The San Jose Sharks will head into Saturday’s road game against the Utah Mammoth without Alex Wennberg, who is dealing with an upper-body injury.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said the issue is the same one that had already sidelined the veteran center for 10 games earlier this season. Wennberg had just returned for San Jose’s last two games before being ruled out again.
“Just something we got to manage through,” Warsofsky said. “We have three (games) in four (days) coming up here, so something we got to manage. Then we get a couple days, so hopefully, we can get over the hump here.”
Wennberg has appeared in 11 games this season and has yet to score, while adding three assists and averaging about 20 and a half minutes of ice time. Last season, he was one of San Jose’s most productive players, finishing third on the team with 18 goals and 37 assists for 55 points in 80 games.
The 32-year-old is in his third season with the Sharks after signing a two-year, $10 million contract as an unrestricted free agent ahead of the 2024-25 season. He is also in the first season of a three-year, $18 million extension he signed in January.
A first-round pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets, selected 14th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Wennberg spent his first six NHL seasons in Columbus. His best year came in 2016-17, when he posted 13 goals and 46 assists for 59 points in 80 games. He later played for the Florida Panthers, Seattle Kraken, New York Rangers and then San Jose.
The Sharks enter Saturday with 18 points through 21 games, sitting fifth in the Pacific Division.
After the Utah game, San Jose will return home for a four-game homestand that opens Sunday against the Nashville Predators.
In Other News...
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Flights began to resume later in the night, giving San Jose a path to continue its trip after the unexpected stop-and-start. For a team already dealing with the usual grind of the road, the timing of the disruption made it especially inconvenient, even if it now appears the Sharks will still get where they need to go. [Read more 🡒]
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For San Jose, the wrinkle is obvious: the Sharks have already shown interest, and reports say they made a serious offer that the Red Wings turned down. Boston and Nashville are also in the mix, leaving Detroit to sort through a trade, a short-term contract, or the possibility of Edvinsson staying put and missing the season altogether. [Read more 🡒]