Sharks News & Notes (3/23/21)

 There have been some news and trade rumors surrounding the Sharks that have been released recently. Here they are: 

• Bob Boughner has been fined $5k, while Kurtis Gabriel has been fined $3k and the Sharks as a whole were fined $25k after an altercation that occurred during warm-ups Monday night between Kurtis Gabriel and Kurtis MacDermid. The altercation during warm-ups started when Gabriel cross-checked MacDermid. The two were also seen exchanging words during warm-ups, which led to them dropping the gloves and fighting during the first period of Monday night's game. There have been at least a few other instances this season where Kurtis Gabriel has gotten into altercations with opponents before and during games. 
• The Sharks are looking into trading Marcus Sorensen before this year's trade deadline, which occurs on April 12. Sorensen has gained some interest from a few teams in the North Division, such as the Calgary Flames. He is on the final year of his current two-year deal and becomes an unrestricted free agent this offseason. So far this season, Sorensen has a goal and two assists for three points in 17 games.
  
• Reports suggest that Patrick Marleau would "seriously consider" a trade to a contender before the deadline if it means he can get another opportunity to chase his first Stanley Cup. However, it has yet to be determined if he will be dealt before the deadline. This is currently Patty's third stint with the Sharks. He was in a similar scenario last season when the Sharks were out of the playoff picture and they traded him to the Penguins before the deadline. Marleau is set to break Gordie Howe's all-time record for the most games played in the NHL April 19 against the Golden Knights in Vegas, which will be one week after the trade deadline. It remains to be seen if Patty remains with the Sharks when he ultimately breaks that record, but it would be quite unusual to see him break that record in a different uniform. 
• The NHL has announced some revisions to their format of the draft lottery. Starting this year, the team finishing dead last in the league and with the least amount of points won't be drafting lower than third overall. Beginning next year, there will be 11 teams instead of 16 who will be able to win the draft lottery, and no team can win the draft lottery more than twice within a five-year span. These revisions should make things more fair for teams participating in the draft lottery and from the standpoint of the entire league, but there will still be some fans who will complain about this and say the draft lottery is rigged. 

Stay tuned to CPF Hockey for more Sharks news and updates. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NBC Sports