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Sharks Notes: Gushchin, Lindblom, Benning, MacDonald

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When the Sharks returned high-ceiling winger prospect Daniil Gushchin to the minors yesterday, most thought he would be back up quickly after getting some playing time over the weekend. However, head coach David Quinn told Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now that Gushchin’s demotion is of a more permanent nature.

Gushchin, 21, was the 76th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. Quinn called the second of two games on Gushchin’s recent call-up “a little bit of a hard game for him” and thought he got “overwhelmed defensively.” While he would likely provide a bit more offensive punch than many currently on the Sharks’ roster, the organization obviously believes in playing the long game with Gushchin and thinks dominating the AHL, where he has 13 points in 11 games with the San Jose Barracuda, is better for his development at this stage.

Elsewhere around the Sharks conversation today:

  • Also, speaking to Peng earlier today, Quinn said forward Oskar Lindblom’s recovery timeline from his lower-body injury is week-to-week. Lindblom landed on IR five days ago after a recent call-up, playing just one game before sustaining the injury – which prompted Gushchin’s initial recall. The former Flyers winger, who recovered from a diagnosis of Ewing’s sarcoma in 2020, did not get on the scoresheet in his lone appearance and has just two points in eight games with the Barracuda this season.
  • Quinn also confirmed that a pair of injured Sharks defenders, Matt Benning and Jacob MacDonald, are close to returning to the lineup and will likely travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. The veteran pair have played just a combined ten games this season and are likely to return within the next week, while the Sharks have two games against more northern Pacific Division neighbors. MacDonald has taken line rushes as a forward in his return to practice with the team and will likely suit up in a fourth-line role when he does play, while Benning, in the second season of a four-year deal, could be slated for a top-four role on a very fluid Sharks backend. No corresponding moves will need to be made to activate them while center Nico Sturm, who carries a non-roster designation while on personal leave, is away from the team.

Sharks Assign Daniil Gushchin To AHL, Nico Sturm Takes Leave Of Absence

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Sharks winger Daniil Gushchin is headed back to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, per Max Miller of The Hockey News. Miller says this is not a permanent return to the minors for the promising youngster but rather a paper move to get him playing time with the Barracuda over the weekend. The Sharks do not return to action until Monday against the Canucks, by which time he’ll likely be back on the NHL roster.

The Sharks also announced that center Nico Sturm has taken a leave of absence to attend to a family matter and will miss the team’s next two games, meaning he’ll be away from the team for at least a week. Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports the league granted a Sharks request for Sturm to occupy non-roster status while he’s away from the team, meaning he will not use a spot on the 23-man roster until he’s returned.

Gushchin has played in the Sharks’ last two games after a recall on Monday, recording an assist and an even plus-minus rating while playing top-six minutes. The 21-year-old hasn’t looked out of place and is off to an impressive start in 2023-24, racking up four goals and 13 points through 11 contests with the Barracuda.

It’s a promising trajectory for the 2020 third-round pick, who’s putting up quite good numbers at a young age and appears well on his way to an eventual top-nine role in the Bay Area. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound winger makes up for his lack of size with dogged effort and good puckhandling skills, as evidenced by his 45 points in 67 games during his rookie season with the Barracuda last year. That was good enough for second on the team, as were his 22 goals.

The Sharks have won three out of their last six outings, none more impressive than their 5-1 victory over the Blues last night. With confidence building in the room, the team likely feels less of a need to shelter their young players from blowout losses and could be more willing to give players like Gushchin some more runway at the NHL level.

Like many other Sharks, Sturm is off to a disappointing start this season, recording just two assists in 17 games while averaging nearly 15 minutes per contest. The 28-year-old German pivot is in the second season of a three-year, $6MM deal signed with the Sharks in free agency in 2022. He posted a career-high 14 goals and 26 points in 74 games last season and has been a decent defensive presence in the bottom six since gaining a full-time NHL role in 2020 with the Wild.

With a roster spot open for a recall in Sturm’s absence, someone like 21-year-old Thomas Bordeleau or 24-year-old Jacob Peterson could get a look with the Sharks early next week. They’ve played six games each this season but remain assigned to the Barracuda, where they’ve each put up solid offensive numbers.

Sharks Recall Daniil Gushchin, Place Oskar Lindblom On IR

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4:48 PM: In a clarification report, Sheng Peng of NBC Sports has relayed that Lindblom has in fact been placed on the injured reserve, rather than being sent down to the Barracuda.

2:02 PM: The San Jose Sharks recalled forward prospect Daniil Gushchin from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Monday, per a team release. Forward Oskar Lindblom was returned to the Barracuda. in a corresponding transaction.

Gushchin hasn’t been the subject of much public discussion, but he’s seen his stock rise significantly since the Sharks selected him in the third round of the 2020 NHL Draft. He’s off to a great start in the minors this season, leading the Barracuda in scoring with four goals, nine assists and 13 points in 11 games.

The 21-year-old right winger was a prolific scorer in junior hockey, leading the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks and the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs in scoring in his first two post-draft seasons. While he’s got a great shot, he also possesses the talents to develop into a proficient two-way winger, with Elite Prospects calling him a “tenacious back checker who often almost functions as a third defenseman in transition at times.”

Gushchin did not look out of place in a two-game call-up at the end of last season. Skating on a line with Tomáš Hertl and Jacob Peterson, he averaged 15:55 per game and notched his first two NHL points, a goal and an assist.

He was active in getting pucks toward the net during his stint, too, averaging four shots on goal and six shot attempts per game. The Sharks’ next game is on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers, during which he could make his 2023-24 NHL season debut.

Meanwhile, Lindblom returns to the minors after a five-day recall. He was on the Sharks’ active roster for their last three games but only played once, recording no shots and a -1 rating in 11:56 of action against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday. The 27-year-old cleared waivers preseason after failing to make the team out of camp and recording just six goals in 73 games last season.

In the second year of a two-year deal earning him $2.5MM per season, it is still a remarkable comeback story for Lindblom, who’s still managed to leverage a solid pro career after missing most of the 2020 calendar year while undergoing treatment for Ewing’s sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. In eight games with the Barracuda this season, Lindblom has a goal, assist and -6 rating.

While buried in the minors, $1.35MM of Lindblom’s $2.5MM cap hit still counts against the team’s salary cap. With defenseman Radim Simek also counting $1.1MM against the cap while buried in the minors, the Sharks are currently hit with a $2.45MM penalty for buried players.

Two Setbacks For Couture, Not Close To Returning

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Originally, Sharks captain Logan Couture wasn’t supposed to miss much time due to his lower-body injury.  However, he still has yet to play this season with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relaying that the middleman hasn’t just suffered one setback in his recovery but rather two separate ones last month.  GM Mike Grier added that they’re not in a position at this point to say if he’ll be back in a month or two, only that it’s something he’s not able to play through.  San Jose could certainly use Couture’s offensive skills – he’s coming off a 67-point showing last season – but clearly, he won’t be making his season debut anytime soon.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: San Jose Sharks

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM.  Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful.  Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2023-24 season.  This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL.  All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

San Jose Sharks

Current Cap Hit: $81,392,547 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F William Eklund (three years, $863K)
D Nikita Okhotyuk (one year, $789K)

Potential Bonuses
Eklund: $850K
Okhotiuk: $82.5K
Total: $932.5K

The Sharks have slow-played things with Eklund, giving him a taste of NHL action over the last two years but not enough to actually start his contract.  Now that his deal can’t slide anymore, he’s a regular in the lineup.  He’s off to a slow start this season and San Jose’s offensive woes will make it tough for him to hit on his four ‘A’ bonuses.

Okhotiuk is essentially waiver-blocked.  San Jose isn’t using him much but they also don’t want to risk losing him for nothing on waivers.  The end result is a lot of time on the bench which doesn’t bode well for his next contract or reaching some of his games played bonuses.

Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level

D Calen Addison ($825K, RFA)
F Alexander Barabanov ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Ryan Carpenter ($775K, UFA)
F Anthony Duclair ($3MM, UFA)
D Ty Emberson ($775K, RFA)
F Mike Hoffman ($4.5MM, UFA)
G Kaapo Kahkonen ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Luke Kunin ($2.75MM, RFA)
F Kevin Labanc ($4.725MM, UFA)
F Oskar Lindblom ($2.5MM, UFA)
D Jacob MacDonald ($762.5K, UFA)
D Radim Simek ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Filip Zadina ($1.1MM, RFA)

After Labanc took a team-friendly one-year deal back in 2019-20, things have gone downhill as he has failed to pass the 33-point mark since then.  At one point last month, it looked like he’d be waived.  A change of scenery would likely do him some good but it’s almost certainly going to come at a fraction of this price.  Hoffman appears to be heading for a sizable dip in pay as well after a tough couple of years in Montreal and a particularly rough start to this season.  His shot is still dangerous but he might be better suited for a deeper team who can use him on the power play but hide him a bit at five-on-five.  Those teams won’t be able to offer anywhere close to the type of money he’s making now.

Duclair was acquired from Florida over the summer with the Panthers looking to free up some cap space.  A big year in a prominent role could also bode well for the winger but, as is the case with pretty much every other forward, he’s off to a tough start.  Still, after a 31-goal showing in 2021-22, Duclair should at least have a chance at another short-term deal around this price.  Barabanov is coming off a career year that saw him record 47 points in 68 games, a pretty nice bargain at his price.  However, a finger injury is likely to keep him out for another month which won’t help his bargaining power.  That said, a small raise could be achievable if he’s able to produce upon his return.

Kunin’s tenure with San Jose hasn’t gone great so far.  Injuries limited him to just 31 games last season where he managed 13 points and he’s producing at a lower clip in the early going this year.  Owed a $3MM qualifying offer in June, that price tag might be too rich for the Sharks.  Lindblom landed this deal after being bought out by Philadelphia but has struggled with his new team to the point where he cleared waivers in camp and is now in the minors with a dead cap charge of $1.35MM.  As things stand, even getting that much next summer could be difficult.

Zadina walked away from guaranteed money with Detroit to take a lot less with San Jose in the hopes that a new environment could help him revive his game.  The results have been spotty so far but with him being controllable through restricted free agency until 2027, they can afford a gradual development curve.  A small raise with arbitration eligibility should come his way.  Carpenter has seen limited minutes so far and is likely to stay in a depth forward role which will keep him around this price point moving forward.

Simek has been a depth piece for the majority of this contract (which is in its fourth year) which resulted in him clearing waivers in training camp.  Accordingly, he has a dead cap charge of $1.1MM which, like Lindblom, might be more than what he’ll be able to get on the open market this summer.  Addison was recently acquired from Minnesota in a move that basically gives him a fresh start where he’ll play more frequently.  After putting up 29 points last season, the Wild basically had no choice but to give him a low-cost, one-year deal.  Next summer, Addison will be arbitration-eligible and should see this price tag double at a minimum.

Emberson was picked up on waivers in training camp and is getting his first taste of NHL action.  He has held his own so far but a larger sample size is needed to see if he’s worthy of a bigger raise and a multi-year deal or another one-year pact if he winds up being a depth defender.  MacDonald is another depth piece who, at 30, is almost certain to stay around the minimum salary on his next deal.

Things haven’t gone quite as planned for Kahkonen.  Former GM Doug Wilson moved a capable blueliner in Jacob Middleton to get the netminder back at the 2021-22 trade deadline with the hopes that he’d be their goalie of the future.  The way he finished off that season provided some cause for optimism but since then, it has not been pretty.  He posted a save percentage of just .883 last season and this year, it’s even worse early on; with how bad the Sharks are, there’s no guarantee it will improve either.  He’s one of the more intriguing goalies in this free agent class; is it a case of him just needing a more structured environment to succeed in?  Or did he peak a couple of years ago?  How teams feel will ultimately decide if he gets a contract similar to this one or if he’s heading for a sizable pay cut as well.

Signed Through 2024-25

G Mackenzie Blackwood ($2.35MM, UFA)
F Mikael Granlund ($5MM, UFA)
D Nikolai Knyzhov ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Jan Rutta ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Givani Smith ($800K, UFA)
F Nico Sturm ($2MM, UFA)
F Fabian Zetterlund ($1.45MM, RFA)

Yes, things didn’t go well for Granlund in Pittsburgh but before that, he had 100 points in his last 138 games with Nashville.  Accordingly, a bounce-back performance is doable in theory but this might not be the best situation for that to happen.  At the moment, it’s hard to see him getting this type of money two years from now but if things stabilize somewhat and Granlund is a key part of that happening, he might be able to come closer than some might think.  Sturm had a career year last season, his first with San Jose as he put up career bests across the board while providing some positive value on his contract.  If he can stay close to 25 points while being a faceoff specialist, his market should be a bit stronger in 2025 where he could push for closer to $3MM.

Zetterlund did well with New Jersey last year but struggled mightily after being acquired in the Timo Meier swap.  This season, he has looked a bit more comfortable and is the early team leader in goals.  He’ll be looking to establish himself as a dependable middle-six winger moving forward and if he does, his next contract should at least go past the $2MM mark.  Smith has been a depth player when he has been on an NHL roster and that’s unlikely to change with the Sharks which should keep him around this price point two years from now.

Rutta is best utilized in a complementary role and the state of San Jose’s depth chart makes that somewhat difficult to accomplish.  When he signed this contract with Pittsburgh, it seemed like an overpayment at the time and if he winds up languishing with the Sharks for most of the remainder of it, he could also be looking at a small cut on his next contract.  Knyzhov has battled significant injury trouble and at this point, it’s just about re-establishing himself as a regular, a role he last had in 2020-21.  If he can do so and stay healthy, he could push for closer to $2MM but would need to become a top-four piece with the Sharks to aim much higher.

Blackwood struggled with injuries and inconsistency with New Jersey, resulting in his rights being dealt to San Jose in the spring.  They non-tendered him but quickly agreed to this deal.  The 26-year-old has fared better than Kahkonen but is struggling behind a weakened back end.  He’ll need to fare at least a bit better if he wants a shot at another deal around this price point; even keeping them competitive most nights might be enough.

Signed Through 2025-26

D Matt Benning ($1.25MM, UFA)
D Kyle Burroughs ($1.1MM, UFA)
D Mario Ferraro ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7MM, UFA)

To say that Vlasic’s contract hasn’t aged well would be an extreme understatement.  The decline in performance started in year two and has continued since then.  In his prime, Vlasic was a prime shutdown defenseman but now, he’s struggling to handle even number six minutes and has been healthy scratched at times.  There is signing bonus money in each of the remaining years of the contract which must be paid in full with a buyout.  Even so, a buyout starts to look a bit palatable this summer when the cost would be $3.833MM, $4.833MM, and then two years at $1.333MM.  San Jose isn’t in a spot where they need to free up cap space but keeping an aging veteran around at the expense of a younger player isn’t the best option either and a trade just isn’t palatable.

Ferraro’s contract was interesting at the time it was signed in that it brought him right to unrestricted free agency with no extra years of club control.  He’s playing a bigger role than he probably should but in a fourth or fifth role, he’d fit in well with quite a few teams.  Unless things really don’t go well between now and 2026, he should be positioned to earn an increase on this deal even with his struggles as a top-pairing player.

Benning’s contract was another somewhat curious one in that sixth defenders usually don’t get four-year deals.  He actually had a career season offensively last year, making him a bit of a bargain at the moment although he’d need to continue to produce near that level to earn any sort of significant raise.  Closer to the trade deadline, he could be an under-the-radar trade candidate.  Burroughs also inked a multi-year deal to be a role player on the back end, pretty good stability for a player who had less than 100 NHL games under his belt at the time he signed.  He’s also playing a bigger role than he should but if he can hold his own at the 20-minute mark, his market should be stronger in 2026.

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Sharks Waiting For Things To Stabilize Before Recalling Prospects; Benning Resumes Skating

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While the Sharks snapped their season-long losing streak at 11 games yesterday with a win over the Flyers, clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done still.  However, don’t expect any reinforcements coming from the minors.  Speaking with Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, GM Mike Grier indicated that while they’ve thought about bringing up some of their better prospects from the minors (including defensemen Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadullin plus forward Daniil Gushchin), they’d like to see things get more stabilized first over putting those youngsters into a less than ideal situation from a development perspective.  Getting captain Logan Couture back would help on that front but with him suffering a recent setback in his recovery lately, there’s no timeline for when he’ll be able to join the lineup.

  • Still with the Sharks, Pashelka reports in a separate piece that blueliner Matt Benning has resumed skating as he works his way back from an undisclosed injury. The 29-year-old is coming off a career year offensively but, like many San Jose players, is off to a rough start this year with just a single point in his first eight appearances while averaging 18:29 per night.  Benning is on injured reserve but has already been on there for more than a week, meaning they’ll be able to activate him as soon as he’s cleared to return.

Jacob MacDonald Out One Week

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Spurgeon has been sidelined for all 12 games this season due to an upper-body injury sustained during training camp, a figure that will stretch to at least 14 before he joins the team for game action. His absence has been a back-breaker for a team that’s played uncharacteristically poor defensively so far, allowing 49 goals through 12 games – the most in the Central Division and second-most in the Western Conference, behind only the lowly San Jose Sharks. On the bright side, Spurgeon’s absence has meant an opportunity for 21-year-old rookie Brock Faber, who’s assumed top-pairing duties without a second thought and has registered five points and a +7 rating in nearly 24 minutes per game of ice time.

  • San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald was placed on injured reserve earlier today in a corresponding transaction to the acquisition of Calen Addison from the Minnesota Wild, and head coach David Quinn confirmed today that he’ll miss the minimum one week required to be on IR but not necessarily much more. Injuries have limited MacDonald to just two appearances this season, but he did log a two-point effort in the team’s 10-2 blowout at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins recently. In fact, MacDonald has only suited up in the Sharks’ back-to-back 10-goal concessions, recording a -5 rating and averaging just north of 12 minutes per game.

Wild Trade Calen Addison To Sharks

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Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that the Minnesota Wild have traded defenseman Calen Addison to the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round pick. The 23-year-old has five assists in 12 games so far this season and will join a rebuilding Sharks team that just won its first game of the season last night. According to Russo, the draft pick appears to be a 2026 selection and the Wild will also receive minor-league right winger Adam Raska in the deal. Raska is currently playing in the AHL for the San Jose Barracuda and has zero points in seven games this season.

On the surface, the move is a peculiar one for the Wild, Addison was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018 and was a central part of the trade package the Penguins sent to the Wild in exchange for Jason Zucker. Last season, Addison posted three goals and 26 assists in 62 games in what was his first full season in the NHL. Those numbers, while impressive, do require some context. 18 of Addison’s 26 assists came on the powerplay, and while his offensive instincts are obvious, his defensive shortcomings leave a lot to be desired. Last season, Addison was a -17, and while that statistic can be misleading, a deep dive into his defensive analytics will tell you a very similar story. Things got so bad defensively last season that Addison went through a stretch where he was a healthy scratch in 25 out of the 35 games (including regular season and playoffs). During this stretch, the Wild traded for John Klingberg who took over powerplay responsibilities from Addison and his spot in the lineup. This led to Addison spending most of the summer without a contract extension before ultimately signing a one-year $825K deal on September 19. Now with the trade, Addison will close a very uneven run in Minnesota.

From the Sharks’ perspective, the move makes total sense, the club is rebuilding and gets to acquire a right-shot offensively-minded defenseman for almost nothing. If Addison is unable to turn his defensive game around San Jose can simply non-tender him in the offseason and walk away from Addison without any long-term ramifications. Sharks general manager Mike Grier has decided that a fifth-round pick and an AHLer is worth rolling the dice on a player who could develop into a long-term fixture on the Sharks powerplay when they emerge from their current rebuild.

In addition to the trade, the Sharks have also recalled forward Oskar Lindblom from the AHL and defenseman Jacob MacDonald has been moved to the injured reserve.

Sharks Unlikely To Change Coach

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TSN Insider Darren Dreger is reporting that the Vancouver Canucks are looking for a right-shot defenseman. The surprising Canucks have started the season 9-2-1 and are currently among the league’s elite a month into the regular season. Vancouver was projected to be a bubble team this year but have outperformed expectations to this point. The Canucks have considerable depth in their forward group, particularly on the wing and are hoping to be able to use an excess winger to acquire a defenseman.

Unfortunately for the Canucks, most of the teams they are talking trade with have little to no interest in acquiring a player and are looking for futures. This further complicates a potential move for Vancouver as they have precious little cap space to facilitate such a transaction. According to CapFriendly, the Canucks have $162,500 in cap space, meaning that they wouldn’t even be able to add a player on a league minimum contract.

In other notes:

  • TSN Insider Chris Johnston is reporting that he doesn’t believe the San Jose Sharks will make a big trade or a coaching change in the coming weeks as they weather one of the worst starts to a season in NHL history. The Sharks were expected to finish the season near the bottom of the NHL standings, but no one predicted they would start the season this poorly. Johnston adds that Sharks general manager Mike Grier met with the team yesterday and stated that any improvements would need to come from within the group, although Grier didn’t rule out making changes if the Sharks don’t show any improvement in the coming weeks.
  • NHL.com is reporting that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter will be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row tonight when the Penguins take on the Anaheim Ducks. It is just the second time in his 19-year NHL career that the veteran will be scratched after he has struggled to start the season. Carter has no points in nine games and was part of a struggling fourth line that failed to provide a single point in the first nine games of the season. Head coach Mike Sullivan scratched Carter for the last game and opted to dress Vinnie Hinostroza against the San Jose Sharks in a game the Penguins won 10-2. Hinostroza had a goal and an assist, and fellow fourth-liners Matt Nieto and Noel Acciari produced their first points of the season as well.

No Timeline For Barabanov Return

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Philadelphia Flyers center Sean Couturier, who has not played in either of the team’s last two games, will return tonight against the San Jose Sharks, according to Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. It will be an important reinforcement for the Flyers who are currently on a 1-4-0 stretch in their last five games.

[SOURCE LINK]

  • Max Miller of The Hockey News reports there is still no timeline for the return of Sharks winger, Alexander Barabanov, but he is progressing nicely from injury. Barbanov has been out of the lineup with a finger injury since the team’s game against the Florida Panthers on October 24th. After finishing fifth on the team in scoring last season, Barabanov is one of six members of San Jose’s forward core that has not scored a point yet this year.
  • Back to the Sharks, Max Miller also mentioned that Mike Hoffman and Nikolai Knyzhov were late additions to today’s practice, meaning they may be out of the lineup tonight against the Flyers. Both players were present during the team’s blowout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.

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