Updates On Markus Nutivaara, Eetu Makiniemi
Veteran defenseman Markus Nutivaara didn’t end up playing a single game with the San Jose Sharks this season, despite signing a one-year, $1.5MM deal to be a blueline regular. Injury trouble was the reason, and it’s issues staying healthy that cost Nutivaara the 2021-22 campaign as well, as he played just one game for the Florida Panthers that season. Today, Sharks general manager Mike Grier gave the media, including The Athletic’s Corey Masisiak, a clearer look at Nutivaara’s situation. According to Grier, it was a hip injury that kept Nutivaara out for the whole season, and Masisiak adds that it could be a career-ending injury for the 275-game veteran.
- Grier also updated the media (via Bay Area News Group’s Curtis Pashelka) on the status of another player: Eetu Makiniemi. Makiniemi suffered a labrum tear, and was shut down for the season instead of making a comeback attempt in order to help him get ready for fall training camp. Makiniemi last played on February 11th, stopping 27 of 31 shots in a shootout loss to the Calgary Wranglers. The 2017 fourth-round pick was acquired by the Sharks in last summer’s Brent Burns trade and posted a .900 save percentage in 22 contests for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.
Hertl Won't Play At Worlds But Sturm Will
- Sharks winger Tomas Hertl won’t be suiting up at the Worlds next month, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). The 29-year-old struggled defensively in what he called a challenging season but reached the 60-point mark for the second straight year and third time in his career while winning nearly 55% of his faceoffs. His 63 points placed Hertl third on the team in scoring. Meanwhile, in a separate tweet, Pashelka notes that center Nico Sturm will play for Germany in the tournament, his first time representing his home country. The 27-year-old had a career year this season, collecting 14 goals and 12 assists in 74 games.
San Jose Sharks Sign Artem Guryev
The San Jose Sharks have signed a second 2021 draft pick to his entry-level deal today: fifth-rounder Artem Guryev.
Like today’s other signing, Ethan Cardwell, the Sharks’ exclusive rights to sign Guryev were set to expire on June 1st. After taking nearly all their allotted time to evaluate Guryev and determine whether to extend him an entry-level contract offer, the Sharks have ultimately decided he had earned the invitation to join their organization.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier had the following to say about the signing:
Artem is a gritty and competitive defender. He showed continuous improvement in the OHL and uses his size to his advantage against opponents.
Guryev, a Moscow native, will turn 20 in May. He’s a big six-foot-four, 215-pound defenseman and that size makes him an intriguing project player for the Sharks’ developmental staff. Guryev was included in the Flint Firebird’s blockbuster OHL trade alongside New York Rangers first-rounder Brennan Othmann, and ended up scoring 15 points in 38 games.
While Guryev’s offensive game is still a work in progress, he is, as Grier alluded to, an imposing physical presence. That will help him make an early impression in professional hockey, and likely make him an exciting player to watch for Barracuda fans.
His ultimate NHL upside is still an unknown, but now with this entry-level deal in hand, Guryev can either return to Flint for a final OHL season or turn pro with the Barracuda next year, looking to help them improve on what has been a disappointing 2022-23 campaign.
Sharks Reassign Thomas Bordeleau, Tristen Robins
- The San Jose Sharks reassigned forwards Thomas Bordeleau and Tristen Robins, two of the team’s top forward prospects, back to the San Jose Barracuda. The Barracuda are eliminated from postseason contention and have two games left in their season, each against the Tucson Roadrunners. Both players have had productive years, with Bordeleau scoring 22 goals and 41 points in 64 games and Robins netting 17 goals and 38 points.
San Jose Sharks Sign Ethan Cardwell
The San Jose Sharks have announced the signing of prospect forward Ethan Cardwell to a three-year entry-level contract.
The Sharks’ exclusive rights to sign Cardwell were set to expire on June 1st, which would have allowed him to re-enter the draft. That won’t happen now, though, as he’s earned the right to make his pro debut with the organization that selected him 121st overall at the 2021 draft.
San Jose general manager Mike Grier had the following to say about the signing:
Ethan had a significant improvement in his OHL career this past year being one of the go-to players for his team in nearly all situations. He has the ability to produce offensively and has helped be a driving force on a quality team as Barrie continues their postseason play.
Cardwell is a right-shot center who will turn 21 years old in late August. As an OHLer playing for the Barrie Colts, Cardwell’s junior career was disrupted by the pandemic-related cancellation of the 2020-21 OHL season.
Instead of getting the chance to be a leading player on an OHL franchise in the lead-up to the draft, Cardwell, like many other OHLers, went overseas. He played for Surahammars IF, a club in HockeyEttan, which is the third level of Swedish hockey below HockeyAllsvenskan.
His time in Sweden went well, and he scored 27 points in just 18 games, but without an OHL season his chance to truly rise on draft boards had been lost. He was selected in the fourth round, and went back to Barrie to play two more seasons.
Last year, Cardwell scored 23 goals and 58 points in 49 games, and then this season his production ramped up quite a bit to the tune of 43 goals and 90 points in 62 games. Cardwell’s strong OHL performances earned him recognition as the Sharks organization’s Prospect of the Year, and is likely what has earned him this entry-level deal.
With such a major offensive explosion last season, it’s likely that Cardwell is best served developmentally by turning pro in the fall. Playing in the AHL is quite a bit of a step up from the OHL in terms of competition, but Cardwell has risen to the occasion throughout his junior career and will be a prospect to watch for Sharks fans moving forward.
Marc-Édouard Vlasic Won’t Require Surgery
NBC Sports reporter Sheng Peng tweeted today that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic won’t require surgery for his lower body injury. Peng had reported earlier in the week that Vlasic would be sidelined for the remainder of the year and that he wouldn’t accompany the Sharks on their final road trip. Little is known about what is ailing Vlasic, but Peng also mentioned that the injury is a shorter-term issue.
Vlasic and the Sharks have had a forgettable few seasons. San Jose is 22-42-16 on the season and haven’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2018-19 season when they went to the Western Conference Finals. That playoff push capped off a run of the Sharks making the playoffs in 19 out of 21 seasons. Since that time, they have missed the postseason four years in a row. Unheard of for a franchise that had become accustomed to playoff hockey every spring.
For his part, Vlasic hasn’t topped 25 points since the 2018-19 season and has transitioned into more of a depth role. This season Vlasic had just a single goal and 18 points while taking up $7MM in cap space. The past couple of summers have seen talk of Vlasic being a buyout candidate, and with three years left on his contract and a partial no-movement clause, it seems unlikely that San Jose would find a taker for the 36-year-old.
The Sharks are sure to have an interesting summer as they move deeper into a rebuild. They have a middle of the pack farm system, a few desirable NHL assets, but have yet to build up much in the way of draft capital. They are at the beginning of what could be a very long and painful rebuild, but could jump start things if they choose to move defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic Won't Return This Season
- Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic did not accompany the team on their season-ending road trip, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, meaning his campaign has come to an early end. The 36-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in their home finale against Edmonton over the weekend. Vlasic saw his playing time increase by more than two minutes per game this season to 17:28 but with a $7MM AAV for three more years after this one, San Jose still didn’t get a great return on this contract this season.
San Jose Sharks Reassign Adam Raska
April 11: San Jose reassigned Raska to the Barracuda today, per the team, ending his five-day stint with the team. The 21-year-old recorded blanks across the board in three games, including an even plus/minus rating, while registering just one shot on goal and 13 hits.
April 6: The San Jose Sharks have added another young forward to their group, recalling Adam Raska from the AHL. He’ll join them ahead of tonight’s game against the Colorado Avalanche, with four more matches following it before the end of the season.
Raska, 21, is not your standard late-season call-up. While these games are often filled with high-scoring youngsters, trying to get their feet wet at the professional level, Raska is an in-your-face bottom-sixer that has shown very little offensive upside in the AHL.
Through 53 games for the San Jose Barracuda this season, he has just four goals and 11 points, while racking up 121 penalty minutes. That includes six fighting majors, as the young forward never backs down from a confrontation.
An easy player to root for, Raska was a seventh-round pick in 2020 that plays with unlimited energy. During his five-game stint with the Sharks last season, he racked up 15 hits and fought veteran defenseman, Mark Giordano.
While the likes of William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau may be the future of the team’s offense, Raska could have a role as a fourth-liner soon.
San Jose Sharks Sign Magnus Chrona
Another college goaltender has turned pro, as Magnus Chrona signs his two-year entry-level contract. The deal will start in 2023-24, meaning he won’t burn the first season immediately.
Sharks’ general manager Mike Grier released a statement:
Magnus has had an impressive and productive college career with the University of Denver, highlighted by a National Championship in 2022. He brings size and athleticism to the crease, along with a strong compete level. We are happy to have him and excited to watch his game develop.
Chrona, 22, was actually a fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2018, but the Sharks acquired his rights in 2021 in a deal that sent Fredrik Claesson east. The Swedish goaltender played four years at DU, meaning he could have become an unrestricted free agent this summer, had he waited until the middle of August to sign.
Instead, he’ll stay with a Sharks organization that is rather thin at the goaltending position. Veterans James Reimer and Aaron Dell will be unrestricted free agents this summer and seem unlikely candidates to return, while Eetu Makiniemi and Strauss Mann are both scheduled to become RFAs. Kaapo Kahkonen, the only other goalie signed for next season, is coming off his worst statistical season in North America and is also a UFA in 2024.
For a big, athletic goaltender like Chrona, significant playing time could be available in the minor leagues to help him continue his development and grow into a professional netminder. Whether that turns into a valuable NHL asset remains to be seen, but he is certainly worth the low risk of an ELC.
San Jose Sharks Recall Nikolai Knyzhov, Tristen Robins
The San Jose Sharks have recalled defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov and forward Tristen Robins to their NHL roster, according to a team announcement.
Knyzhov, a veteran of 68 career NHL games, last played in the NHL on March 23rd, while Robins, the 56th overall pick at the 2020 draft, hasn’t yet made his NHL debut.
This move comes after the Barracuda were eliminated from playoff contention last night, and they do not play another game until Friday. Seeing as the Sharks play three games this week and finish their season Thursday, these two recalls are a chance for the team to give some NHL games to players without costing them the chance to play in any AHL contests as well.
In 2020-21, Knyzhov looked like a promising up-and-coming defenseman who was playing an increasingly important role with the Sharks. That promising trajectory saw a major interruption because Knyzhov tore his Achilles tendon, and Knyzhov is still working his way back to where he was before suffering that injury.
He looked to be on the verge of establishing himself as an NHL regular, and now he’s played the majority of his games this year in the AHL (19) compared to the NHL (9). Knyzhov’s recent $1.25MM AAV contract extension was a show of faith from the organization to him, and these last few NHL games could help inform how the organization sees him heading into next year’s training camp.
As for Robins, this recall puts him in a position to play his first NHL game. The 21-year-old native of London, England was a second-round selection by the Sharks on the back of an impressive 2019-20 campaign for the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL. Robins scored 33 goals and 73 points in 62 games, and then scored 23 points in the WHL’s shortened 2020-21 season.
Last year, Robins had another strong campaign for the Blades, and showed himself to be ready for the rigors of pro hockey. Robins’ 17 goals and 38 points for the Barracuda this season is a solid showing for a young AHL rookie, and he ranks fifth on his team in scoring.
With the Sharks currently in the midst of a rebuild and looking for players who can be part of their next competitive core, this recall could allow Robins to play in his first NHL game and enter the offseason with a clearer picture and firsthand understanding of what it takes to become a full-time NHLer.