San Jose Sharks goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (36) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
San Jose Sharks coach David Quinn had no plans to hold certain players believed to be on the trading block out of the lineup Tuesday when his team hosts the Dallas Stars, an indication, it seems, that no deals were imminent.
“We’re not there yet,” Quinn said of holding players out.
Anthony Duclair, Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc, and Kaapo Kahkonen, all pending unrestricted free agents, could all be on the move before the NHL trade deadline Friday at noon (PST).
Kahkonen will start in net Tuesday and forwards Duclair and Hoffman will both be in the lineup against the Stars. Indications were that winger Barabanov would return from injury after a two-game absence and that Labanc would be a healthy scratch.
The Sharks will no doubt be sellers with general manager Mike Grier saying in January that he didn’t want his numerous pending UFA’s to walk away from the team for nothing.
Quinn said as the coach of the New York Rangers in 2019, the organization held Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes out of the lineup shortly before they were traded.
“It was close. It was two days before the deadline,” Quinn said of that time five years ago. “But it’s not the deadline, it’s how close are you to making a deal that dictates whether you somebody out or not.”
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Originally published at Curtis Pashelka