SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks went via their regular pregame routine Saturday morning as they began to prepare for that evening’s dwelling recreation towards the New York Islanders.
However there was little query the Sharks had been nonetheless reeling, each professionally and personally, from this week’s commerce exercise, which noticed a handful of fashionable and revered veterans shipped to contending groups earlier than Friday’s NHL commerce deadline.
Just a few lockers contained in the Sharks’ dressing room on the apply facility remained empty Saturday morning, together with the one which belonged to winger Fabian Zetterlund, who was surprisingly traded to the Ottawa Senators simply earlier than Friday’s deadline.
Zetterlund had been one of many Sharks’ main scorers because the begin of the 2023-24 season, establishing himself as a top-six NHL ahead. He was additionally a great buddy to many gamers on the workforce, and he and William Eklund, particularly, developed a particularly shut bond.
Eklund declined to talk with reporters after Saturday’s morning skate, nonetheless emotional, it appeared, after seeing his finest buddy get traded to Ottawa for forwards Zach Ostapchuk and Noah Gregor and a 2025 second-round draft choose. The Sharks additionally despatched minor league ahead Tristen Robins and a fourth-round draft choose to the Senators.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky stated he spoke to Eklund on Friday after the commerce deadline.
“An emotional day for him, and it’s going to take some time. He’s a young kid himself,” Warsofsky stated of the 22-year-old Eklund. “He’s not just going to show up today with a big smile on his face ready to go. It’s tough. So we’ve got to put our arms around him a little bit, and we’ve got to be there to support him.
“He just lost his best friend,” Warsofsky added about Eklund, his voice trailing off. “I feel for him.”
Sharks heart Alexander Wennberg stated Eklund and Zetterlund had been like “two peas in a pod.”
“You can’t really see one without the other,” Wennberg stated of his fellow Swedish-born gamers. “Obviously, it’s tough to see that. Even me, I hung out with (Zetterlund) every day, we’d go to dinner. He’s a really, really good guy. I wish him all the best. It (stinks) not having around every day for sure.”
As a part of the commerce deadline selloff, the Sharks additionally traded goalie Vitek Vanecek and heart Nico Sturm to the Florida Panthers, defenseman Jake Walman to the Edmonton Oilers, and ahead Luke Kunin to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Of their place throughout Saturday’s morning skate, the Sharks had winger Klim Kostin in Zetterlund’s spot on a line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, goalie Georgi Romanov backing up Alexandar Georgiev, and newcomer Patrick Giles in Sturm’s previous spot because the fourth-line heart.
Shakir Mukhamadullin was on the Sharks’ prime protection pair as a substitute of Walman, and Nikolai Kovalenko, like he did for Thursday’s recreation in Colorado, took Kunin’s spot on the wing on the third line.
That’s numerous shuffling from the place the Sharks had been on Tuesday once they beat the Buffalo Sabres 6-2 in one among their higher efforts this season.
“It’s a tough day,” stated Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro, who was paired with Mukhamadullin Saturday and was the topic of commerce rumors in his personal proper.
“But that’s the trade deadline for you. It’s not easy. It’s never easy. It’s sad to say goodbye to some guys. But at the same time, you look at the other side of it, it’s exciting to say hello to some new guys, and we have to move on. And the players that are gone have to move on and focus on playing some hockey.”
The Sharks have 18 video games left within the common season beginning with Saturday. Their date towards the Islanders begins an eight-game homestand.
Contemplating the Sharks are actually with out their two prime defensemen from earlier within the season, Walman and Cody Ceci, two top-six forwards in Zetterlund and Mikael Granlund, veteran depth forwards Sturm and Kunin, and an skilled goalie in Vanecek, the ultimate six-plus weeks might convey a specific amount of ache, as basic supervisor Mike Grier famous Friday. Granlund and Ceci had been traded to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 1.
The Sharks entered Saturday in final place within the NHL’s total standings with 43 factors. In keeping with tankathon.com, they, as of Saturday, have the Twelfth-hardest remaining schedule within the league, with their opponents averaging a .553 factors share.
In different phrases, some leaner instances seem like forward, and it’s going to be as much as among the Sharks veterans to maintain the temper upbeat if the losses proceed to pile up, particularly now that a few of their finest mates are elsewhere.
“We talked to the leadership group, talked to the group as a whole,” Warsofsky stated. “We have to feel this as human beings. We’re not running from it. We have to move forward, but we’re not running from it.”
NOTABLE: Gregor was not with the Sharks on Saturday, as a workforce spokesperson stated he’s nonetheless sorting via some immigration paperwork. The Sharks’ subsequent recreation is Tuesday at dwelling towards the Nashville Predators. … Warsofsky couldn’t say what’s deliberate for Ostapchuk, who’s on the San Jose Barracuda’s roster proper now. It’s unclear when he may play for the Barracuda or be recalled to the Sharks. Ostapchuk was on the Belleville Senators roster earlier than the commerce to San Jose.
Initially Printed: March 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM PST
