- With the Sharks believed to be open to moving just about anyone, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News examines a handful of veterans that could be on the move. One candidate that might fly under the radar is winger Matt Nieto. The soon-to-be 30-year-old has four points in 12 games so far this season while holding his own in a top-six role. He wouldn’t have that role on a contender but a veteran making just $800K that can move up and down the lineup could be intriguing to some cap-strapped teams. Accordingly, Pashelka posits that San Jose could do a little better than the fifth-rounder they received for Andrew Cogliano who was moved at the deadline last season.
Sharks Rumors
Snapshots: Zegras, Carter, Benning
The NHL Department of Player Safety today fined Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras $1,500 for slashing San Jose Sharks defenseman Matt Benning during last night’s game. Zegras was assessed a minor penalty for slashing on the play.
It’s the second fine issued today after New York Islanders forward Casey Cizikas escaped with a fine instead of a suspension stemming from his collision with Blackhawks goaltender Alex Stalock. Thankfully, Benning was not injured on this play. The Ducks will be ecstatic that no further discipline was awarded to Zegras, who’s second on the struggling team with eight points in 10 games.
- Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan confirmed today that forward Jeff Carter is unavailable for tonight’s primetime game against Buffalo and did not travel with the team on their one-game road trip. Carter suffered an undisclosed injury on Saturday in a game against Seattle and is listed as day-to-day. 24-year-old Drew O’Connor is slated to see his second straight game of action at the third-line center position.
- There’s no updated timeline on San Jose Sharks defenseman Markus Nutivaara, who’s still out indefinitely as head coach David Quinn said today he’s suffered another setback. Nutivaara has not played an NHL game since October 29, 2021, his lone appearance last season with Florida. He remains out with a lower-body injury after signing in San Jose this offseason.
Laurent Brossoit Sent To AHL On Conditioning Loan
The goaltending issues that the Vegas Golden Knights were expected to face when Robin Lehner was ruled out for the season have certainly not materialized. The duo of Adin Hill and Logan Thompson have been almost perfect, posting a combined save percentage of .941 through ten games.
Hill, acquired from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round pick before the season began, is 4-0 and has allowed just seven goals on 123 shots. Thompson, the de facto starter, leads the league with two shutouts in his first six games.
With those two playing at such a high level, it will make for an interesting decision when Laurent Brossoit is healthy enough to play again. The veteran netminder took a step toward that goal today when he was loaned to the Henderson Silver Knights on a long-term injury conditioning stint. Brossoit is coming off hip surgery and there is no concrete timeline for his return to NHL action.
A LTIR conditioning loan is usually limited to three games or six days, though it can be extended in certain circumstances. When it is over, Brossoit does not necessarily need to be activated.
Remember, the Golden Knights are also right up against the cap, meaning activating Brossoit will be a tricky game for the team to play. They will likely have to reduce their roster to fewer than 23 players, plus figure out what to do with their three goaltenders. Brossoit himself might end up on waivers, or even traded, given the performance of Hill and Thompson so far.
That bridge doesn’t have to be crossed yet, but if he proves himself healthy enough to return, it’s coming soon.
Latest On San Jose Sharks Team Direction
Despite hiring a new front office and new head coach, this season has started off as more of the same for the San Jose Sharks organization. The Mike Grier/David Quinn era is off to a 3-8-0 start, leading many to wonder if the organization’s original goal to return to contention with their current core remains a realistic possibility. It now seems that the Sharks’ front office might agree with that sentiment, as TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported on TSN’s Insider Trading program reports that the Sharks have “let it be known that they are willing to listen on pretty much every player on their roster” other than Tomas Hertl.
This presents an interesting situation for San Jose, as while the team might be interested in dealing anyone on their current roster, the realities of their roster construction present some unique challenges. First and foremost, the players that San Jose might be most interested in dealing, players such as veteran defensemen Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, might be the most challenging for Grier to trade. Both Karlsson and Vlasic have full no-movement clauses and therefore would have full control over any trade destination.
Additionally, Karlsson’s cap hit is $11.5MM and Vlasic’s is $7MM. In an environment where most teams are struggling with salary cap space, Grier could find constructing a suitable trade involving both players to be quite the challenge.
Another factor complicating Grier’s ability to complete a significant reconstruction of this Sharks roster via trade is the lackluster performance of many of the Sharks’ players.
Vlasic, for example, is now an offseason buyout candidate and far removed from the capable defensive defenseman he once was. Karlsson, who has had a strong start with 11 points in 11 games this year, has dealt with major injury troubles in recent years, the sort of injury issues that would make any interested team think twice about acquiring him.
Beyond just Karlsson and Vlasic, the Sharks have other veterans that may be of some more interest to other clubs, such as James Reimer or Kevin Labanc, but a deal for either might not be the sort of franchise-altering move Grier seems to be pondering.
There is one player who fits the bill as both a major asset to be shipped out and also a player who might actually be realistically tradeable: Swiss power forward Timo Meier. Meier is a pending restricted free agent who is precariously close to hitting unrestricted free agency. Should the Sharks choose to forgo signing Meier to a long-term extension, trading him would be the most sensible option.
While Meier has had a brutal start to this season with just five points in 11 games, he scored 76 points in 77 games last season and would in all likelihood fetch a major compensation package in return in any trade deal.
Regardless of whether Grier ultimately finds a way to make a franchise-altering trade or not, LeBrun’s report makes it clear that Grier is contemplating significant changes in San Jose. For a club that could be going through its fourth consecutive season without a playoff berth, those sort of major changes could be exactly what the Sharks need.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Tomas Hertl Might Be The Only Untouchable Player For The Sharks
It appears that the Sharks have determined their list of untouchables and it’s a pretty small one. In the latest TSN Insider Trading segment, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported that San Jose’s list of players that they’re not open to considering trading starts and ends with Tomas Hertl who is just beginning an eight-year, $65.1MM contract. GM Mike Grier made one notable shakeup trade last summer with the move of Brent Burns to Carolina and will certainly be looking to continue to reshape his roster. As we start to see a bit of trade activity around the league, the Sharks could be a team to watch for over the next little while on that front.
Markus Nutivaara Still Not Skating
- It doesn’t appear that the Sharks will be getting Markus Nutivaara back anytime soon as Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports (Twitter link) that he has yet to resume skating as he works his way back from a lower-body injury. That injury is related to the hip one that sidelined him for all but one game last season. The 28-year-old inked a one-year, $1.5MM deal with San Jose at the beginning of free agency but it’s safe to say he’ll be waiting to make his debut for a little while longer.
Ozzy Wiesblatt Assigned To ECHL
- NHL fans may remember a touching moment at the 2020 draft when the San Jose Sharks revealed their selection of Ozzy Wiesblatt with a bit of sign language so that his mother – who is deaf – could be in on the announcement. Now, after two additional seasons in the WHL Wiesblatt will be starting his professional hockey journey with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL. He was assigned there today.
Alexander Barabanov Could Play Tuesday
The Sharks could get some help on the wing on Tuesday as Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports that winger Alexander Barabanov could be activated from injured reserve for their game against the Islanders. The 28-year-old didn’t play at all in the preseason due to a lower-body injury and while they were hopeful he’d be good to go for their international games, that clearly wasn’t the case. Barabanov had 39 points in 70 games last season and head coach David Quinn acknowledged that the winger could find himself on the top line in short order. San Jose has scored just six goals in four games so far this season so any help up front will certainly be welcomed.
Three Players Clear Waivers
Oct 13: All three have cleared waivers and can now be assigned to the minor leagues.
Oct 12: The season is just getting started and waivers won’t stop. Three more players have been placed on the wire today, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, including Martin Pospisil of the Calgary Flames, Scott Harrington of the San Jose Sharks, and Pierre-Cedric Labrie of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In Pospisil’s case, he had been on season-opening injured reserve but must have recovered enough to now be sent to the minor leagues. There is little risk of claiming the 22-year-old forward, even if he did have a nice season for the Stockton Heat last year.
Selected 105th overall in 2018, Pospisil had seven goals and 25 points in 47 games for the team, while also racking up 95 penalty minutes. His size and physicality have always been his calling card, going back to his junior days with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL where he had a whopping 253 penalty minutes in 49 games as a rookie.
Harrington, meanwhile, played in one of the two games for the Sharks overseas but now with the team needing to reduce their roster for the return to North America, there isn’t room. The 29-year-old played almost all of last season in the minors with the Cleveland Monsters and appears likely to do it again, this time with the Barracuda.
It was interesting to see Labrie even get an NHL contract, let alone stick around this long on the roster. The veteran forward is an AHL staple with 685 games played at that level, and hasn’t appeared in an NHL game since 2013. He will almost certainly spend the entire year in the minor leagues, though perhaps the team just wanted him signed in case they needed a physical presence for a handful of games this year.
Barabanov And Nutivaara Won't Play In Opening Two Games
- The Sharks will be without winger Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Markus Nutivaara for the first two games of the regular season, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The pair did not accompany the team on their trip to Czechia against Nashville. The two have been listed as day-to-day for the last week and they’ll have nearly two more weeks to recover with their first game back in North America not until the 14th. San Jose is carrying the maximum of 27 players on the trip.