Numerous San Jose Sharks players didn’t join the team for his or her final road trip of the 12 months, ending their respective seasons and, for a few of them, likely their tenure with the organization.
Forwards Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Filip Zadina and Alexander Barabanov, forward/defender Jacob MacDonald, defenseman Jan Rutta and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood all didn’t travel with the Sharks, who face the Edmonton Oilers tonight and the Calgary Flames on Thursday regular season.
The injuries led the Sharks to usher in forward Danil Gushchin, defenseman Jack Thompson and goalkeeper Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda on emergency loan terms. Gushchin and Thompson will play tonight against the Oilers and Romanov is an choice to make his NHL debut Thursday in Calgary.
Labanc and Rutta each played within the Sharks' final home game against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and it was not immediately clear why they didn’t travel with the Sharks, although a team spokesman said several players were coping with injuries.
Blackwood began Saturday's game and stopped 32 of 38 shots within the Sharks' 5-6 loss to Minnesota. Sharks coach David Quinn said Blackwood was “battling something.” “For some time now, actually,” the team recalled Romanov.
Hoffman had played in only one among the Sharks' last five games before Monday. He returned from a concussion on March 28 after missing eight games. He played in the next 4 games for the Sharks before being dropped from the squad again.
Labanc, Hoffman, Barabanov and MacDonald are all pending unrestricted free agents, and Zadina is a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights. Both Rutta, 33, and Blackwood, 27, are signed for an additional season.
It seems unlikely that the rebuilding Sharks would re-sign the underperforming Labanc (28), Hoffman (34) or Barabanov (29) as they proceed to rotate their roster and look to get younger and, in some ways, larger. All three had disappointing years from a statistical perspective, combining for just 45 points in 158 games.
The Sharks must make a choice on the 24-year-old Zadina, who was injured before the team's game against the Calgary Flames last Tuesday and missed subsequent games against the Seattle Kraken and Wild.
Zadina set a brand new profession high with 13 goals this season, primarily being deployed as a deep striker. After parting ways with the Detroit Red Wings, he signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Sharks last July, and his scoring rate is the third highest amongst players still with the team.
Zadina also finished the sport with 23 points, one point shy of his profession high, and averaged 13:20 of ice time per game as he had loads of time on San Jose's fourth line. Before his injury, he scored only one goal in his last 13 games.
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