Sharks 2023-24 Game 64 Recap: Flyers 3, Sharks 2 (3/12/24)

 The Sharks open their final lengthy road trip of the season with a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. 

The Flyers opened the scoring early in the first period via Joel Farabee, while Filip Zadina scored his first goal of the game in the final minute of the first period to even it up at one. Assists on Zadina’s first goal of the game went to Luke Kunin and Alexander Barabanov. Near the midway point of the second period, Morgan Frost scored to put Philadelphia back ahead by one, while Filip Zadina scored his second goal and equalizer about four minutes later to tie it up at two, with Kunin and Klim Kostin assisting on Zadina’s second goal of the game. Early in the third period, the Flyers would score the game-winner via Owen Tippett to put them up 3-2, which occurred after a delayed penalty call against the Sharks that brought the extra attacker on the ice for the Flyers, in which the Sharks’ defenders were caught puck watching. 

Magnus Chrona finished his night with 38 saves on 41 shots against. In addition, Mike Hoffman was out after sustaining an upper-body injury in Saturday’s win over the Senators, and Jan Rutta missed his second straight contest due to a lower-body injury. 

Filip Zadina and Luke Kunin had great performances tonight, but the rest of the team as a whole couldn’t get the job done. With the Chicago Blackhawks’ 7-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks now have sole possession of last place overall in the entire NHL. In addition, with the Vegas Golden Knights’ 5-4 OT win over the Seattle Kraken, the Sharks have officially been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention for the fifth straight season, which we all saw coming from a mile away due to how this season has gone for them. Team Teal’s next stop on their current road trip is in Pittsburgh on Thursday against the Penguins at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: San Jose Mercury News, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 63 Recap: Sharks 2, Senators 1 (3/9/24)

 The Sharks’ third-longest losing streak and one of their roughest weeks in franchise history has come to an end after the Sharks defeated the Ottawa Senators 2-1 Saturday night. 

 All it took for the Sharks to win this game was Thomas Bordeleau’s first two-goal performance at the NHL level. These goals were scored on two separate power plays early in the first period and late in the second period. Mikael Granlund assisted on both Bordeleau goals, while Fabian Zetterlund assisted on the first Bordeleau goal and William Eklund assisted on the second Bordeleau goal. The only goal scored by the Senators in this game was via Tim Stutzle just past the nine-minute mark of the second period. 

Besides the two goals from Bordeleau, Magnus Chrona registered his first NHL win, compiling 31 saves on 32 shots against. In addition, earlier today prior to this game, the Sharks called up Jacob MacDonald from the Barracuda. There was also a lawsuit filed against the team regarding an ugly and disgusting scenario involving one of the former Jr. Sharks coaches, but I don't want to discuss it here because I hate hearing about stuff like this and viewers will find it disturbing. 

Overall, this win to end their nine-game skid restored some faith in this Sharks team. I wasn’t really expecting a victory today, but an improbable win like this feels great from confidence and moral standpoints nonetheless. Team Teal will embark on its last lengthy road trip of the season, with the first stop in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Tuesday at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NHL App, Multiple Sources via X 

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Sharks 2024 Trade Deadline Day Recap

 The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has now passed, and the rebuilding Sharks have completed five trades today, more than any other team and including one shocker that no one saw coming. There's plenty to cover in this recap post, so let's begin: 

First, I plan to cover every trade in sorta chronological order and based on when each trade became official. The first Sharks deal of 2024 Trade Deadline Day acquired forward Klim Kostin from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Radim Simek and the Devils' 2024 seventh-round pick. Here we have a trade where both players involved needed a change of scenery more than anything. Kostin has three goals and one assist for four points in 33 games with the Red Wings this season and set a career-best 21 points, 11 goals, 10 assists, and two game-winning goals as a member of the Edmonton Oilers during the 2022-23 season. In total, Klim Kostin has 19 goals and 17 assists for 36 points in 136 career NHL games split between the Red Wings, Oilers, and St. Louis Blues, along with 34 goals, 58 assists, and 92 points in 207 career AHL games with the Bakersfield Condors, Springfield Thunderbirds, and San Antonio Rampage. As for Simek, he spent this season stuck in the AHL with the Barracuda, and this trade helps to clear some of the logjam at defense in the Sharks organization, recording four goals and 12 assists for 16 points in 40 games. In total, Simek has seven goals and 22 assists for 29 points in 209 career NHL games with the Sharks, along with 11 goals and 34 assists for 45 points in 109 career AHL games with the Barracuda. He was also named captain of the Barracuda on February 2 and the Sharks Rookie of the Year during the 2018-19 season. 

Next up, the Sharks traded defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk to the Calgary Flames for a conditional fifth-round pick that originally belonged to the Blackhawks. San Jose will receive the highest of Chicago's selection that the Blackhawks own at the time of the draft. During his tenure with the Sharks since being acquired from the Devils in the Timo Meier trade over a year ago, Okhotiuk totaled one goal and seven assists for eight points in 43 games, along with one assist in five AHL games with the Barracuda. I wasn't the biggest fan of Okhotiuk when he was with the Sharks, as it didn't seem like he contributed much to the success of Team Teal, so I don't carry any strong feelings regarding this specific deal.

The third Sharks trade of the day saw San Jose acquire goalie Devin Cooley from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round pick originally owned by the Capitals. This specific deal was made to shore up goaltending depth in the Sharks organization with Mackenzie Blackwood currently injured, the next trade in this post that I will explain shortly, ensuring that Magnus Chrona doesn't have to carry such a heavy workload in net, and Eetu Makiniemi not ready to take the next step in his development. A native of Los Gatos and a former member of the Jr. Sharks in 2011-12, 2013-14, and 2014-15, Cooley compiled a 6-6-2 record, a 3.77 goals-against average, and an .891 save percentage with the Rochester Americans in the AHL this season. In total, Devin Cooley has a 32-24-6 record, 3.16 goals-against average, and a .900 save percentage in 66 AHL games split between Rochester, the Milwaukee Admirals, and Chicago Wolves.

The next-to-last Sharks trade of the day saw San Jose ship goalie Kaapo Kahkonen to the New Jersey Devils for goalie Vitek Vanecek and a 2025 seventh-round pick. Kahkonen was decent at times throughout this season so far, but received little to no support from his offense and defense most nights he was in the crease for the Sharks, compiling a 6-20-3 record with a 3.36 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 31 games. On the other hand, Vanecek had a bit of a down year with the Devils this season and is currently injured and may not return at all this season, compiling a 17-9-3 record with a 3.18 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage in 32 games. He had his best season in the NHL so far in 2022-23 with the Devils, posting a 33-11-4 record with a 2.45 GAA and a .911 SV% along with three shutouts and a career-long ten-game win streak from December 30, 2022 to February 6, 2023. In total, Vanecek has a 91-42-17 record, .905 SV%, 2.70 GAA, and nine shutouts in 163 career NHL games split between the Devils and Washington Capitals. Kahkonen is a pending unrestricted free agent at season's end, while Vanecek has one more season on his current contract.

Last but not least, the blockbuster that came out of nowhere: Sharks forward and franchise centerpiece Tomas Hertl has been dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights, along with two third-round picks in 2025 and 2027, in exchange for prospect center David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick. The Sharks will also retain 17 percent of Hertl's salary for the remainder of his current contract, which doesn't end until 2030. This unexpected blockbuster trade came about due to Hertl's full no-movement clause in his current deal and his desire to play for a contender and win now. He has recorded 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 48 games this season and led the team in almost all offensive aspects before the All-Star break. Hertl is currently out with an injury after having surgery to remove loose cartilage from his left knee and expected to make his Golden Knights debut before the end of the regular season. In addition, Hertl is a two-time All-Star with 218 goals, 266 assists, and 484 points in 712 career NHL games, along with 24 goals, 18 assists, and 42 points in 62 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He ranks fifth in goals, sixth in points, and seventh in assists in Sharks franchise history. On the other hand, David Edstrom was the Golden Knights' first-round selection in 2023 and is currently with Frolunda of the Swedish Hockey League, where he has recorded six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 42 games. Edstrom previously represented Sweden at the World Junior Championships and the 2023 U18 hockey championships, and has a high potential at the NHL level. 

Overall, the Sharks were very active at this year's trade deadline in progressing their rebuild, and I am most upset about them trading Tomas Hertl out of left field to their biggest rival in the Vegas Golden Knights, and I am still processing this deal. He was my favorite player on the Sharks this season and one of my favorite Sharks of all time, and it truly sucks to see him depart the only NHL franchise he's ever played for like this. At the same time, Sharks GM Mike Grier objectively made the right decision to trade Hertl while he could to help accelerate the Sharks' rebuild for the long term. Besides his offensive prowess and significant role in San Jose's most recent playoff runs, Tomas Hertl was a great clubhouse presence with his overall positive attitude and wholesome personality, and I will certainly miss him in a Sharks uniform. Although he is now on my most hated team, I have nothing but love for Tomas Hertl for everything he has done for the Sharks in his 11 seasons spent with the team. The Hertl trade absolutely stings, and with Logan Couture confirming that he won't play again this season, things will get much worse for this Sharks team in the short term before they get better in the long run. Team Teal remains in a prime position to win the draft lottery and land Macklin Celebrini this year, and I continue to remain hopeful that this awful season will turn into one of the biggest blessings the Sharks could ask for.

Source: Sharks + SAP Center App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 62 Recap: Islanders 7, Sharks 3 + Anthony Duclair Trade Breakdown (3/7/24)

 The Sharks’ current losing streak is now at nine, as they get thumped 7-2 by the New York Islanders. 

 The Islanders got on the board almost immediately to get this one started, with Noah Dobson scoring the first goal of the game 19 seconds in. Late in the opening period, the Islanders extended their lead to two via Alexander Romanov. Early in the second period, the Sharks got on the board to cut their deficit in half when Thomas Bordeleau scored his second goal of the season and second NHL goal, with assists going to William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund. Later in the middle frame, the Sharks and Islanders traded goals, with Bo Horvat scoring to put the Islanders back up by two and Mike Hoffman scoring his tenth goal of the season seconds after to put the Sharks back within one, with Givani Smith recording the lone assist on the Sharks' second goal of the game. Moments later, the Islanders would then run away with this game, scoring four unanswered via Kyle MacLean, Mat Barzal, and Sebastian Aho in the second period and Anders Lee in the third period.

Magnus Chrona recorded 26 saves on 33 shots against in his third NHL start. In addition, the Sharks called up Thomas Bordeleau from the Barracuda and placed Ty Emberson on the IR on Wednesday, and Alexander Barabanov and Anthony Duclair were held out of this game for trade-related reasons.

Speaking of Duclair, prior to this game, the Sharks traded him and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman prospect Jack Thompson and a 2024 third-round pick. Duclair is in the final year of a three-year deal he signed with the Panthers in July of 2021 and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Although he has now been dealt, Duclair had recently hired a new agent and has left the door open on a potential return to San Jose in free agency. He has been one of the Sharks' best-performing players this season after he was acquired in a trade with the Panthers on July 1, recording 16 goals and 11 assists for 27 points in 56 games so far and has been on a bit of a hot scoring streak as of late. Duclair now goes to a Lightning team that currently sits in the second Wild Card spot in the East and will help Tampa gear up for another playoff run. As for the latest addition to the Sharks organization, Jack Thompson was selected by the Lightning in the third round at no. 93 overall in the 2020 draft and has five goals and 27 assists for 32 points in 46 AHL games with the Syracuse Crunch this season, along with one career NHL game under his belt. He will report to the Barracuda to start, and at the time of this trade is leading Syracuse Crunch defensemen in points and assists and is second in goals this season. In total, Thompson has 13 goals and 43 assists for 56 points in 118 career AHL games. 

Overall, this was a solid trade for the Sharks, getting a future asset and draft pick in return for Anthony Duclair. I will miss Anthony Duclair in a Sharks uniform, as this Sharks team now becomes even more offensively challenged with his departure and Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture unlikely to return from injury this season. On the flip side, Duclair will now be joining my second favorite team in the Lightning and should fit in well with them on their quest for the playoffs, and Thomas Bordeleau should be a mainstay on this Sharks roster for the remainder of this season and the foreseeable future. We will have to wait and see on Trade Deadline Day Friday morning where Alexander Barabanov gets traded to and what his return will be, along with any additional trades the Sharks may pull the trigger on, which will all be covered in the next post here on CPF Hockey. Once the NHL Trade Deadline passes at 12 pm PT on Friday, the Sharks conclude their current three-game homestand on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NHL App, San Jose Sharks PR, Curtis Pashelka via X 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 61 Recap: Stars 7, Sharks 6 (OT) (3/5/24)

 The Sharks performed well and had a three goal lead past the halfway point of the third period, but had an epic collapse in the last two minutes of regulation and ended up losing 7-6 in overtime to the Dallas Stars. 

This one was a doozy and another all-around competitive game between these two clubs. San Jose jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first period on Anthony Duclair's first goal of the game, with assists from Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund. Later on in the opening period, Fabian Zetterlund scored his 16th goal of the season to extend the Sharks' lead to two, with assists from Anthony Duclair and Jan Rutta, only for that lead to disappear towards the end of the first frame, with the Stars tying it up at two on goals from Jamie Benn and Logan Stankoven. 

The Sharks went back ahead 3-2 early in the second period via Ryan Carpenter from Nico Sturm and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, while the Stars evened it up at three about four minutes later on Wyatt Johnston's first goal of the game. The Sharks followed that up with two more goals before the end of the second period via Anthony Duclair's second of the game and Filip Zadina's tenth of the season. Assists went to Fabian Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund on Anthony Duclair's second goal of the game and 16th goal of the season, while Mike Hoffman and Calen Addison assisted on Filip Zadina's tenth goal of the season. 

San Jose gained its biggest lead of the night early in the third period, with Mikael Granlund scoring to put the Sharks up by three and Anthony Duclair recording his third point of the night assisting on this goal. Near the 13-minute mark of the third period was when the Sharks epic collapse began, with Logan Stankoven scoring his second goal of the game and Wyatt Johnston scoring twice more to complete his hat trick to even things up at six for the Stars to force overtime. Dallas would finish its comeback in the bonus period in unbelievable fashion, with Roope Hintz scoring the game-winner in a high-scoring affair to hand the Sharks their seventh straight loss. In addition, during the OT period nearing the conclusion of this contest, William Eklund had to be helped off the ice after blocking a shot, with his status currently unknown at the time I am writing this.

Kaapo Kahkonen recorded a total of 33 saves on 40 shots against in net for Team Teal. With the trade deadline looming on Friday, Anthony Duclair on his current goal and point streak will likely be dealt to a contender in the next two days, while the rest of this team hasn't been garnering much interest on the trade market. On top of that, the Sharks can't really afford to lose William Eklund to injury for any significant amount of time this season. 

We were all led to believe that the Sharks had this one in the bag late in the third period, but with the way things have gone for the Sharks this season, the end result of this game shouldn't be all that shocking whatsoever. Team Teal hosts the New York Islanders in their next game and final game before Friday's trade deadline on Thursday at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App, Curtis Pashelka via X, Locked on Sharks Podcast

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 60 Recap: Wild 4, Sharks 3 (3/3/24)

 Another competitive effort and game from the Sharks this weekend, but they fell short once again, as Kirill Kaprizov’s fifth career hat trick fueled the Minnesota Wild to a 4-3 win, handing Team Teal its seventh consecutive defeat. 

The Sharks scored the first two goals of this game early in the second period via two former Wild players in Mikael Granlund and Nico Sturm, only for that two-goal lead to disappear soon after, when the Wild scored twice via Frederick Gaudreau and Kirill Kaprizov to tie it at two. 

Early in the third period, Anthony Duclair forced a turnover with his stick, creating a breakaway chance where he scored his 14th goal of the season for the Sharks to go ahead 3-2, only for Kirill Kaprizov to score his second goal of the game to even things up at three for the Wild. This marked the first time since February 26, 2000 that the Sharks scored three unassisted goals in a game. Later in the third period, Kaprizov scored his third goal of the game and his 300th NHL point to complete the hat trick and win it for Minnesota to keep the Wild alive in the playoff race. 

Kaapo Kahkonen compiled 28 saves on 32 shots against his former team. In addition, William Eklund was a late scratch ahead of this game due to an illness, with Kevin Labanc taking Eklund’s place in the Sharks lineup today. 

Not a bad weekend from the Sharks despite not winning any of their past seven games. Next up, the Sharks return home for their next three games, starting on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars at 7:30 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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Sharks 2023-24 Game 59 Recap: Stars 3, Sharks 2 (SO) (3/2/24)

 This contest was a lot more competitive than expected, but the Dallas Stars edged the Sharks 3-2 in the seventh round of the shootout. 

 The Sharks struck first early in the opening period after William Eklund potted his tenth goal of the year on the follow-up from his initial shot, with assists going to Luke Kunin and Jan Rutta. The Stars evened it up at one via Radek Faksa early in the second period, while Team Teal regained their lead later in the second period on a goal credited to Filip Zadina for his ninth of the season. Fabian Zetterlund would also have to be taken to the dressing room for a bit after blocking a shot, but would eventually return to the game.

A delay-of-game penalty handed to the Sharks after Mario Ferraro shot the puck over the glass and into the seats set up a Stars power play early in the third period, when Jason Robertson scored to tie things up at two and eventually force bonus hockey. Onto the shootout, where Matt Duchene and Anthony Duclair scored in the second round, but the game was decided by Jamie Benn scoring in the seventh round to win it for Dallas. 

Magnus Chrona was had great performance in net in his second-ever NHL start and a major factor keeping the Sharks in this one, recording 36 saves on 38 shots against. In addition, Ty Emberson sustained a laceration, while Alexander Barabanov sustained a lower-body injury on Thursday against the Ducks, and both are considered week-to-week, adding on to the laundry list of injuries to the Sharks roster this season. 

Despite being on the losing end of this game, it was certainly entertaining and one of the better Sharks losses this season. The Sharks round out their quick two-game roadie tomorrow in Minnesota against the Wild at 4 pm PT. 

Sources: NBC Sports Bay Area/California, NHL App 

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