The Sharks could be getting a significant amount of reinforcements back from injury during their upcoming roadtrip. Injured defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin and Vinny Desharnais, along with forward Will Smith, will be travelling with the team.
Will Smith appears to be the closest to returning as he is listed as questionable for Thursday's game against the Capitals. Smith would be a huge boost for the Sharks' offense. The 20-year-old forward has been a fixture on the top line and has 29 points in 33 games playing alongside Macklin Celebrini. The Sharks haven’t necessarily missed a beat without Smith offensively. Call-ups Igor Chernyshov and Pavol Regenda have provided some scoring in Smith’s month-long absence, along with improved offensive play from Collin Graf and Alex Wennberg in that stretch.
It does make San Jose’s roster decisions somewhat interesting, though. With Smith on the verge of returning, someone is gonna have to sit out. The two prime candidates to be bumped out are likely Jeff Skinner or Pavol Regenda. Skinner has been scratched on occasion during the season, and with Smith returning, he could simply get pushed out of the lineup. Regenda, on the other hand, would likely be a hard decision. While his 6 goals in 8 games are extremely impressive, he has been among the worst Sharks forwards defensively in that timeframe, and he does not have a history of much offensive success at the AHL level. It’s quite possible, despite the success, that the Sharks don’t view him as a regular piece in the lineup.
While there is no update on Mukhamadullin or Desharnais for Thursday, it’s highly likely they get back in at some point on the road trip since they are travelling. Desharnais has been out since late November with an upper-body injury. Before the injury, he was playing some of his best hockey and found a place on the bottom-pairing with Sam Dickinson, while being a key part of the Sharks' penalty kill. Having him back could help the Sharks recapture their defensive play from earlier in the season, as it has slipped since he got injured.
Mukhamadullin has struggled at points this season, but found himself back in the lineup on a more regular basis before getting hurt, and playing better hockey. While he may need to fight for more ice-time on a fully healthy Sharks blueline, hopefully the injury didn’t slow him down too much.
When Desharnais and Mukhamadullin come back, the Sharks will have to make a decision on which defender they're going to put on waivers. They have gotten away with rotating 9 defenders thanks to frequent injuries throughout the season, but they may finally need to send one to the AHL. The most obvious candidate is Nick Leddy, the defender has played the least of any Sharks defenseman this season, and has not been good when he has. Leddy would almost certainly clear waivers, given his salary and play, so the Sharks could stash him in the minors as depth even if he doesn’t report to the Cuda.
It’s a good time for the Sharks to get some players back; the team is gearing up for a second-season playoff push, and every point is starting to matter more.