The San Jose Sharks are in dire need of a win to wrap up their six game road trip. They started their road trip off right, with two wins, before succumbing to three losses back to back. The team has made some recent changes to their roster and their lineup, in hopes of ending their road trip on a good note.
San Jose Sharks Make a Goaltender Swap
Alexandar Georgiev was traded to the San Jose Sharks on December 9th by the Colorado Avalanche for Mackenzie Blackwood. Georgiev has not had the best start to his season, his time in Colorado has been slow coming and his game is not where it should be.
The General Manager for the Sharks, Mike Grier is hopeful that Georgiev will find success within the team. “For him, it’s an opportunity to maybe, he’s playing better now, but maybe get his game back to where he wants it in a less pressure-filled environment. We’ll kind of see what happens during the next couple of months after that.”
Georgiev comes into the Sharks with a save percentage of .874 and 3.38 goals against average in 18 games this season.
Georgiev had a slightly better season last year where he made it to the 2024 All-Star Game in Toronto. His ability and skill have been a great asset in the past, yet, it seems that he is off to a severe slow start this season. Sadly, it is not promising for the Sharks who are in need of a good goaltender.
However, the Sharks can always build him back up and use him in a trade further down the line if need be.
Promising Forward Traded to the San Jose Sharks.
On top of trading for a goaltender, the Sharks also received forward Nikolai Kovalenko from the Avalanche. He has played in 29 games this season with eight points, four goals and four assists.
He made his Sharks debut on December 10th against the Carolina Hurricanes where he played on the fourth line with Nico Sturm and Ty Dellandrea. Kovalenko finds himself on the first line with Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli for their December 12th game against the St. Louis Blues.
Kovalenko should be looked at as a win in this trade for the Sharks. He has the speed and skill, as well as having the ability to find space on the ice.
As a younger player, he fits in with the rest of the team in this rebuild and with a little time and experience he can start finding his place with the rest of them.
Mike Grier is excited to add Kovalenko to the group and see what he can do for the team. “We like the Kovalenko kid. We had talks about him with Colorado last year. He’s going to come in and play for us right away. Give us something a little bit different than what we have, he’s a competitive, north-south player. He’s someone we’re hoping we can grow with.”
Sharks recall a 6’3″ Defenceman, Gives the Sharks a Fighting Chance.
The Sharks have recalled Shakir Mukhamadullin from the San Jose Barracuda. He will make his Sharks debut on December 12th against the St. Louis Blues.
Warsofsky says that Mukhamadullin will join #SJSharks in St. Louis tomorrow
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) December 11, 2024
Mukhamadullin could not make the Sharks training camp due to a lower-body injury that prevented him from playing until October 30th.
The Sharks Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky is excited about this addition, “A big guy like that has some length and some range, take away time and space, keep his game extremely simple.”
The Sharks have had an interesting season and hopefully, with these new changes, they can start to find more wins. They are currently sitting in seventh of the division with 25 points in 31 games played. They currently have a record of 10-16-5.
The Sharks face the St. Louis Blues on December 12th, wrapping up a six game road trip. At this time it is unknown if Georgiev will play.
Main Photo: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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