghastly. He’s logged heavy minutes on an understaffed San Jose blue line over the life of his deal and has a cumulative -91 rating in 205 games over the last three seasons. He’s not a factor on the power play and has 11 points in 55 games, so he’s not a considerable factor offensively, either. But his relative possession metrics have improved in recent campaigns, especially considering the quality of competition he faces without much support. His 43.8 CF% last year and 45.2 CF% this year are right in line with team averages. Ferraro’s pairings with Timothy Liljegren and Jan Rutta this season have also been the best of a bad bunch at controlling possession quality, ranking first and second among qualified Sharks defense units with a 44.4 xGF% and 43.9 xGF%, per MoneyPuck.
There’s slightly more reason for the Sharks to move on with a year left on his deal, and there’s likely more interest from trade suitors with less financial risk if he doesn’t pan out. The 26-year-old lefty could have increased effectiveness in reduced usage, although he hasn’t seen third-pairing deployment since his rookie season in 2019-20.
Regarding the Avalanche’s interest, they have a clear need for a third-pairing upgrade, especially on the left side. Calvin de Haan and Oliver Kylington have been unimpressive enough to lose their roles to career AHLer Keaton Middleton, who has two assists in 26 games this season but averages just 10:44 per game. While Ferraro wouldn’t be relied upon for 20-plus minutes behind Devon Toews and Samuel Girard on Colorado’s left side, he can certainly manage far more usage than that and be a factor on the team’s penalty kill, which is already clicking at an above-average 80.4%.
Canucks, Sharks Discussed Cody Ceci Trade
The Sharks nearly dealt pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Cody Ceci to the Canucks before sending him to the Stars along with Mikael Granlund over the weekend, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period said Tuesday.
Evidently, Ceci was a backup plan for Vancouver in case they couldn’t pull off their Friday evening two-part blockbuster, sending J.T. Miller to the Rangers before flipping a newly-acquired first-round pick to the Penguins as part of a deal to land Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor. It was discussed enough that “some folks within the San Jose Sharks organization thought [he] was going to Vancouver” earlier in the day, Pagnotta said.
Despite their Pettersson pickup (not to be confused with Elias Pettersson or the other Elias Pettersson), it can be assumed the Canucks are still looking to add another defenseman – especially a righty like Ceci. While he’ll be finishing out the year in Dallas, the Canucks are now believed to be shopping lefty Carson Soucy, who’s been playing on his off side, as they look to realign their blue line and perhaps look for a more cost-effective solution behind Filip Hronek and Tyler Myers on the depth chart.
While Vancouver has plenty of immediate cap space (over $12MM), Soucy has one year left on his deal at a $3.25MM cap hit. That’s a decent chunk of change that would be better spent as flexibilty in extension talks with their newest Pettersson, Brock Boeser, Pius Suter, and Kevin Lankinen.
Next up on the Canucks’ wish list would likely be the Canadiens’ David Savard, who carries a pricier $3.5MM cap hit but is on an expiring deal and could be made more affordable with salary retention. They’d likely need to find another deal for Soucy or pull the trigger far enough in advance for Montreal to flip him again before the deadline, though, as his role for next year would be muddy with up-and-comers Logan Mailloux and David Reinbacher pushing for full-time NHL roles.
San Jose Sharks Recall Andrew Poturalski
The San Jose Sharks have recalled some forward depth in case Tyler Toffoli’s lower-body injury prohibits him from playing this evening. San Jose announced they’ve recalled forward Andrew Poturalski from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.
Tonight’s contest would be Poturalski’s first NHL appearance since a two-game stretch with the Seattle Kraken last year, should he enter the lineup tonight. Including this season, Poturalski has been one of the best veteran forwards in the world for those not currently rostered in the NHL.
Since his last year with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers in the 2018-19 season, Poturalski has scored 106 goals and 359 points in 343 games split between the Checkers, San Diego Gulls, Chicago Wolves, Coachella Valley Firebirds, and Barracuda, respectively. He’s also won two Calder Cups, the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, and two John B. Sollenberger Trophies as the league’s leading scorer during that stretch.
Unfortunately, that impressive production in the AHL has hardly translated to the NHL. Poturalski has only been allowed to suit up in six NHL appearances since the start of the 2016-17 season and only has two assists to show for.
Still, his performance in the AHL is impressive enough in his own right, and Poturalski is again leading the league in scoring. He recently participated in the AHL’s All-Star Challenge scoring one goal in three games as a Pacific Division All-Star team member.
Sharks Recall Collin Graf, Shakir Mukhamadullin
The San Jose Sharks have recalled a pair of top prospects in forward Collin Graf and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. Graf could have a clear path to minutes with Alexander Wennberg designated as out, and both Ty Dellandrea and Tyler Toffoli designated as game-time decisions, when San Jose hosts the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Defenseman Jan Rutta is also out with injury, and isn’t expected to return until after the 4-Nations break. That could open the door for Mukhamadullin to return to the lineup as well, though he’ll face competition for a role from Henry Thrun and Marc-Eduouard Vlasic.
Graf was with the NHL roster through much of January. He played in 10 games and recorded two assists, no penalties, and a minus-four – perfectly matching his stat-line through seven NHL games last season. He was reassigned on January 22nd, but has quickly taken to proving the Sharks wrong with four points and 12 shots on net in four AHL games over the last two weekends. A wave of nagging injuries in the Sharks lineup could provide Graf a chance to bring that hot streak back to the NHL, and hopefully find his first NHL goal along the way.
Mukhamadullin has also played in 10 NHL games this season, but has just one assist to show for it. He’s performed a bit better in the minor leagues, with nine assists in 21 games this season – but his scoring has been inconsistent all year long. Mukhamadullin is still finding his way through North American pros, and a shot at the lineup in San Jose’s final games before break could be a great chance to find his footing.
Sharks Recall Vitek Vanecek, Reassign Yaroslav Askarov
The San Jose Sharks have recalled goaltender Vitek Vanecek from a conditioning stint in the AHL. Vanecek fractured his right cheek into “a couple of pieces” and required surgery on December 17th, when an errant puck hit him while he was sitting on the bench, shares Felicia Keller of San Jose Hockey Now. He worked his way back to full health throughout January and was assigned to the minors on January 29th and played his first game since injury two days later. He allowed two goals on 24 shots and won the game – his only appearance of the minor league assignment. In a corresponding move, San Jose has also reassigned Yaroslav Askarov to the AHL.
Vanecek had another spot start in the minors in 2021-22, but hasn’t played multiple AHL games since the 2019-20 season. He was a heavily-used goaltender for the Hershey Bears from 2016 to 2020 – routinely sharing the net with many emerging netminders, including Pheonix Copley and Ilya Samsonov. Vanecek often posted better stat lines than his company, recording a save percentage north of .905 in the 2016-17, 2018-19, and 2019-20 seasons. The lattermost year still stands as his career-best – headlined by a 19-10-1 record and .917 save percentage. That performance earned Vanecek a call-up to the Washington Capitals in the following season, and he’d make the call-up last by again posting save percentages north of .905 in each of his first three NHL seasons.
Vanecek eventually worked his way into the New Jersey Devils’ starting role for 2022-23, and posted a dazzling 33-11-4 record and .911 save percentage in 52 games. It was heavy utilization in the midst of his prime, but he’s struggled to maintain full health or strong performances in the years since. He recorded a measly .890 Sv% in 32 games with New Jersey last year, and has an even lesser .885 in 14 games with San Jose this season.
Where Vanecek will slot in upon returning from injury isn’t as clear. He has played in one more game than his lineup competition – Askarov and Alexandar Georgiev – and his measly save percentage doesn’t look terrible next to Askarov’s .895 and Georgiev’s .879. That could be enough to push Vanecek back into the starting role, though it might not last for long. Askarov has been a force all season long, alternating between dazzling performances only allowing one or two goals; and horrific outings where he’s lit up to the extent of four, five, or even six goals allowed. His year-long save percentage is confused by that inconsistency, but it’s hard to say that the young Russian isn’t still San Jose’s best option in net. He’s recorded a fantastic .938 Sv% in 14 AHL games this season. That’s far-and-away the highest save percentage in San Jose Barracuda history, 12 percent higher than Troy Grosenick’s .926 through 49 games in 2016-17. This assignment suggests that Askarov will be tasked with maintaining that record through the foreseeable future, though he could quickly jump back to the pros should San Jose’s other netminders continue to falter.
Stars Acquire Mikael Granlund And Cody Ceci From Sharks
Earlier today, the Stars made a series of roster moves geared toward setting up and optimizing their LTIR pool. They wasted little time using it as they acquired center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci from San Jose in exchange for Dallas’ 2025 first-round pick and Winnipeg’s 2025 fourth-round selection. That pick can elevate to a third rounder if Dallas reaches the Stanley Cup Final. Both teams have announced the swap. Stars GM Jim Nill released the following statement:
We are excited to welcome both Mikael and Cody to Dallas. We see both players as addressing immediate needs for our team — Mikael is a proven scorer who will bolster our forward group at both even strength and on the power play, and Cody will add a stabilizing and physical presence to our blueline. Both players will bring valuable postseason experience to our group, and we are looking forward to seeing their contributions to the Stars as the season continues.
The Stars have been missing a key middleman for the last two months when Tyler Seguin underwent hip surgery which is expected to keep him out for the remainder of the regular season. They’ve been trying to fill that spot internally with Jamie Benn spending some time down the middle while Sam Steel has been elevated to the third line at times as well but there has been a general expectation that Dallas would need to look outside the organization to fill that spot at some point.
Granlund certainly helps fill the void. The 32-year-old had a resurgence last season in his first year with San Jose, recording 12 goals and 48 assists in just 69 games. Granlund has shown that the improvement wasn’t a fluke as he has 15 goals and 30 helpers through 52 games this season, putting him on pace for 69 points which would tie his career-high set back in 2016-17.
That said, Granlund shouldn’t be counted on to produce at a similar rate with the Stars. With San Jose, Granlund has been an all-situations number one center, logging nearly 21 minutes a night for the second straight year. That won’t be the case with Dallas with them still having Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, Matt Duchene, and Benn all in the mix in the top-six. More likely is that Granlund would be counted on to anchor the third line with some secondary minutes on both the power play and penalty kill.
Granlund is in the final season of a two-year, $10MM contract. It’s worth noting that the Sharks have already used all three of their available salary retention slots (on Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Tomas Hertl) so they will not be able to retain any money to help facilitate a deal. Accordingly, either Dallas absorbs the full $5MM into their LTIR pool (one that’s around $12MM per PuckPedia at the moment) or they will need to get a third team involved to pay down some of the contract.
As for Ceci, he’s in his first season with San Jose after being acquired over the summer from Edmonton in what amounted to a cap-clearing move from the Oilers. The 31-year-old is playing a bigger role than he has been accustomed to in recent years but is holding his own with 15 points, 100 blocked shots, and 52 hits in 54 games while logging over 21 minutes a night.
Ceci has over 800 games of NHL experience over his 12-year career, largely spent ranging from being a second to a fourth defender. He may get the opportunity to remain in that role with his new club for the time being with Miro Heiskanen out on a longer-term basis while Nils Lundkvist’s season has come to an end after undergoing shoulder surgery. Additionally, offseason signing Mathew Dumba hasn’t quite panned out as planned so there should be an opportunity for Ceci to play an impactful role in Dallas.
Ceci is also in the final season of his contract, one that carries a $3.25MM cap charge. If Dallas isn’t getting any third-party retention in this move, then they’ll be using about two-thirds of their LTIR pool in one move (barring any roster players going the other way) although they’ll also be filling a pair of important needs in one swap.
Dallas didn’t necessarily have to trigger using LTIR today as they still had enough regular cap space to operate outside of it. The fact they committed to using it now suggested they had a move in the works. This certainly qualifies as they give themselves a big boost in the highly competitive Central Division.
For the Sharks, while they’re losing arguably their two most prominent pending UFAs, they’re also adding a legitimate future asset with the first-round selection. Being able to add one of those in spite of not being able to hold back money is a solid piece of business for GM Mike Grier. He’ll now likely turn his focus toward trying to find new homes for his other expiring deals including forwards Luke Kunin and Nico Sturm along with defenseman Jan Rutta.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes first reported the two sides were discussing a Granlund trade. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first with Ceci’s inclusion. TSN’s Darren Dreger first had the return for San Jose while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the conditions on the Winnipeg selection.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Kovalenko Out Until After 4 Nations Face-Off
- The Sharks aren’t expected to have winger Nikolai Kovalenko back until after the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 25-year-old has been productive since being acquired from Colorado, notching eight points in 17 games (after putting up eight in 28 games with the Avs) but suffered an undisclosed injury on Thursday versus Seattle; head coach Ryan Warsofsky indicated that he’s unsure how Kovalenko was injured.