- Preseason hockey will return to Salt Lake City next year, with Vivint Arena, the home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, announcing an October 5 matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks. Salt Lake City has long been viewed as a dark horse for expansion, and they’ve seen sustained preseason action over the past number of years, mainly highlighted by the Kings playing against various opponents.
Sharks Rumors
Nikita Okhotiuk Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk underwent successful core muscle surgery yesterday. While no further details related to the injury were included in the team’s official announcement, including a more detailed recovery timeline, the announcement did state that the team expects Okhotiuk to make a full recovery in time for the Sharks’ training camp in September.
This surgery announcement ends any possibility of Okhotiuk returning to the ice and making his debut within the Sharks organization this season. The 22-year-old Russian blueliner hasn’t played since a February 11th AHL contest against the Laval Rocket, one where he fought against minor leaguer Riley McKay. It’s unknown whether the injury that knocked out Okhotiuk is in any way related to the fight, but it’s worth noting that he did return to the game after serving his penalty.
As mentioned, this injury ends the possibility of Okhotiuk skating for the Sharks’ organization for the first time this season. He was acquired by the franchise in the Timo Meier trade, alongside a package of other young Devils players and draft picks.
The 2019 second-rounder finishes his season having played a total of 30 games, 20 in the AHL and 10 in the NHL. He scored seven points across that span of games (six in the AHL) and also registered 35 penalty minutes.
Both the Sharks and Devils have been intrigued by the physicality Okhotiuk brings to the game, and it’s likely that the Sharks will give the 22-year-old the opportunity to make coach David Quinn’s opening-night lineup at training camp in the fall. With that opportunity in mind, Okhotiuk’s offseason recovery process will be of paramount importance for the short-term future of his career.
Minor Moves: Blue Jackets, Steen, Sharks
The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Monday that they’ve added goaltender Jet Greaves on emergency recall from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, assigning goaltender Jon Gillies to Cleveland in a corresponding move. Additionally, center Justin Richards has been assigned to Cleveland.
The move to swap Greaves and Gillies comes after Gillies won his Columbus debut last night, stopping 19 of 22 shots in an overtime win. Greaves has been recalled to Columbus on multiple occasions this season but has still yet to appear in his first NHL game. With the end of the season approaching, Columbus will continue to rotate goalies between the NHL and AHL to give everyone playing time, especially with Elvis Merzlikins sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old Richards was returned to Cleveland after registering an assist while playing in the team’s last two games.
- The Boston Bruins announced today that forward Oskar Steen has been assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate in Providence. Steen, 25, has recorded a goal in two appearances for the Bruins this season, both coming within the last few weeks. The move is likely a sign that either David Krejci is ready to return from a lower-body injury or the team plans on putting Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup after taking some time for load management.
- The San Jose Sharks have announced that forwards Kyle Criscuolo and Daniil Gushchin have been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Criscuolo, 30, scored his first NHL goal in his first appearance for the Sharks over the weekend, while Gushchin, 21, also scored his first NHL goal, coming in his NHL debut. Gushchin has had a productive first professional season in the minors after being drafted 76th overall in 2020.
San Jose Sharks Release Injury Updates
- The San Jose Sharks released some injury updates today, as Curtis Pashelka, a Sharks beat writer, relays that forward Oskar Lindblom should return this week, and; unfortunately, Alexander Barabanov will likely be out for the remainder of the season. Now in his sixth NHL season, Lindblom currently has 15 points for the Sharks in 73 games played. Coming into his own in San Jose, Barabanov has reached a new career-high, scoring 15 goals and 32 assists with the Sharks this season.
[SOURCE LINK]
Sharks Recall Kyle Criscuolo And Danil Gushchin
The Sharks have tweaked their roster in recent days and they continued that trend today, announcing the recalls of forwards Kyle Criscuolo and Danil Gushchin from AHL San Jose. With only 11 healthy forwards on the active roster, at least one of these promotions should be on an emergency basis. CapFriendly notes (Twitter link) that these recalls put them over the salary cap so an LTIR placement was needed, likely Luke Kunin who is out for the year with a knee injury.
Criscuolo is in his first season with San Jose after the Sharks acquired him from Detroit back in January. The change of scenery helped as the 30-year-old has been more productive since the swap, putting up ten goals and five assists in 26 games with the Barracuda after being limited to five goals and five helpers in 28 games with Grand Rapids. Criscuolo, a pending unrestricted free agent, does have 15 career NHL games under his belt, six of which came last season with Detroit where he picked up his first two points, both assists.
As for Gushchin, the 21-year-old is in his first full season in the pros after spending last season with OHL Niagara where he had 71 points in 51 contests. The points haven’t been as easy to come by with the Barracuda but Gushchin does sit tied for fourth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and 20 helpers in 66 appearances, a decent rookie campaign. He still has two years left after this one on his entry-level deal.
William Eklund Undergoes Surgery To Repair Torn Labrum
The San Jose Sharks have announced that 2021 seventh-overall pick and team top prospect William Eklund underwent successful shoulder surgery yesterday to repair a torn labrum.
No other details, such as a recovery timeline, were included in the announcement, but since the timeline for torn labrums in the past has been in the four-to-six-month range, Eklund’s season is unfortunately over. The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak does note, though, that the Sharks expect Eklund to be ready for training camp in the fall.
This injury ends what has been an important season for Eklund. As mentioned in our piece covering his recall earlier this month, Eklund has taken significant strides in his development this season.
Last season playing in Sweden Eklund often looked deferential with the puck on his stick, and finished with just one goal to his name. This season, though, he has revamped his toolkit as a shooting threat and made himself a one-timer option on the San Jose Barracuda’s powerplay.
In his debut season on North American ice Eklund finishes with 17 goals and 41 points in 54 games, as well as three points in eight NHL games, including an impressive first NHL goal.
Eklund’s abilities as an attacker in transition have made him the Sharks’ top prospect, and his development is crucially important to the future of the Sharks organization.
While this injury is certainly a setback, at the very least the Sharks can be thankful that the bulk of Eklund’s recovery process will take place in the offseason, meaning his 2022-23 season has been left largely unaffected.
The loss of Eklund for the rest of the season comes as a major blow to the Barracuda, who need to win most of their remaining games to make the Calder Cup Playoffs. While it’s not impossible that they find a way to get those wins, the loss of their second-highest scorer will make winning most of their final set of games a significantly taller task.
But for the Sharks organization as a whole, getting Eklund back to full health is likely a far more pressing priority than the rest of what has been a disappointing AHL campaign.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
San Jose Sharks Reassign Martin Kaut
The San Jose Sharks announced today that forward Martin Kaut has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. The move comes just after Kaut registered an assist in the Sharks’ 4-3 overtime victory against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Kaut’s reassignment is somewhat surprising given the strong form he has displayed in recent games. Since his March 18th recall, Kaut has scored four points in six games, seeing his ice time rise to over 18 minutes on two occasions.
Acquired from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Ryan Merkley in a swap of underachieving 2018 first-round picks, (the deal also involved two other players) Kaut has fit in quite well wherever he’s been assigned in the Sharks organization.
In the AHL, Kaut has scored 13 points in 15 games for the Barracuda, and his overall total for the Sharks is five points in nine games. While he has just 11 career points in 56 games, the Sharks were intrigued enough by what Kaut could bring to the table to surrender Merkley, a player who was once the team’s top defensive prospect.
While it’s still too early to tell if the swap will ultimately pay off for GM Mike Grier, it’s impossible to be anything but encouraged by how Kaut has been playing. Now back with the Barracuda, he’ll be expected to take an important, top-of-the-lineup role as the team looks to close out what has been an uneven AHL campaign.
This reassignment obviously hurts the 23-year-old’s ability to get a few more productive NHL games on his resume before his contract expires over the summer and he hits restricted free agency. But if he can continue to play well in the AHL, he will likely head into offseason negotiations on stronger footing than he entered the year on.
San Jose Sharks Recall Thomas Bordeleau
The San Jose Sharks, coming off an impressive 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, have added more young skill to the lineup. Thomas Bordeleau has been recalled from the minor leagues, just in time to face the Vegas Golden Knights this evening. Andrew Agozzino was reassigned in the meantime.
Golden Knights fans will likely remember the young forward from last year’s stretch run when he scored a beautiful shootout winner, sending Vegas home with just one point. The club would lose each of the next two games in shootouts to barely miss out on a playoff berth.
Bordeleau, 21, was the 38th overall pick in 2020, just before he headed to the University of Michigan to play with a loaded group of young stars. He blossomed into a top prospect at the school, and stepped out of the college ranks in 2022 to high expectations.
After recording five assists in eight games for the Sharks down the stretch, he has spent this year in the minor leagues, rounding out his game while the big club rebuilds. In 64 matches with the Barracuda, he has 22 goals and 41 points.
There seems to be a good chance that Bordeleau will be a regular in the Sharks lineup next season, but for now, he’s still looking for his first NHL goal.
San Jose Sharks Extend Nikolai Knyzhov
The San Jose Sharks have signed defender Nikolai Knyzhov to a two-year contract extension, as initially reported by Knyzhov’s agent, Dan Milstein. Per PuckPedia, the contract earns him $1.25MM per season, paid as $1.1MM in 2023-24 and $1.4MM in 2024-25.
Knyzhov was set to be a restricted free agent this offseason, but this contract will walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2025.
You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better feel-good story today than this. Knyzhov, now 25, missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with a groin injury, and after training over the offseason, tore his Achilles last August. He made his return to the ice around two months ago and has appeared in nine games with the Sharks this year, scoring a goal.
It’s a bit of a gamble from the Sharks to hand Knyzhov a seven-figure deal, but he did show he can play an everyday role in the NHL before his injuries. He suited up in all 56 games for the Sharks during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, scoring 10 points and adding some solid defensive play in a top-four role.
It wouldn’t be shocking next season to see Knyzhov return to his previous home alongside Erik Karlsson if things progress well for him over the coming months. It would allow the aging Marc-Edouard Vlasic to play lighter minutes, giving him and Mario Ferraro some more advantageous matchups on the left side.
Knyzhov is currently on assignment with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, where he has one assist in 13 games this year.
General manager Mike Grier gave the following statement on Knyzhov’s signing:
We’re excited to keep Nikolai with our group for at least the next two years. He worked hard to rejoin the team this season and we look forward to watching his game continue to grow.
Sharks Recall Viel; Thrun To Debut Thursday
- The San Jose Sharks will have youngster Henry Thrun make his NHL debut this season, but not until Thursday. In the meantime, they have recalled Jeffrey Viel from the minor leagues to help fill in for the injuries up front. As Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports, Andreas Johnsson and Evgeny Svechnikov may not play again this season. Alexander Barabanov will miss tonight’s game and is listed as day-to-day.