Several Sharks done for year, forever in SJ

A plethora of injured San Jose Sharks players did not join the team for their final road trip of the year, ending their respective seasons and for a few of them, likely their tenures with the organization.

Forwards Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, Filip Zadina, and Alexander Barabanov, forward/defenseman Jacob MacDonald, defenseman Jan Rutta, and goalie Mackenzie Blackwood are all injured and did not travel with the team. San Jose faces the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night and the Calgary Flames on Thursday to close the regular season.

The injuries prompted the Sharks to recall forward Danil Gushchin, defenseman Jack Thompson, and goalie Georgi Romanov from the Barracuda on an emergency loan basis. Gushchin and Thompson will play against the Oilers tonight and Romanov is an option to make his NHL debut on Thursday in Calgary.

Goalie Devin Cooley, a Los Gatos native, will look for his third straight win with the Sharks tonight against the Oilers, who will have three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid back in the lineup after he missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. McDavid is third in the NHL with 130 points, including a league-high 99 assists.

Labanc, Rutta, and Blackwood all played in the Sharks' last game on Saturday at home against the Minnesota Wild, a 6-2 loss that ensured San Jose (19-52-9) would finish in last place in the NHL's overall standings.

The Sharks have a 3- 4-1 record since March 30.

“For the most part, we've been able to move forward when things don't go well. Unfortunately, we've had a lot of practice with it,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “But I give these guys a ton of credit because it has not been easy.”

It wasn't immediately clear as to when Labanc, 28, and Rutta, 33, were hurt. Rutta spoke with reporters after Saturday's game.

Blackwood started Saturday and stopped 32 of 38 shots in San Jose's 6-2 loss to Minnesota. Sharks coach David Quinn said Monday that Blackwood “is battling something. He has for a while, actually,” leading the team to recall Romanov.

The 29-year- old Barabanov ( lower body) hasn't played since March 26 and MacDonald was injured in the Sharks' game against the Kraken last Thursday and did not play Saturday.

It seems unlikely the rebuilding Sharks would resign the underperforming Labanc, Hoffman, or Barabanov, as they continue to turn over their roster, looking to get younger and in many respects, bigger.