San Jose Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic (44) waits for a face-off during their game against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
It appears Marc-Edouard Vlasic will be in the San Jose Sharks’ lineup Thursday night when they play the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
In other words, Vlasic hasn’t been traded, and it’s unlikely he’ll be traded anytime soon.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned in his “32 Thoughts” podcast earlier this week that he has “no doubt” that the Sharks want to move Vlasic, who had been a healthy scratch eight times in nine games from Nov. 16 to Dec. 3.
But completing a trade is another matter. Vlasic’s contract carries a $7 million cap hit for this season and the next two and contains a modified no-trade clause in which he would only accept a move to one of three teams.
The Sharks could of course go to Vlasic, 36, and ask him to waive that clause, like they did with Brent Burns, who had the same wording in his contract. Burns accepted a trade to Carolina, even though the Hurricanes were not one of his three teams.
But even if that happens, the Sharks will likely have to retain part of Vlasic’s salary cap hit – or include a sweetener — to make a deal happen, and the franchise is not in a good position to do either.
Vlasic is no longer a $7 million a year player, as his average ice time so far this season has dropped more than three minutes per game to 14:06. Before Thursday, he had zero points in 15 games.
Keeping some of Vlasic’s salary on the books would also take up San Jose’s third and final retention spot through the end of the 2024-2025 season. NHL teams are allowed to retain salary on a maximum of three players at any one time, and the Sharks already kept money in the Burns and Erik Karlsson deals. Burns’ contract expires after next season.
One would think, too, that the rebuilding Sharks would hesitate to give up future assets to move Vlasic to another team.
Is a Vlasic deal impossible? No, nothing is impossible.
If the Sharks want to move on from Vlasic, one option would be to buy out the remainder of his contract next summer. Per CapFriendly, that would save the Sharks over $3.1 million next season and $2.1 million the following year, although it would also mean the team would have close to $10 million in dead money on its books for next season, and $8 million in 2025-26.
For his part, Vlasic told this newspaper last month that at the very least, he will not be asking for a trade this season.
“When you’re not winning, then people start asking, ‘Oh, do you want to go to a winning team?’” Vlasic said. “Most players discuss those things in the offseason. My mentality is it’s too early to do that, and it would be wrong for me to think of something else when I’m here present with the team. I would be thinking of myself, which I would do in the offseason and not during the year when we’re trying to get out of it together.
“I’m a part of that and I want to be a part of that, and I love playing here.”
EMBERSON’S PROGNOSIS: Defenseman Ty Emberson has a lower-body injury and is out for the next two to four weeks, Sharks coach David Quinn told San Jose Hockey Now on Wednesday.
Emberson was injured during the Sharks’ morning skate on Sunday before their game with the New York Rangers. He was placed on injured reserve on Monday, along with center Ryan Carpenter, who was injured late in the loss at Madison Square Garden.
Emberson was claimed off waivers from the Rangers on Sept. 30, did not play in the Sharks’ first four games of the season, but had ascended to San Jose’s top defense pair late last month. In the previous five games before his injury, Emberson, 23, had a goal and two assists and was averaging 20:58 of ice time per game.
BENNING HURT: Sharks’ defenseman Matt Benning, who did not play Tuesday against the New York Islanders, has a lower-body injury and it’s unclear when he’ll be able to play again.
Benning was injured last month as well and missed 10 games before he returned on Nov. 24 and played in the next six. As of early Thursday afternoon, Benning, tied for fifth among all Sharks defensemen with an average of 18:29 in ice time per game, was still listed on the Sharks’ active roster.
COUTURE UPDATE: Sharks captain Logan Couture has been doing some light skating in recent days but there remains no timeline for him to return to practice. Couture has a lower-body injury and hasn’t played or practiced with the Sharks all season. The Sharks return to San Jose on Sunday night after they play the Vegas Golden Knights to conclude their six-game trip and host the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday.
ROBINS UPDATE: Barracuda forward Tristen Robins, out with a lower-body injury since the start of the season, is skating again and could be nearing a return, this newspaper has learned. Robins, 22, had 38 points in 64 games with the Barracuda last season. He also played three games with the Sharks in April at the end of the regular season.
The Barracuda could use the help, as the Sharks’ AHL affiliate has lost four of five and enters Friday’s home game against the Henderson Silver Knights in ninth place in the Pacific Division with a worse-than-expected 5-10-4 record.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka