Sharks star Hertl has seen nothing but change
SAN JOSE >> San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl looked to his left on a first-period faceoff at SAP Center on Tuesday night and saw Andreas Johnsson. He looked to his right and saw Fabian Zetterlund.
These weren't the same linemates Sharks fans have seen Hertl play with over the years — ones like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, and most recently, Timo Meier. No, changes have been plentiful in the last eight months under first-year general manager Mike Grier, with potentially more coming before Friday's NHL trade deadline.
Consider this: Since Hertl signed an eight-year, $65.1 million contract extension with the Sharks on March 16, 2022, only eight of the 20 players who were in the following night`s lineup against the Los Angeles Kings remain in the organization.
Just in the last five weeks, Matt Nieto and Jaycob Megna were shipped out, and Meier was sent to New Jersey in a trade that netted Johnsson and Zetterlund, among other important pieces for the Sharks.
Although No. 1 centers are tough to come by, one wonders whether Hertl would still be a Shark if Grier was in charge last season.
But Hertl is here for the long haul, and he'll need to play a huge role going forward if the Sharks hope to turn things around soon, as Grier intends.
“Sometimes you go through these tough times but I'm still committed to here and to do my best,” Hertl said. “I know I want to be better. I want to help the guys around me.”
Anyone who has watched Hertl play knows how he's feeling at any given moment. It's easy to tell when he's confident and pumped up, and just as easy to see when he's frustrated or upset.
Hertl has shown his frustrations more often this season as the Sharks' losses have piled up and his goal production has slowed down. As of Thursday morning, the Sharks had the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 18-3112, just two points ahead of 32nd-place Columbus (2035-6).
Going into the Sharks' game Thursday against the St. Louis Blues, Hertl has just one goal on a manned net in his last 22 games. That was on Jan. 11 against Los Angeles. He had 30 goals last season, but has just 15 goals in 58 games this year, although he's still on track to match his 64-point total from a year ago.
“You want to help score goals because that's kind of what is expected,” Hertl said. “and sometimes they don't go in your way and you're not confident like how you want to be.”
Hertl has a lot of responsibilities with the Sharks, as he usually leads all forwards in ice time and is the team's best option in the faceoff dot. But, of course, it makes a difference when he scores. The Sharks are 5-5-2 this season when Hertl has at least one goal and are just 11-2510 when he doesn't score.
“He puts a lot of onus on himself to carry us in a lot of ways, and sometimes, as we've all touched on, that can weigh him down a little bit,” Sharks coach David Quinn said of Hertl. “But as our organization continues to grow, and we continue to move forward, I think it'll really give him more of an opportunity to continue to grow as a leader. I've liked what I've seen from a leadership standpoint from him.”
Without Meier, dealt to New Jersey on Sunday, Hertl's production and leadership become even more necessary.
The Sharks only have one other proven 30-goal scorer in Logan Couture, and Erik Karlsson's long-term future in San Jose appears to be somewhat in question.
Karlsson has said multiple times he wants to win soon and expressed his doubts that the Sharks can be a playoff-type team by next season without someone like Meier, who is on pace for a 40-goal season.
Hertl didn't disagree but also didn't want to ponder too long about what might happen between now and the start of next season.
“Right now it's a tough situation because we just traded Timo and (we are) not just friends, but close friends,” Hertl said. “It's always tough this time of year. But I don't want to overthink it right now because I want to just finish the season strong. I want to still be better at what I can be and we've got new guys coming.
“I don't what will happen during the summer, but I'm still committed here.”