It’s hard to believe that it’s been less than 48 hours since the Sharks last stepped out on the ice at SAP Center. So much has happened since then. Today officially marks the start of the post-Tomas Hertl era of the Sharks. In what was possibly the most emotional trade deadline in franchise history, Sharks fans hit rock bottom on Friday and now have to truly come to terms with the dreaded rebuild.
The Sharks have traded away Hertl, goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen, defensemen Nikita Okhotiuk and Radim Simek and forward Anthony Duclair in the past few days. As if to amplify the rebuild narrative, the Sharks only brought one NHL-level forward in Klim Kostin and an NHL-level goaltender in Vitek Vanecek, who is currently injured. It’s possible that prospect goaltender Devin Cooley might also get some starts with the team as the season winds down.
The Ottawa Senators were quiet on deadline day. The team traded Vladimir Tarasenko to the Florida Panthers a few days before the deadline and claimed Boris Katchouk off of waivers from Chicago. As a result, the team that the Sharks saw on Jan. 13 will be similar to the one that it sees today.
The last time these two teams played, the Senators won 5-4. Tarasenko was the one to end it with seconds left in regulation. Brady Tkachuk leads the team with 27 goals and Tim Stutzle has 57 points.
The Senators are in much the same boat as the Sharks, vying for that lottery pick. Ottawa is 28th in the NHL with 54 points while the Sharks are 31st with 37 points. Given that Hertl and Duclair are now gone, this will undoubtedly be a battle of the bad.
San Jose Sharks lines March 9, 2024
With an optional skate on Friday in which no one felt up to participating in and no morning skate this morning, the lines today are just a guess. There likely won’t be much change from Thursday night’s game given that neither Duclair nor Hertl played and Kahkonen was the backup.
Expect Magnus Chrona to start today. The question is, who will be his backup now? Mackenzie Blackwood is still recovering from injury. While he might be well enough to play in a backup capacity, the Sharks would rather use Los Gatos native Cooley. I think it all depends on whether Cooley can get to San Jose and get the right pads in time for the game.
Here’s what we think the lines will look like:
Forwards
Thomas Bordeleau – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Filip Zadina – William Eklund – Luke Kunin
Justin Bailey – Nico Strum – Kevin Labanc
Alexander Barabanov – Ryan Carpenter – Mike Hoffman
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Henry Thrun – Jan Rutta
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Calen Addison
Goaltenders
Magnus Chrona
Devin Cooley (?)
Ottawa Senators lines vs. San Jose Sharks
The Daily Faceoff projects that Katchouk will make it to San Jose and play in today’s game. Joonas Korpisalo is expected to start in net. Top players like Josh Norris and Travis Hamonic remain on injured reserve. Thomas Chabot is day-to-day.
Forwards
Brady Tkachuk – Shane Pinto – Drake Batherson
Mathieu Joseph – Tim Stutzle – Claude Giroux
Ridly Greig – Rourke Chartier – Dominik Kubalik
Jiri Smejkal – Mark Kastelic – Boris Katchouk
Defensemen
Jake Sanderson – Artem Zub
Max Guenette – Jakob Chychrun
Erik Brannstrom – Jacob Bernard-Docker
Goaltenders
Joonas Korpisalo
Anton Forsberg
How to watch Senators at Sharks March 9, 2024
Puck drop for today’s game is 4 p.m. PT/7 p.m. ET at SAP Center.
Sharks fans can watch the game on NBCSCA or listen, as always, on the Sharks Audio Network, sjsharks.com/listen.
Senators fans can watch on Sportsnet One, CITY and TVAS2. They can listen on TSN 1200 or Unique FM 94.5.
In the U.S., you can also watch the game on ESPN+ or Hulu, though blackout restrictions will apply.
Be sure to come back here at game time to watch this new era of the Sharks with the rest of the Fear the Fin community.
As many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our