Logan Couture Ruled Out For Road Trip
The Sharks will remain without captain Logan Couture this week as he’s been ruled out for the remainder of their road trip, head coach David Quinn said (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). Couture is slowly nearing a return from a lower-body injury that’s sidelined him for the whole season to date, and he’s been skating for over a month. However, Quinn has repeatedly preached caution by not rushing him into the lineup and risking re-aggravation of the injury.
Couture’s return won’t have much of an effect on the Sharks’ on-ice fortunes. Their 23 points and .267 points percentage are both the worst in the league this season, coupled with a -90 goal differential that demonstrated little optimism for improvement. They may have some upward mobility into the 31st or 30th places in the league standings, but even that seems unlikely past the halfway point of the season. However, his return to the organization is an important emotional win – the veteran of over 900 games and 14 seasons in a San Jose sweater remains an important locker room presence and provides some more quality depth for youngsters like William Eklund, Henry Thrun and Fabian Zetterlund to skate with.
Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Acquiring Rights To Sasha Chmelevski
Sasha Chmelevski’s first attempt at playing pro hockey in North America didn’t go particularly well and when his contract with the Sharks expired in 2022, he opted to head back home to play in the KHL; San Jose tendered a qualifying offer to retain his rights at that time. However, after a strong couple of seasons there, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that teams are showing interest in acquiring his rights and that Chmelevski’s agent has been granted permission to try to facilitate a swap. Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the Canucks are among the teams showing interest.
The 24-year-old center was a sixth-round pick by San Jose back in 2017 (185th overall) out of OHL Ottawa. Chmelevski was a productive player in his final two years with the 67’s, collecting 151 points in 124 games over that stretch.
Chmelevski spent the majority of his entry-level deal with San Jose at the AHL level where he posted respectable numbers, collecting 35 goals and 53 assists in 122 games with the Barracuda. Meanwhile, while he didn’t score at the NHL level in 24 games with the Sharks, he did post ten assists despite spending a lot of time in the bottom six.
But Chmelevski’s decision to return to the KHL with a shot at more guaranteed money and a big role has paid off. He’s in his second season with Salavat Yulaev and currently sits tenth in league scoring with 21 goals and 22 assists in 49 games. Based on the trade interest, it appears there are at least some teams that are open to giving him an NHL look next season.
With San Jose in the midst of a rebuild, it’s a bit surprising that they don’t seem to be one of those teams. Otherwise, they’d be trying to work out an agreement with Chmelevski themselves. But with multiple teams showing interest, they might be able to pick up a decent draft pick or prospect for his rights which is still not a bad outcome for a player who opted to go overseas two seasons ago.
Ty Emberson Sent Home For Road Trip For Evaluation, Out Week To Week
- Sharks defenseman Ty Emberson has returned to San Jose for further evaluation, relays Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The 23-year-old is dealing with an upper-body injury that has caused him to miss last night’s victory over Montreal, joining Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald as blueliners currently out of the lineup. Emberson is currently considered as out week-to-week so he’ll likely land on injured reserve shortly, opening up a spot for Logan Couture whose return is getting closer.
No Extension Talks Yet Between Sharks And Alexander Barabanov
- Back in the summer, Sharks GM Mike Grier acknowledged that there was some merit to the idea of extending pending unrestricted free agent winger Alexander Barabanov. However, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that there have yet to be discussions about a new contract for the 29-year-old. Like many San Jose players this season, 2023-24 has been a struggle for Barabanov who has just seven points in 20 games after coming off a career year that saw him collect 47 points in 68 games. He has a $2.5MM cap charge and if a new deal isn’t reached, he’ll be one of their more intriguing trade chips in the coming weeks.
San Jose Sharks Recall Scott Sabourin
The San Jose Sharks have announced that forward Scott Sabourin has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. This recall puts the veteran forward in a position to play in his first NHL games since 2021-22.
The Sharks cleared a roster spot when they reassigned forward Jack Studnicka to the AHL on the fifth, and specifically appeared to need to fill that roster spot with a forward recall since they were already carrying eight blueliners.
They’ve passed over the Barracuda’s leading scorer, Daniil Gushchin, in favor of recalling Sabourin, perhaps because this recall doesn’t come with assurances of a lineup spot attached so they’d prefer the 21-year-old Gushchin remain playing big minutes in the AHL rather than play fourth-line minutes or sit in the press box at the AHL level.
That’s not to say Sabourin hasn’t earned this recall in his own way, though, as in all fairness he was on pace to score 22 goals and 32 points before this recall. The 31-year-old undrafted grinder stands six-foot-four, 207 pounds and plays with an imposing level of physicality.
He’s racked up over 1,000 career penalty minutes in the AHL, and could be a better fit for the Sharks’ fourth line compared to the 24-year-old Studnicka, a former top prospect who plays an offensive style but without the points to show for it.
Over the past two years, Sabourin has become a more productive player at the AHL level, setting a career high in production with the Belleville Senators in 2022-23. Now he’ll get another shot at the NHL level, his first since his AHL offensive breakout.
Kaapo Kähkönen Drawing Trade Interest
In an article from Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, he passes along a note from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who claims that the San Jose Sharks are receiving trade interest in Kaapo Kahkonen. Although he was unable to directly link any team to Kahkonen, Freidman points out that the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils are all actively looking for goaltending help.
With a 9-28-3 record into January and the overarching narrative that the Sharks are firmly locked in on a lengthy rebuild, there is no doubt they will be sellers at this year’s trade deadline. Keeping this in mind, with teams having rumored interest in Kahkonen, and with an expiring contract, it is reasonable to assume that the Sharks would entertain the thought of moving him for the right price.
It has been the tale of two seasons up to this point for both of San Jose’s goaltenders, as Mackenzie Blackwood held down the fort for much of October and November, with Kahkonen taking back the net in December. Through the end of November, Blackwood held a .903 save percentage through 17 games, compared to a .889 save percentage from Kahkonen in only nine games. For whatever reason, once the calendar switched over to December, things completely flipped, as Blackwood only mustered a .847 save percentage through six games, and Kahkonen bounced back with a .914 save percentage in nine games.
Even with Kahkonen’s hot streak of late, at least for the team’s currently scouting for goaltending help, questions would certainly arise as to how much of an upgrade Kahkonen would be in net. With Stuart Skinner playing much better in Edmonton, and Pyotr Kochetkov giving the Hurricanes some stability, New Jersey may be the only realistic option for the Sharks. If they are unable to artificially create something resembling a bidding war, then San Jose may be better served by signing Kahkonen to an extension and trying to move him again next season.
San Jose Sharks Reassign Jack Studnicka To AHL
The San Jose Sharks have reassigned center Jack Studnicka to their AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda (CapFriendly). The 24-year-old dressed in nine games since joining San Jose but was unable to find the scoresheet during that time while playing over 11 minutes a night. Studnicka struggled at even strength as he spent the majority of his ice time buried in the defensive zone and registered a -6.
The Windsor, Ontario native originally started the year with the Vancouver Canucks and dressed in five games this season with the team scoring a single goal. He was traded by the Canucks on December 15th for Nick Cicek and a sixth-round pick in 2024 and has remained in the NHL since the move. Studnicka’s demotion will give him his first chance to play with the Barracuda and could be an opportunity for him to get back on track offensively. In nine games with the Abbotsford Canucks this season, Studnicka had a goal and six assists.
Since being drafted in the second round of the 2017 NHL entry draft, Studnicka has bounced between three different organizations and has struggled to score at the NHL level with just six goals and 10 assists in 99 career NHL games. However, at the AHL level he has been a very effective offensive contributor with 35 goals and 68 assists in 126 career AHL games.
Studnicka being sent down might just lead to an opportunity for Kevin Labanc to get back into the Sharks lineup as he has been a healthy scratch for the last four games. The Sharks could also call someone else back up as they look to break out of another ten-game losing streak.
Logan Couture Could Return On Sharks Road Trip
- Max Miller of The Hockey News is reporting that San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture could return to the Sharks lineup during their upcoming road trip. Couture is traveling with the team on their five-game road trip and is hoping to get back into the lineup having missed the entire season to date. Couture has dealt with several setbacks during his recovery after suffering a lower-body injury. The Sharks were already thin up front coming into the season and Couture’s injury has further exposed a weak forward core. The Sharks have flirted with the idea of using Couture on the wing once he returns, but not much is known about where he will play once he does return.
Matt Benning Undergoes Hip Surgery, Out For Season
The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenseman Matt Benning has undergone successful hip surgery and is expected to miss the rest of the 2023-24 season. Benning’s estimated recovery time is about five months, meaning he’s anticipated to be ready in time for the Sharks’ training camp later in 2024.
Benning had not played since December 3rd, and no firm indication of a return timeline was ever given out in that span. This is a difficult development for both the Sharks and Benning. Seeing as Benning is under contract at $1.25MM through 2025-26, this injury does not pose a serious risk to Benning’s financial future, as he’s already secured a long-term deal as a free agent. That being said, this injury deals a blow to Benning’s personal goals for the 2023-24 campaign.
When healthy, Benning plays as the Sharks’ number-four defenseman, averaging 18:28 time-on-ice per game. He’s also a leading penalty killer for the club, averaging nearly three minutes of ice time short-handed per game.
In Benning’s absence, the Sharks have leaned more heavily on 23-year-old Ty Emberson, who they claimed off of waivers from the New York Rangers. He doesn’t offer the experience Benning does, but his play has begun to seriously improve in this most recent stretch of games, including in each of the team’s last three games, where Emberson has cleared 20 minutes of ice time with ease.
Kyle Burroughs Returns To Lineup For San Jose
- Having missed the team’s most recent game on New Year’s Eve, San Jose Sharks defenseman, Kyle Burroughs confirms he will be back in the lineup tonight as the Sharks take on the Detroit Red Wings (X Link). Going through a difficult season similar to the rest of his teammates, Burroughs has tallied four assists in 35 games this year, carrying a -22 rating into tonight’s action.
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