Injury lands Hertl on the shelf
Tomas Hertl missed Tuesday's game with the Seattle Kraken with a lower-body injury, raising questions as to whether he'll be available to play tonight in Anaheim or even take part in the NHL All-Star Game's festivities this weekend in Toronto.
Sharks coach David Quinn said Tuesday it was still unclear whether Hertl would play against the Ducks in San Jose's last game before the NHL All-Star break.
“We'll see how it feels after treatment and all that fun stuff that injured players have to deal with,” Quinn said.
Hertl earlier this month was selected to be San Jose's representative for NHL All-Star weekend, which begins Thursday with a player draft and concludes Saturday with a fourteam. 3-on-3 tournament.
“It would be a great opportunity for him, and I know he was excited to go,” Quinn said of Hertl's participation, “so, hopefully, he's able to do that.”
In the actual 3-on-3 tournament, players can be competitive, but the level of intensity is far less than in a regular season overtime game. In 2019 when the All-Star Game was in San Jose, then-Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson was injured but still took part as a member of the Pacific Division team.
“I'm pretty confident I'm going,” Hertl said Monday. “For sure, it would be tough to miss it, because it's something special, and I'm looking forward to it. Hopefully, whatever is happening today ... I'm confident I will for sure (go).”
Hertl appeared to be hurt midway through the second period of Saturday's game against Buffalo. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound centerman came across the offensive blue line with the puck before he was hip-checked by Sabres defenseman Henri Jokiharju.
Hertl skated for two more shifts in the second period before he missed the final 8:57. Hertl returned for the third period and finished with 16:50 of ice time in what became a 5-2 loss to the Sabres.
Hertl leads San Jose with 15 goals and 34 points in 48 games and is averaging 20:54 in ice time per game to lead all forwards. EKLUND'S MOVE: >> With Hertl out Tuesday, William Eklund played center against the Kraken. Eklund was drafted as a centerman by the Sharks in 2021 but had exclusively played on the wing in his 65 previous NHL games.
Eklund, who has eight goals and 21 points this season, started the game with wingers Anthony Duclair and Alexander Barabanov.
The last time Eklund played center was two years ago when he was with Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League, as he didn't play in the middle much during his 54 games with the Barracuda last season.
For now, Eklund wants to model his game after teammate Mikael Granlund. Eklund is listed at 5-foot-11 and 181 pounds, one inch taller and a couple of pounds lighter than Granlund, who is out with an upper-body injury.
“I like his smarts out there,” Eklund said of Granlund. “He's a smart player. He does things before everybody has to think about it.”
Whether Eklund, 21, projects to be a center with the Sharks two or three years down the road is another matter. Hertl and Logan Couture are under contract through the 2026-27 season, and the Sharks think highly of recent draft picks Will Smith and Filip Bystedt, who both play center.
San Jose is also hoping to get lucky in this spring's NHL draft lottery. If they win it, they'll likely draft center Macklin Celebrini, thought to be a player who could step into the NHL next season.
“I think a lot of that depends on where we're at as an organization,” Quinn said. “I think we have the flexibility with (Eklund) to play him on the wing or in the middle right now, and this will give us a little bit more of an evaluation on what he would look like as a center.”
INJURY UPDATES: >> Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, who suffered a lower-body injury last week, could resume skating again soon, Quinn said. Ferraro was in
jured in Los Angeles on Jan. 22 when he fell awkwardly into the boards following some contact from behind from Kings forward Trevor Lewis.
“He might be ahead of schedule,” Quinn said of Ferraro. “So that's a good
sign. He's feeling good.”
The Sharks' first game after the break is Feb. 14 in Winnipeg. Quinn is hopeful defenseman Henry Thrun (upper body) and winger Givani Smith (lower body) will be back by then. It's unclear when Granlund might be able to return.
“You don't want two weeks off,” Quinn said. “But with these injuries, it could be a blessing.”