A day after popular teammate Matt Nieto was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, the Sharks resumed practice Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, not sure if more moves might be on the horizon.
“I have no idea,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “You take it day by day. If you play pro sports, you know that changes happen. You can’t sit around and wait for things to happen.”
Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley, the Sharks’ 2018 first-round draft pick, were sent to the Avalanche on Wednesday for defenseman Jacob MacDonald and forward Martin Kaut, another first-round pick who was chosen five spots ahead of Merkley in 2018.
MacDonald was expected to arrive in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon and will be available to play Friday when the Sharks face Brent Burns and the Hurricanes in their next-to-last game of a five-game road trip.
Kaut will report to the Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, that plays in Henderson, Nevada on Friday night.
While Merkley and Kaut could each use a change of scenery, it’s unclear why Nieto had to be moved more than five weeks ahead of the March 3 NHL trade deadline.
Perhaps it signals that Sharks general manager Mike Grier won’t hesitate to make a trade well ahead of time.
The Sharks have other pending unrestricted free agents in forward Nick Bonino and goalie James Reimer, both with modest salary cap hits, who could be traded for draft picks or prospects. Winger Timo Meier, too, will be one of the NHL’s most sought-after players prior to the deadline.
Asked if he feels there’s a sense among Sharks players that more trades might be coming, coach David Quinn said, “I think every team in the league is going through that.
“Whether you’re thinking about adding players or subtracting players, it’s that time of year. It’s the National Hockey League. It’s pro sports. When you get closer to a trade deadline, every team is in a situation where they’re going to make some changes. So I don’t think we’re any different than every team in the league from that end of it.”
Couture said Nieto, who played in Colorado from 2016 to 2020, was upbeat about the move. While the Sharks (14-25-10) are well out of a playoff spot, the Avalanche (26-17-3) had won six straight games before Thursday to move into third place in the Central Division.
This year Nieto had 15 points in 45 games and averaged 15:39 in ice time.
“Just seeing him (Wednesday) night, you could feel a sense of energy that he felt,” Couture said. “He’s probably upset to be leaving the guys because I think he’s got some really close friends on his team. But at the same time, you could just feel the excitement that he had to go to have a chance to win.
“Ultimately, that’s why we play the game. So in that sense, I’m happy for him.”
QUINN ON MERKLEY: Merkley and Kaut could be aptly described as two players who needed a change of scenery.
Merkley, 22, now in his third full season as a professional, did not have a strong training camp in September and was sent down to the Barracuda before the Sharks left for Europe. On Dec. 27, Merkley was benched for two periods in a game against Bakersfield and requested a trade shortly after. His last game with the team was Dec. 31.
“I’m sure that happens in a lot of organizations,” Quinn said. “Guys are in an organization for three or four years and things aren’t going the way they want it to, so they look for an opportunity to go somewhere else. So we wish (Merkley) well.”
Kaut, 23, has six points in 47 NHL games since he was drafted, with 27 of those games coming this season. However, after he was assigned to the AHL by the Avalanche on Jan. 14, there was some speculation that his time with the team had come to an end.
KNYZHOV RETURNS: Defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov played his first game since May 2021 on Wednesday, as he skated in the Barracuda’s 3-2 shootout loss to Henderson. Knyzhov, who tore his right Achilles tendon in August, had three shots on net for the game, including two in overtime.
Quinn had not received a report from the game, but said Knyzhov was excited to finally play again after an arduous 20-month process that involved numerous surgeries to repair various problem spots.
Knyzhov had been skating in contact practices with the Sharks for about two weeks before he was assigned to the Barracuda on a long-term injury conditioning loan earlier this week.
“He was feeling better and better and he was definitely looking forward to playing a game,” Quinn said. “So I’m really happy for him as he takes the next step in his recovery.”
NOTE: Quinn said defenseman Radim Simek, who has not played since Dec. 31 when he suffered a concussion in a game against the Dallas Stars, will not join the team on the road trip, which ends Saturday in Pittsburgh. The Sharks’ next game after their bye week and the NHL all-star break is Feb. 7 in Tampa.
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