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San Jose Sharks Recall Derrick Pouliot, Reassign Nick Cicek

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1:03 p.m.: The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka reports today that Pouliot will draw in tonight against Colorado, meaning MacDonald is officially out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury.

12:29 p.m.: The San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, the team announced Tuesday. In a corresponding transaction, defenseman Nick Cicek was reassigned to the Barracuda.

This is Pouliot’s first recall since signing with the Sharks last Thursday. Pouliot was immediately waived and cleared the following day, re-joining the Barracuda on an NHL contract.

Pouliot, 29, signed an AHL contract with the Barracuda last offseason. His season there has been productive, although he missed nearly two months with an injury that’s limited him to 28 games. The veteran of 267 AHL games has 21 points and a -9 rating in those 28 appearances with the Barracuda.

It’s his second straight season signing an AHL contract that was converted into an NHL contract later in the year. Pouliot started 2021-22 on a deal with the Henderson Silver Knights before signing a contract with the Vegas Golden Knights in mid-March. However, the Seattle Kraken claimed him on waivers just a few days later when Vegas attempted to return him to the minors.

Pouliot was an eighth overall draft pick by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, mainly due to his offensive acumen during his time in juniors with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. However, Pouliot’s defensive game never developed enough to build a sustainable NHL career,  last appearing full-time with the Vancouver Canucks in 2018-19.

He could make his season debut tonight against the Colorado Avalanche, depending on the status of former Colorado defender Jacob MacDonald. The 30-year-old sustained an undisclosed injury in last night’s 3-2 win against the Winnipeg Jets.

If MacDonald can’t go, Pouliot would be the only healthy defender available on the roster to replace him. Radim Simek is also out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury.

Cicek heads back down to the Barracuda after he served as a scratch for last night’s game. His recall lasted two days.

Latest On Radim Simek

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek did not travel with the team to Winnipeg, according to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Nikolai Knyzhov and Nick Cicek were recalled on Sunday, as the Sharks reshuffle their blueline ahead of their matchup with the Jets. They’ll be looking to put together a bounce-back performance after their squad was thoroughly dismantled by the Washington Capitals after the first period of yesterday’s game.

Simek has been a defense-first member of the Sharks’ blueline since coming over from the Czech league in 2017 as a free agent. He has recorded 28 points in 199 games played since making his NHL debut, and while he averages over 15 minutes of ice time per game for his career, he has struggled with nagging injury issues in recent years. Simek is making $2.25MM against the cap through next season.

San Jose Sharks Recall Nick Cicek, Nikolai Knyzhov

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The San Jose Sharks recalled defensemen Nick Cicek and Nikolai Knyzhov from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda on Sunday, per a team tweet.

As The Athletic’s Corey Masisak notes, the recalls give San Jose some extra defensemen on the roster as they embark on a three-game road swing. Defenseman Radim Simek also left yesterday’s 8-3 loss to Washington, and his status is still unknown.

For Knyzhov, it’s a chance to get into his first NHL games since his breakout campaign in 2020-21. After just three previous games of NHL experience, Knyzhov appeared in all 56 games during the COVID-shortened campaign, scoring 10 points and mostly played alongside Erik Karlsson.

He’s played just 12 games of hockey since then, all coming this year with the Barracuda. A groin injury cost him the entire 2021-22 campaign, and an offseason Achilles injury kept him out through the end of January 2023. He hadn’t recorded a point with the Barracuda, but the defensive-minded Knyzhov will still get a chance to show that he can still play a role in the NHL.

Cicek, 22, has four assists in 16 games with the Sharks this season. Signed this past offseason after an impressive performance on an AHL deal last year, Cicek has slid up to the seventh or eighth spot on the organization’s defense depth chart.

Reimer Was Hoping To Be Traded

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Some players are happy when they’re not traded at the deadline but that’s not the case for Sharks netminder James Reimer.  The veteran told Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group that he was disappointed to not be on the move on deadline day:

Sharks GM Mike Grier acknowledged that he did try to move the 34-year-old but the goalie market was limited; not a single one moved on deadline day.  It also didn’t help that Reimer has struggled this season, posting a career-low .892 SV% in 32 games this season which likely played a role in the lack of interest in the pending unrestricted free agent.

Trade Deadline Roundup: Western Conference

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While trade deadline day was largely a dud in itself, that was because so many moves were made in the days leading up to March 3rd.  With that in mind, here is a recap of the trades made in the Western Conference in the ten days leading up to deadline day to show who all moved where in what was a busy trade period overall.  Players and picks that were acquired and then flipped are only noted for their final destination.

Anaheim Ducks

Acquired: F Brock McGinn, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Chase Priskie, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, D Andrej Sustr, 2024 third-round pick (PIT), 2024 third-round pick (SJ), 2025 fifth-round pick (MIN)

Traded: F Hunter Drew, F Max Golod, D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Austin Strand, D Henry Thrun

Arizona Coyotes

Acquired: D Michael Kesselring, D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber, 2023 first-round pick (OTT), 2023 third-round pick (EDM), 2023 sixth-round pick (CBJ), 2024 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 third-round pick (NYR), 2023 fifth-round pick (VGK), 2026 third-round pick (CAR), 2026 sixth-round pick (OTT)

Traded: F Nick Bjugstad, D Jakob Chychrun, D Cam Dineen, G Jon Gillies, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Dysin Mayo, F Nick Ritchie, D Vili Saarijarvi, D Troy Stecher

Calgary Flames

Acquired: F Dryden Hunt, F Nick Ritchie, D Troy Stecher

Traded: D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Radim Zohorna

Chicago Blackhawks

Acquired: F Joey Anderson, F Anders Bjork, F Hunter Drew, D Andreas Englund, G Anton Khudobin, F Pavel Gogolev, F Max Golod, D Vili Saarijarvi, F Austin Wagner, D Andy Welinski, D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 second-round pick (NYR), 2023 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 first-round pick (TOR), 2025 second-round pick (DAL), 2025 fourth-round pick (NYR), 2026 second-round pick (TOR), 2026 fourth-round pick (OTT)

Traded: F Max Domi, D Jack Johnson, F Patrick Kane, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, G Dylan Wells, D Cooper Zech, 2024 fifth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick

Colorado Avalanche

Acquired: F Lars Eller, D Jack Johnson, G Keith Kinkaid, F Gustav Rydahl

Traded: F Anton Blidh, F Shane Bowers, D Andreas Englund, 2025 second-round pick

Dallas Stars

Acquired: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Max Domi, F Scott Reedy, G Dylan Wells

Traded: F Denis Gurianov, G Anton Khudobin, F Jacob Peterson, 2025 second-round pick

Edmonton Oilers

Acquired: F Nick Bjugstad, D Cam Dineen, D Mattias Ekholm, F Patrik Puistola, 2024 sixth-round pick (NSH)

Traded: D Tyson Barrie, D Michael Kesselring, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick

Los Angeles Kings

Acquired: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, F Zack MacEwen, G Erik Portillo, F Nate Schnarr

Traded: D Frederic Allard, F Brendan Lemieux, G Jonathan Quick, F Austin Wagner, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick

Minnesota Wild

Acquired: D John Klingberg, F Marcus Johansson, F Gustav Nyquist, F Oskar Sundqvist, 2023 second-round pick (VGK), 2024 fifth-round pick (BUF)

Traded: F Jordan Greenway, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Andrej Sustr, F Andrei Svetlakov, 2023 fourth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

Nashville Predators

Acquired: F Rasmus Asplund, D Tyson Barrie, D Cal Foote, F Isaac Ratcliffe, F Austin Rueschhoff, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick (EDM), 2023 second-round pick (PIT), 2023 third-round pick (TB), 2023 fourth-round pick (TB), 2023 fifth-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (WPG), 2024 fourth-round pick (EDM), 2025 first-round pick (TB)

Traded: D Mattias Ekholm, F Mikael Granlund, F Tanner Jeannot, F Nino Niederreiter, 2024 sixth-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick

San Jose Sharks

Acquired: D Arvid Henrikson, F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Nikita Okhotyuk, D Henry Thrun, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (NJ), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT), 2024 second-round pick (NJ), 2024 fourth-round pick (PIT), 2024 seventh-round pick (NJ), 2025 fourth-round pick (WPG),

Traded: F Nick Bonino, G Zacharie Emond, F Michael Eyssimont, D Scott Harrington, D Santeri Hatakka, F Timur Ibragimov, F Timo Meier, D Tony Sund, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick (COL), 2024 fifth-round pick

Seattle Kraken

No trades made

St. Louis Blues

Acquired: F Zach Dean, F Jakub Vrana

Traded: F Ivan Barbashev, F Dylan McLaughlin, 2025 seventh-round pick

Vancouver Canucks

Acquired: F Josh Bloom, D Filip Hronek, F Vitali Kravtsov, 2023 third-round pick (TOR) 2023 fourth-round pick (DET), 2024 fourth-round pick (NJ)

Traded: D Wyatt Kalynuk, F Curtis Lazar, F William Lockwood, D Luke Schenn, D Riley Stillman, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick

Vegas Golden Knights

Acquired: F Ivan Barbashev, F Teddy Blueger, D Dysin Mayo, G Jonathan Quick

Traded: F Zach Dean, F Peter DiLiberatore, G Michael Hutchinson, D Shea Weber, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick

Winnipeg Jets

Acquired: F Nino Niederreiter, F Vladislav Namestnikov

Traded: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

San Jose Sharks Recall William Eklund

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The San Jose Sharks top prospect, William Eklund, is set to return to the NHL. After getting a nine-game trial run last season before heading to play for Djurgardens in his native Sweden, the Sharks have put Eklund in a position to get more NHL games under his belt, recalling him from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

While Eklund’s performance last season for Djurgarden was somewhat uneven (he scored 14 points in 29 games as his side was relegated to Sweden’s second-tier league, HockeyAllsvenskan) he has taken real strides in his development now that he’s on North American ice. Eklund has been a centerpiece offensive generator for the Barracuda, and has scored 17 goals and 41 points in 52 games.

Eklund is a smooth-skating attacker whose play in Sweden last year raised some concerns about his goal-scoring ability, as he often looked deferential with the puck on his stick and finished with just one goal to his name. This season, though, Eklund has taken a meaningful step to add more of a shooting threat to his game and become a real one-timer possibility on the power play.

He’s an exciting attacker in transition and should add some offensive spark to the Sharks lineup. While the Sharks’ season is all but over where the playoffs are concerned, getting a look at Eklund’s progress via this call-up provides some real meaning to the remaining games left on the Sharks’ schedule.

If the Sharks organization wants its fortunes to turn around sooner, rather than later, Eklund’s ability to translate his scoring success in the AHL to the more difficult NHL level will be one of the most important storylines to track.

Eklund has all the tools to be a star scoring winger in the NHL, and his AHL performance this year absolutely supports that line of thinking. With this call-up, now Eklund will get his first extended chance to show what the can do in the most talented hockey league in the world.

Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks Swap Depth Players

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The San Jose Sharks and Dallas Stars have completed a trade to swap AHL centers. The Sharks are sending 23-year-old Scott Reedy to Dallas in exchange for Jacob Peterson. Reedy has been assigned to the Stars’ AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, while Peterson could end up in the NHL thanks to the Sharks’ trades of two forwards today: Vladislav Namestnikov and Nick Bonino.

This deal swaps two 23-year-old centers who have each spent the year with their club’s AHL affiliate, save for one NHL game completed by Peterson this season. As mentioned, the Sharks have shipped out quite a few forwards in recent trades, so this deal could simply be the team preferring so see what Peterson can do in their system rather than call up Reedy, who played 35 games for the big club last season

Reedy, 23, is a fourth-round pick of the Sharks from the 2017 draft who earned last season’s NHL chance after an impressive AHL performance. He finished with 18 goals and 27 points in 38 games, and ended up scoring nine points in 35 NHL games as the Sharks got to test some of their young in-the-system players in NHL games. He’s struggled in the AHL this season, scoring just 13 points in 38 games, prompting this trade.

The Stars get a player with less NHL experience than Peterson, although he could be someone the team liked back when he was a point-per-game player at the University of Minnesota.

For the Sharks, they are receiving a player with 66 games of NHL experience who has been more productive this year at the AHL level. The 2017 fifth-rounder scored 33 points in 46 SHL games for Farjestad BK in 2020-21, leading to him crossing the Atlantic to play in Texas. Peterson scored 17 points in 65 games for the Stars last year, averaging eleven minutes of ice time per night.

While he could instantly step in to replace Reedy in their AHL affiliate’s top-six, Peterson could also be a more experienced option for head coach David Quinn to tap to fill the spots in his lineup vacated by the departures of Michael Eyssimont and Bonino.

Three Players Clear Waivers

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March 3: All three players on waivers yesterday cleared and are eligible to be sent to the American Hockey League. Derrick Pouliot can continue to play with the San Jose Barracuda while Jean-Francois Berube and Evan Fitzpatrick are likely to stay in the minor leagues as well. James Mirtle added there were no new players place on waivers today.

March 2: Three players have hit the waiver wire, all with brand-new contracts in hand. Derrick Pouliot has signed a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks for the rest of the season, after previously playing under an AHL deal. To stay with the San Jose Barracuda, he needs to clear waivers first. Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group reports that Pouliot’s pro-rated contract is worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $250,000 at the AHL level.

Joining him on the wire are Jean-Francois Berube and Evan Fitzpatrick, who have both signed with the Florida Panthers. PuckPedia reports that Berube’s one-year deal is worth $750K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL, while CapFriendly reports Fitzpatrick’s is $75K in the AHL.

Both players from yesterday have cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues.

Pouliot, 29, has been effective with the Barracuda this season, but it is a bit curious to see him sign a contract now. It seems unlikely that the Sharks would need to recall him unless they are involved in trade talks on several other defensemen, or don’t want to bring up some of the other younger names available.

For the Panthers, adding two goaltenders is just in case of an emergency, while Spencer Knight continues in the Player Assistance Program. Without him, Mack Guzda was the only other netminder in the organization signed to an NHL contract.

Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Nick Bonino

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Forward Nick Bonino has been re-acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the San Jose Sharks. The 34-year-old center previously played for the Penguins from 2015 to 2017 and was a key member of their back-to-back Stanley Cup Championship teams in 2016 and 2017.

To make the cap work, the Montreal Canadiens were included as a third party. The full deal looks like this:

  • To Pittsburgh: Nick Bonino
  • To San Jose: Arvid Henriksson, conditional 2024 fifth-round pick (PIT), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT)
  • To Montreal: 50% of Bonino salary, Tony Sund, 2024 fifth-round pick (SJS)

Bonino played center on the team’s third line for both Stanley Cup victories, scoring 18 points in 24 games in 2016 while playing on the “HBK Line” with Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel. The trio gave the Penguins great depth, and Bonino will look to add some depth for them once again.

With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter already lining up down the middle, Bonino likely takes on a fourth-line role this time around. Bonino has ten goals and 19 points in 59 games this season with the Sharks.

For San Jose, adding a couple of draft picks for an expiring contract is exactly the kind of work that needs to continue in a rebuild. Bonino was an important veteran voice in the locker room, but is nearing the end of his career and not much use to a club trying to reorganize around young talent.

The fifth-round pick will turn into a 2024 fourth-round selection if Pittsburgh advances to the Conference Finals this season.

They’ll also grab the rights to Henriksson, who is finishing up a four-year career at Lake Superior State after coming over to North America in 2018. The 25-year-old defenseman was a seventh-round pick by the Canadiens in 2016, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer if not signed to an entry-level contract by the middle of August.

Montreal grabs a pick for playing the middleman and the rights to Sund, an interesting inclusion in a deal like this. The 27-year-old signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks back in 2019-20 but never came over to North America. Now, he is playing with Rogle in the SHL, where he partners with Canadiens 2022 draft pick Adam Engstrom.

There’s a chance that Montreal has spotted Sund as a potential target to sign this summer while watching their young prospect, though his rights will expire at the end of the season anyway, given his age.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman broke the news early Friday morning.

Winnipeg Jets Expected To Acquire Vladislav Namestnikov

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Vladislav Namestnikov’s stay in the Bay Area has ended after just over a day. The San Jose Sharks have traded Namestnikov to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick. TSN’s Darren Dreger notes that this trade takes the Jets out of contention to acquire veteran winger James Van Riemsdyk from the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are already retaining 50% of Namestnikov’s $2.5MM cap hit, meaning he ends up in Winnipeg at a relatively affordable price. The 30-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. The Sharks aren’t retaining any salary on Namestnikov themselves to complete this deal.

The Jets have been on the hunt for a player to reinforce their forward corps, and in acquiring Namestnikov they get a capable, experienced name to work with. Injuries have absolutely ravaged their ranks up front, so this addition comes at an especially important time. He’ll be able to step into their lineup and immediately upgrade their bottom six.

Is Namestnikov going to meaningfully impact the Jets’ odds of winning a Stanley Cup this season? No, probably not. But he’s a veteran of over 600 NHL games with some playoff experience as well.

He fared decently well as a rental addition last year, scoring five points in 15 games for the Dallas Stars, and finishing his season with 16 goals and 30 points.

This year, his production is down, and he has only six goals and 15 points in 57 games, but with a more regular bottom-six role in Winnipeg, he could see his numbers tick up.

At the very least, he’ll be able to capably handle 12 to 15 minutes per night for coach Rick Bowness and could even see some penalty-killing time if necessary, as he did when he was a member of the Detroit Red Wings last season. For the price of a fourth-rounder in 2025 and as a no-strings-attached rental, adding Namestnikov should definitely help.

For the Sharks, this deal has essentially allowed them to turn a waiver claim into a mid-round draft choice. While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the Sharks know they won’t be competing for a Stanley Cup any time soon.

Getting a solid draft pick in exchange for a player the team had no long-term plans for is a sound bit of business for GM Mike Grier, and this is as a whole a trade that should leave fans of both teams satisfied.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first on the trade, while The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was first to report the compensation heading back to San Jose. 

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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