- San Jose Sharks forward Alexander Barabanov is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Sharks coach David Quinn told the media, including Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group. Though the injury is not specified, day-to-day status should mean the injury won’t have a lasting impact that would keep the 28-year-old from being ready for opening night. The forward, who had 39 points in 70 games last season, projects to be among a few key sources of offense this year for the Sharks. Not surprisingly given this news, Barabanov is not in the lineup for tonight’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings.
Sharks Rumors
Snapshots: Czechia, Columbus, Landeskog
The Czech Foreign Ministry has told the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators that they will not welcome Russian-born players into the country for the Global Series games, scheduled to be held on October 7 and 8 in Prague. A report from the Associated Press confirms that a letter has been sent to the NHL explaining that visas are not to be issued to Russian players because of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
However, deputy commissioner Bill Daly has expressed “no concern” to the AP about players traveling to Czechia, and Sharks general manager Mike Grier told reporters including Corey Masisak of The Athletic that the NHL is handling the situation. Grier also explained that his position is “we all go or we don’t go,” suggesting he will not take the Sharks to Prague if Alexander Barabanov and Evgeny Svechnikov, the team’s two healthy Russian players, are not allowed to participate.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have made several changes in their hockey operations department, naming Trevor Timmins assistant director of amateur scouting, and hiring Marshall Davidson, Dale Derkatch, and Roman Polak (previously reported) as scouts. Zac Urback has been promoted to director of hockey analytics, and Mike Eaves, formerly the head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, will now serve as a pro scout.
- Gabriel Landeskog “won’t skate anytime soon” according to Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, who told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic that the captain is still dealing with an injury from last season. Landeskog is expected to miss the start of the year.
Kurtis Gabriel Retires From Pro Hockey
In a Twitter post Monday, forward Kurtis Gabriel announced his retirement from professional hockey after a nine-year career.
Gabriel, 29, spent last season with the Toronto Marlies and Rockford IceHogs in the AHL, also getting two NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. He also spent time in the Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers, and San Jose Sharks organizations.
He retires with 371 AHL games under his belt, including 72 points and a whopping 639 penalty minutes. He had five points in 51 NHL games, totalling 153 penalty minutes as well.
With his 6’4″, 212-pound frame, Gabriel was one of the few prototypical enforcers left in pro hockey. Off the ice, he’s a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. Well-loved wherever he played, Gabriel promises to have many post-career options if he wants to stay in the game.
The Newmarket, Ontario native was originally a third-round draft pick of the Wild in 2013.
Finding A Match For A Nils Lundkvist Trade
With Rangers prospect Nils Lundkvist’s trade request now well-known, efforts continue to find the youngster a new home for the upcoming season. If the belief that he won’t attend training camp in New York holds true, that could be a trigger point for GM Chris Drury to avoid any distractions heading into camp while getting a chance to integrate whichever player or prospect they get for the rearguard at training camp.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the potential suitors for Lundkvist. Since he’s looking for a team that will have a chance to give him an NHL opportunity in the short-term, the focus will be on those squads although there undoubtedly will be others that will kick the tires. Los Angeles is a team that has been speculated as a landing spot with their deep prospect pool but they don’t really have an opening on the right side of their back end for him to slide into so they don’t appear among the teams below.
Detroit: The Red Wings have two right-side rearguards in place in Calder winner Moritz Seider and young veteran Filip Hronek. There are questions behind those two, however. Gustav Lindstrom has yet to establish himself as a full-time player while Mark Pysyk will miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn Achilles tendon. If Lundkvist was to go there and do well, it could free them up to move Hronek who is the type of blueliner that could yield a nice return for the Red Wings.
Detroit has a couple of young centers that the Rangers would likely show some interest in. One is Joe Veleno who is close to being ready for full-time duty while Jonatan Berggren, who was picked just five spots after Lundkvist in 2018, had a very promising first season in North America in 2021-22. They also have an extra second-round pick at their disposal if New York ultimately decides that a draft pick is the right return. Arthur Staple of The Athletic reported a few days ago (subscription link) that at least one team had a second-rounder on the table in an offer for the blueliner.
Montreal: At the moment, the right side of the back end for the Canadiens is David Savard, Justin Barron, and Chris Wideman. The only established full-time player out of that group is Savard. Montreal is likely to use several prospects throughout the season (Jordan Harris and Kaiden Guhle among them) but those are left-shot options, not righties like Lundkvist. It’s plausible that Lundkvist could jump into their lineup right away. Jeff Gorton, who was GM at the time Lundkvist was drafted, now works in Montreal’s front office.
While the Rangers wouldn’t be likely to get a return that could help them right away, Montreal’s prospect pool is one of the deeper ones around the league with recent center picks like Jan Mysak, Owen Beck, and Riley Kidney potentially being of interest. They could also deal from the left side of their defensive pool if New York would prefer a defenseman in return with Harris, Mattias Norlinder, and prospect Jayden Struble being possible options.
San Jose: The only established must-play right-shot defender on their roster is Erik Karlsson. Matthew Benning got a four-year deal but could bounce in and out of the lineup while Ryan Merkley could stand to spend more time in the minors before becoming an everyday regular. With Brent Burns not really being replaced after his trade to Carolina, there’s a definite need for a second defenseman to help shoulder the offensive load. Worth noting, one of New York’s former top scouts, Chris Morehouse, is now heading up San Jose’s amateur scouting ranks. He wasn’t there when Lundkvist was drafted but he’ll have some extra familiarity with the blueliner.
Center Thomas Bordeleau didn’t look out of place in his brief NHL stint late last season and acquitted himself well at the World Championship as well and is the type of young center that might entice the Rangers. Merkley himself could be an option if Drury decides to look for a similar player, one that will be more amenable to being in the minors to start the season. The Sharks don’t have an extra second-round pick but the one that they do have projects to be a good one based on the state of their roster heading into training camp.
Seattle: While the addition of Justin Schultz lessens their need for an extra offensive defenseman, the third RD spot is far from secure with William Borgen spending a lot of time as a healthy scratch last season. That’s a spot that Lundkvist could conceivably battle for or least position himself to be the first one recalled.
The Kraken don’t have the deepest of prospect pools to work with since they’ve only been around for two drafts but they do have three second-rounders for the 2023 draft. Parting with one for a potentially near-ready young defenseman would be a defensible move for the second-year squad.
Vancouver: The Canucks have been busy this summer when it comes to their forward group but nothing has been done with their back end yet and it’s not for a lack of trying. Vancouver already has an offensive weapon in Quinn Hughes but someone like Lundkvist could potentially help run a second power play group and perhaps take some minutes from veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is getting near the point where he will need to be managed more carefully. With Tucker Poolman’s availability uncertain for training camp, there’s a spot on the right side of their back end up for grabs.
As for possible trade options, Linus Karlsson is coming off a strong SHL season and shouldn’t be too far away from being NHL-ready which would give New York another option down the middle. Alternatively, winger Nils Hoglander is someone that, on the surface, might be on the fringes of making Vancouver’s roster with their additions on the wing. Perhaps there’s a trade to be made featuring those two?
Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list and other teams will inquire but if Lundkvist and agent Claude Lemieux’s intention is to have him start the upcoming season in the NHL, that does limit the number of viable opportunities for a trade if the Rangers decide to move him before training camp.
They don’t have to move Lundkvist, however. He’s still waiver-exempt and even if he doesn’t want to report to the minors, they can send him there and suspend him for not reporting. If it’s going to be more of a drawn-out process, a loan overseas (as they did last year with Vitali Kravtsov) is also on the table. There are certainly non-trade options they’ll want to consider but if they do decide to go ahead with a trade, they’ll have some viable teams to consider.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
William Eklund To Play In North America
- 2021 seventh-overall pick William Eklund spent most of last season playing in the SHL, but that won’t be where he’s playing in 2022-23. As relayed by Corey Masisiak of The Athletic, Eklund has said that he is “definitely” staying in North America and will either play for the Sharks in the NHL or the San Jose Barracuda in the AHL, wherever the organization deems he should be. Eklund endured a difficult campaign last year as his SHL club, Djurgardens, was relegated to the Allsvenskan. His choice to make the transition to North American hockey is wise, as he’ll have the chance to continue his development under the watchful eye of the Sharks’ development staff.
Evander Kane, San Jose Sharks Reach Settlement
11:55 AM: Seravalli has elaborated on the specific nature of the settlement. He reports that Kane will receive a “one-time payment” from San Jose, and as a result, a “cap penalty” will be retroactively applied to last season’s salary cap calculation for the Sharks, who finished last season with just under $5MM in space.
Presumably, the nature of this settlement means the cap implications of the agreement are entirely in the past and will not have an impact on GM Mike Grier’s roster-building decisions moving forward.
11:04 AM: One of the oddities of this NHL offseason was the cloud of a grievance hanging over Evander Kane, the San Jose Sharks, and the Edmonton Oilers. Kane had filed for wrongful termination of his previous contract with the Sharks, while the Oilers had signed him anyway, with the hope that things could be settled and Kane could continue to play in Edmonton.
It appears as though that will be the case, as Kevin Weekes of ESPN reports that a verbal settlement has been reached between the Sharks and Kane. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff expands on the details, explaining that the Sharks are expected to face a salary cap charge because of the settlement, though are mitigating the risk that an arbitration decision could have brought.
When his contract was terminated, Kane had three years and $19MM in salary remaining. His new four-year contract with Edmonton is worth $16.5MM over those same three seasons, leaving a disparity of $2.5MM. Darren Dreger of TSN tweets that the settlement is expected to “come close” to making up that difference, though it is not clear how the cap charge will be applied at this point.
Even if it is just $2.5MM spread over three seasons, it is meaningful. The Sharks currently have less than $250K left under the cap ceiling with a projected 23-man roster, meaning any additional penalties will make things tight for this season. Of course, that is the much-preferred option to having Kane’s entire contract on the books, which would have been possible if he won the grievance and was reinstated.
The Sharks moved on from Kane quite some time ago, stashing him in the minor leagues for the start of last season until they could terminate the contract. He then joined the Oilers on a one-year deal and scored 22 goals and 39 points in 43 games down the stretch. He re-signed with Edmonton and now carries a cap hit of $5.125MM through 2025-26.
Labanc Fully Healthy Heading Into Training Camp
Sharks winger Kevin Labanc has fully recovered from the shoulder woes that plagued him last season and he will be ready for training camp later this month, notes Corey Masisak of The Athletic (Twitter link). He originally suffered the injury back in December and while it looked like he might be able to return late in the year, that didn’t wind up happening. The 26-year-old had just three goals and three assists in 21 games before the injury, leading to some speculation that he could have been a buyout candidate for San Jose this summer although they obviously didn’t go that route. With two years left on his contract that carries a $4.725MM AAV, the Sharks will be counting on a bounce-back year from their second-highest-paid winger.
San Jose Sharks Sign Scott Harrington To PTO
The number of PTO agreements signed today grows to four. The San Jose Sharks have announced the signing of defenseman Scott Harrington to a professional tryout agreement.
The Sharks have undergone a significant roster transformation in new GM Mike Grier’s first offseason, seeing a franchise face in Brent Burns depart and new NHL-quality players such as Matt Benning, Luke Kunin, and Oskar Lindblom enter the fold. With this PTO, Harrington joins the competition for a job on new coach David Quinn’s blueline.
Harrington, 29, was a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2011 draft and has over 200 games of NHL experience, almost entirely with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Harrington spent most of last season with the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, although he did get into seven NHL contests averaging 14 and a half minutes per game.
The six-foot-two Harrington doesn’t have much offense to his game, but he did see extensive time on the Monsters’ penalty kill and has experience as a defensive specialist. He’ll head to the Sharks camp to compete with Jaycob Megna, Radim Simek, and Markus Nutivaara for a spot on the lower end of the team’s defensive lineup.
San Jose Sharks Announce Rookie Tournament Roster
- We recently covered how the San Jose Sharks would be hosting a tournament for prospects from six NHL teams. Today, each of those six teams (the Sharks, Kings, Ducks, Coyotes, Avalanche, and Golden Knights) announced their rosters for the camp. There are quite a few notable names to look forward to at that tournament, including first-round picks Quinton Byfield, Mason McTavish, William Eklund, Conor Geekie, Oskar Olausson, and Brendan Brisson, among others.
NHL Modifies Major Penalty Review For 2022-23
There appears to be only one change to the NHL Rulebook for 2022-23, but it’s one that addresses some significant controversies from the past few seasons. According to a report from Scouting The Refs, referees will now be able to nullify a major penalty after a video review.
The updated rule, listed as Rule 20.6, is as follows:
The Referee shall have the following options after video review of his own call: (i) confirming his original Major Penalty call; (ii) reducing his original Major Penalty call to a lesser penalty; or (iii) rescinding the original Major Penalty altogether.
Prior to this change, a referee only had the option to reduce a major penalty to a two-minute penalty of the same infraction. It’s important to note that this change does not apply to match penalties.
This modification draws on a rule originally instituted for the 2019-20 season, which allowed referees to perform a video review of any major penalty as called on the ice. While obviously never stated as such, the rule was introduced in response to the controversial major penalty called against Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin for cross-checking then San Jose Sharks forward Joe Pavelski. The call, which occurred in the third period of Game 7 in a 2019 First Round series between the two rivals, directly changed the outcome of the game. The Sharks, who were down 3-0, scored four unanswered goals on the five-minute power-play. San Jose proceeded to win the game in overtime, 5-4.
It was widely viewed after the call that the incident was accidental and not deserving of a major penalty. The fallout even led to the league apologizing to the Golden Knights organization privately after the fact.