NHL: With Couture out, young Sharks will be getting a chance
Logan Couture’s injury is giving Tomas Hertl and Nikolay Goldobin — two recent first-round draft picks by the Sharks — an opportunity to take a step in their NHL development.
Couture is not expected back before December after snapping his right fibula where it joins the ankle during practice in Newark, N.J., on Thursday. Couture was set to have surgery Saturday.
That creates not only a hole in San Jose’s second line, which had been the most effective during the Sharks’ three straight wins to open the season, but puts a crimp on special teams and a void in terms of who plays during the final minute of close games.
Couture, 26, is arguably the team’s best all-around forward when his defensive play and willingness to block shots are combined with his creative ways in the offensive zone. That said, the Sharks would much rather find out what they do or do not have during the season’s first two months instead of in the spring.
Friday’s immediate fix was to promote Goldobin, a 20year-old Russian winger whom the Sharks selected 27th overall in 2014. Goldobin was a late roster scratch in training camp, assigned to the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda. His task: focus as much on his defensive play as the dynamic offensive skills he displays.
Goldobin not only made his NHL debut against the New Jersey Devils, he hit the jackpot by joining linemates Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Thornton has helped to break in youngsters Joonas Donskoi, Melker Karlsson, Hertl and now Goldobin during their initial call-ups. And he’s helped turn Joe Pavelski into a goal-scoring right wing and Brent Burns into an effective forward when injury prevented the natural defenseman from playing on the blue line.
Goldobin, represented by ex-Shark Igor Larionov, scored a combined 68 goals and 162 points during his two seasons (2012-14) with the Sarnia Sting of the Ontario Hockey League. It certainly appears San Jose is putting a young skill player in a position to succeed.
Moving Hertl into Couture’s spot between left wing Patrick Marleau and right wing Joel Ward is more of a gamble. Hertl’s natural position is center, but his time in the middle has been limited during his first 122 NHL games. Hertl started this season centering the team’s third line, where he was a plus-1 in three games.
If Hertl struggles in matchups against opposing centers, the Sharks have options. They could simply swap Hertl with Marleau, who spent more than half of his 18-year career at center before moving to the wing.
Pavelski could slide back from Thornton’s line to take Couture’s spot, and the Sharks could add a conditioning Karlsson to Jumbo’s group. With Chris Tierney (third line), Ben Smith (fourth), Thornton, Pavelski, Hertl and Marleau, the Sharks are not lacking for natural centers. Hot seat: It didn’t take long for coaching security to come into question. Boston’s Claude Julien, Los Angeles’ Darryl Sutter and Columbus’ Todd Richards are the top three favorites to make an early exit.
No way Sutter gets whacked in L.A., though. Maybe Kings assistant John Stevens will hold the head coaching reins someday, but general manager Dean Lombardi is far too loyal to Sutter to make an early rash move. When Sutter was fired in San Jose, it wasn’t Lombardi’s doing. McLellan tabbed: Another ex-Sharks coach, Todd McLellan with struggling Edmonton, was named Friday as the coach for Team North America, which will be composed of U.S. and Canadian players age 23 and younger to compete in next September’s World Cup of Hockey. Briefly: Florida’s Jaromir Jagr, 43, recorded his 192nd career game with three or more points Thursday. For some perspective, Wayne Gretzky did that a leaguerecord 459 times. … Connor McDavid was without a point or a shot and was a minus-3 during his Oilers home debut. … Ex-Sharks backup goalie Thomas Greiss made 44 saves Thursday to improve to 2-0-1 with a .925 save percentage. He figures to be in goal on Saturday when San Jose visits Brooklyn and the Islanders for the first time.