Two Sharks forwards likely out for rest of season

Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News relayed several updates from the head coach of the San Jose Sharks, David Quinn, on Saturday morning. Most notable of the updates, forwards Alexander Barabanov and Andreas Johnsson are likely out for the rest of the regular season. At the same time, Oskar Lindblom might be able to return before the year is out.

Johnsson, who was acquired from the New Jersey Devils as a part of the deal for Timo Meier, has played sparingly in San Jose, only managing to play in 11 games so far. In that handful of games, he has accrued three assists and has averaged over 15 minutes a night for the Sharks. 

At the end of this season, Johnsson will be a restricted free agent, finishing up a 4-year, $13.6M deal he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs back in 2019.

In stark contrast, Barabanov has been exceptional for the Sharks since coming over from the Maple Leafs in a 2021 trade. Unfortunately for him, he did not receive much playing time from Toronto when he first broke into the league, however; since joining San Jose, Barabanov has been a formidable top-six candidate for the Sharks. 

Improving each season, he will finish this year with 15 goals and 32 assists in 68 games played.

Other injury notes:

• Since the separate trades that sent forward Patrick Kane to the New York Rangers, and Max Domi to the Dallas Stars, the Chicago Blackhawks have a new leading point-scorer in Taylor Raddysh. Having an above-average season since his trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning last year, the forward has 20 goals and 17 assists in 78 games for the Blackhawks. Unfortunately, that will be his final point total, as Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Raddysh has a groin injury that will keep him out of Chicago’s remaining regular season games.
• Trade deadline acquisition Tanner Jeannot will not be in the Lightning’s lineup Saturday as they take on the Ottawa Senators. The team announced that the forward will instead fly back to Tampa Bay to see a doctor after injuring himself against the New York Islanders. Since coming to the Lightning, the forward has played in 20 games, only managing to score four points, but also tallying 77 hits in the process. Last season, Jeannot had much better point totals, scoring 41 points in 81 games for the Predators, throwing a total of 318 hits.
• As the Carolina Hurricanes look to capture the Metropolitan Division title in the coming days, they will be missing a valuable depth forward Saturday in Stefan Noesen. The team reported that the forward will be out with a lower-body injury. Playing in his ninth season of the NHL already, the forward has eclipsed his previous points record, scoring 35 points in 75 games for the Hurricanes so far.