Sharks provide injury update on All-Star Tomas Hertl

Sharks center Tomas Hertl will be out for several weeks while he recovers from a surgical procedure to clean out loose cartilage in his left knee, GM Mike Grier said Monday. Hertl has been placed on injured reserve as a result, per the NHL media site.

Hertl was previously listed as day-to-day with a recurrent lower-body injury. He issued the following statement on his decision to play in this month’s All-Star Game despite missing the two prior games with the knee ailment:

I have been experiencing soreness in my left knee on and off this season. After speaking with doctors and our medical staff earlier this year, it was clear that the injury was not going to get any worse and I could continue to play through it, including attending the NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto. After returning from Toronto and having additional conversations with my family and our team medical staff over the last week, I made the decision to have this procedure done now so that I can return to 100% as soon as possible. I look forward to returning to the ice and getting back with my teammates as soon as I can.

With just over two months remaining in the regular season and the Sharks contending for the draft lottery instead of the postseason, the surgery could very well be season-ending. If so, San Jose will have had their top two centers, Hertl and captain Logan Couture, available for the same game only four times in 2023-24.

Now two seasons into an eight-year, $65.1M extension signed in 2022, Hertl has done everything he can for a bottom-feeder Sharks team without much of a supporting cast this year. The 30-year-old is averaging nearly 21 minutes per game, a career-high, and leads the team in goals (15) and points (34). He’s excelled in the faceoff circle, too, winning upwards of 56 percent of his draws for the first time since his rookie year.

He’s managed to stay above water possession-wise relative to his teammates despite extremely difficult usage, posting a 46 percent Corsi share at even strength that ranks seventh on the team. Hertl’s been worth the money early into his massive extension, even if the team’s lack of success has largely rendered it irrelevant.

San Jose’s 17th overall pick in the 2012 draft, the Sharks lifer has now appeared in over 700 games for the club in parts of 11 seasons. He ranks seventh in franchise history in games played (712), fifth in goals (218), seventh in assists (266), and sixth in points (484).

With Hertl out long-term, expect shutdown men Ryan Carpenter and Nico Sturm to see a slight increase in minutes for the rest of the year, especially with Couture still not at full health. It could also mean another NHL look for 2020 second-round pick Thomas Bordeleau, who has 19 points in 26 games with AHL San Jose this season.