Well, after the San Jose Sharks laid an “egg” in the words of head coach Peter DeBoer, they decided to make a pair of corresponding roster moves. General manager Doug Wilson announced on Sunday that the Sharks reassigned goaltender Alex Stalock and forward Chris Tierney to the San Jose Barracuda, while recalling goaltender Troy Grosenick from the AHL.
In the case of Stalock, he was assigned on a conditioning assignment which can last up to two weeks if the Sharks so desire. DeBoer mentioned how San Jose wanted to get Stalock some action as the Sharks don’t play again until Jan. 7.
DeBoer: "With the @sjbarracuda playing in San Jose this week, it offered us the opportunity for him to get some minutes." #SJSharks
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 3, 2016
It’s been a rough go this season for Stalock who is entering his final season under contract in San Jose. Stalock has seen very few starts behind Martin Jones, and when he’s been called upon, he has struggled. In 10 appearances this year with the Sharks, Stalock has posted a 2-5-0 record with a 2.98 goals-against-average (GAA) and an .893 save percentage.
Hopefully, Stalock can find some stability in his game during his stint with the Barracuda, otherwise, it’s likely he won’t be seeing much time in teal the rest of the way.
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Meanwhile, San Jose is hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for the second season in a row with regards to Tierney and sending him to the AHL. Last season, after struggling out of the gates, Tierney spent more than a month with the Worcester Sharks where he became a much more confident player.
He ended last year as one of the few bright spots for San Jose as he amassed five goals and 10 assists over the final 21 games of last season.
However, it’s been a rough year for Tierney to date as he has found the back of the net just three times, two of them empty-netters, with five assists in 36 games. This will be another big moment for Tierney to spend some time with the Barracuda to work on things in his game.
Obviously, it hasn’t gone as he’s liked this season, but as evidenced by last year, he can find his confidence by getting more minutes in the AHL.
With Stalock going down, Grosenick makes his return to the Sharks where he briefly made an appearance during the 2014-15 season. Grosenick made quite the debut in San Jose, posting a 45-save shutout in a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes.
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He hasn’t been great with the Barracuda this year with a 7-4-3 record and a 3.03 GAA and a .902 save percentage in 16 games, but it’s clear the organization is high on Grosenick.
It will be interesting to see whether he remains with the Sharks and sees any actual game time or if he is just an insurance policy in relief.