Hertl has torn ACL and MCL, will miss remainder of season
SAN JOSE >> Sharks center Tomas Hertl has torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season, general manager Doug Wilson said Thursday, dealing yet another blow to a team that was already enduring one of its worst years in recent memory.
Wilson said results of an MRI came back Thursday morning and revealed the full extent of Hertl’s injury, which occurred in the first period of Wednesday’s Sharks game with the Vancouver Canucks and typically takes at least six months to rehabilitate.
Wilson said surgery has not yet been scheduled, but the expectation is Hertl will be able to participate in training camp in September.
Wilson said he spoke with Hertl, who was understandably devastated after the diagnosis.
“He’s a special guy,” Wilson said of Hertl. “He’ll rehab it. … We expect him back by training camp. He’s been through this before, but that’s what the expectations are. We’ll know more after he has the procedure.”
In Wednesday’s game, Hertl has just taken a backhand shot on net when Canucks defenseman Christopher Tanev, who had gone to the ice to block the shot, slid into him. Hertl was pinned against the end boards and fell to the ice.
Hertl later came out to test the injury during a television time out, but again went back to the Sharks’ room. Shortly before the end of the first period, the Sharks announced that Hertl would not return to Wednesday’s game.
The Sharks fell to 2226-4 this season with their 5-2 loss to the Canucks, and entered Thursday in 13th place in the Western Conference. Their next game is Saturday at home with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Hertl was the Sharks’ only representative at last weekend’s NHL All-Star game, replacing injured captain Logan Couture, who is on the mend from a broken bone in his ankle. Couture suffered the injury Jan. 7 and was expected to miss roughly six weeks at that time.
Hertl, 26, finishes the season with 16 goals and 36 points in 48 games. He scored earlier in the first period of Wednesday’s game to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
“Sometimes people tell you, have all of these things happen the same year. Get them out of the way,” Wilson said. “Doesn’t make it any easier. Doesn’t make it (less) trying. It’s like Logan’s thing. We were starting to play really well. I really liked how we were playing, and then he goes down in St. Louis. It’s like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
“But with that comes opportunity for other people. You lose (Couture), the guys still battle hard. And then you lose Tomas, it’s another pretty good kick.”
In practice Thursday, Barclay Goodrow took Hertl’s spot as he skated as the Sharks’ top line center with wingers Timo Meier and Evander Kane. The Sharks’ second line featured Joe Thornton at center with Patrick Marleau and Kevin Labanc.
Joel Kellman centered the third line with Melker Karlsson and Stefan Noesen, and the fourth line had Antti Suomela, Marcus Sorensen and Dylan Gambrell. As of early Thursday afternoon, the Sharks had not yet announced a recall from the Barracuda.
“Other guys are going to get opportunities, the younger guys are going to come up,” Wilson said. “So it’s just a reality of this business. We’re not the first team that’s had to go through this. We won’t be the last team.
“But I do think what people gather from this, and their experiences. they’ll see Logan working his butt off. They’ll see Tomas working his butt off. That’s the stuff that starts getting you going for next year. The younger players can watch and learn from that, so that’s what we have to take out it. This is not a feel sorry for each other business. You can’t go woe is me. Crap comes your way, and I’ve always found in life, it usually brings out the best in people.”
Hertl, 26, had been plagued by injuries to his right knee earlier in his NHL career.
In December 2013 in his rookie season, Hertl was injured in a knee-on-knee collision with Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown. He returned in April 2014 to play the Sharks’ final two regular season games and their first round series with the Kings, which San Jose lost in seven games.
In 2016 during Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hertl suffered another injury to his right knee, this time after a collision with Patric Hornqvist. He missed the rest of the final, which the Sharks lost in six games, but did not require surgery for that injury and returned to play at the start of the following this season.
On Nov. 19 of this season, Hertl suffered a lower injury in a game with the Edmonton Oilers. Hertl missed the next four games and returned to play Nov. 29 against the Los Angeles Kings.
Hertl is in the second season of a four-year, $22.5 million contract he signed in July 2018. His deal carries and average annual value of $5.625 million.