SAN JOSE – Injured since the start of training camp, veteran defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic could be activated on the San Jose Sharks’ upcoming lengthy road trip, coach Ryan Warsofsky said Monday.
Vlasic has been skating with the Sharks recently and was on the team’s road trip last week through Dallas and St. Louis. Monday morning, Vlasic participated in the Sharks’ optional skate before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Kings.
After a home game against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, the Sharks start a home-and-home series with the Seattle Kraken on Friday and Saturday, with the first game in San Jose. The Sharks’ road trip, which lasts until Dec. 12, also features games against Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida, Carolina and St. Louis.
“He’s inching closer. Probably sometime on that road trip, he’ll be ready to go,” Warsofsky said of Vlasic. “He’s just got to practice. Obviously missing training camp, he’s had two practices with us, and he needs more practice time.”
Vlasic, 37, missed all of camp with an injury he said last month was “a lot of the upper back, actually.” Once Vlasic had an MRI on the affected area, he “realized it was pretty bad.” In early October, he was considered a non-roster player when the Sharks had to submit their salary-cap-compliant 23-man roster to the NHL.
Vlasic was initially hoping to be available to play again by the end of October, but the Sharks have never had a timeline for his return.
Vlasic, now in his 19th NHL season, needs to play just four more games to reach 1,300 for his NHL career. His 1,296 games in a Sharks uniform is the second-most in team history, behind only Patrick Marleau’s 1,607. Only 71 players in NHL history have played at least 1,300 games.
What the Sharks might do to make room for Vlasic on the active roster once he’s available to play again is unclear. If there are no injuries between now and then, the Sharks could assign defenseman Jack Thompson to the Barracuda of the AHL. Thompson, 22, has played in 16 career NHL games, including 13 for the Sharks this year, and remains waivers-exempt.
It wasn’t immediately known which Sharks defensemen will dress Monday against the Kings in the second game of a four-game homestand.
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Warsofsky said defenseman Henry Thrun will return to the Sharks lineup Monday after being scratched for the last two games against St. Louis and Buffalo. Still, Warsofsky did not say who Thrun would replace, adding that a few players were “nicked up” and questionable to play.
Please check back for updates to this story.