The San Jose Sharks have made a trade. The team announced just before the game that it has traded prospect Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for center Jack Studnicka.
TRADE ALERT 🚨#SJSharks acquire center Jack Studnicka from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round Draft selection.
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 16, 2023
“Jack is a big and fast, reliable two-way center who is only 24-years-old,” said General Manager Mike Grier. “He plays a complete game and has offensive upside. We are happy to have him join the organization.”
Studnicka has played five games for the Canucks this season. He has one goal. Studnicka has appeared in 90 career NHL games, split between the Canucks and the Boston Bruins. He has a career 16 points (6 G, 10 A) and has also appeared in five playoff games. He represented Team Canada at the 2019 World Junior Championships.
He is not expected to play tonight but could join the team in Colorado for Sunday’s game against the Avalanche.
Meanwhile, the Arizona Coyotes are back home at Mullett Arena, looking for that home-ice advantage. The Coyotes lost all three of the team’s games on the most recent road trip and have now lost four in a row. The Coyotes will have to turn things around starting tonight against the San Jose Sharks if the Coyotes want to keep pace in the Central Division. The Coyotes currently sit in sixth place and are within one point of the St. Louis Blues, which currently holds the second wildcard spot in the playoff race.
The game comes as a serious investigation by the NHL and the NHL Players Association into the Coyotes is underway. The investigation involves an injury to Juuso Valimaki on Nov. 14. During a game against the Dallas Stars, Valimaki was hit in the face with a puck and seriously injured. According to The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, Valimaki was reportedly dropped off at a local Dallas hospital and left with his spouse and a Coyotes employee to advocate for care. It wasn’t until the NHLPA sent a representative that Valimaki received help.
“Sources told Daily Faceoff that Valimaki was dropped off in the emergency room, like any other patient, and left to advocate for his own care with his wife – who happened to be in Dallas at the road game – and a Coyotes team employee. After initial observation, the overworked Dallas hospital staff told Valimaki to find a local hotel and come back in the morning, that their attention was turned toward more critical incoming trauma patients such as gunshot victims.
“But Valimaki was in need of immediate care. With his face bloodied, a hole in his mouth and significant internal bleeding, Valimaki was unable to function, sources said. Doctors later told Valimaki that if he had returned to a hotel and slept it off as directed by the hospital, there was a chance he could have asphyxiated on his own blood. It wasn’t until five hours later, and only after the NHLPA stepped in to assist, that Valimaki received 55 stitches in his mouth to close the wound, which included a fractured bone and the loss of three teeth.”
Seravalli reports that the issue may have more to do with a gap in protocol than negligence on any single organization’s part. Valimaki returned to the ice approximately two weeks after the injury and continues to wear full face protection as his jaw heals.
San Jose Sharks lines
To tonight’s game, where the Sharks are still without Nico Sturm. He was placed on IR and there’s no timeline for his return. That may have been the trigger for the trade for Studnicka.
Here’s what the lines are expected to look like courtesy of Daily Faceoff:
Forwards
William Eklund – Tomas Hertl – Alexander Barabanov
Anthony Duclair – Mikael Granlund – Fabian Zetterlund
Justin Bailey – Luke Kunin – Mike Hoffman
Givani Smith – Filip Zadina – Kevin Labanc
Defensemen
Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Nikita Okhotiuk – Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun – Calen Addison
Goaltenders
Kaapo Kahkonen
Mackenzie Blackwood
Arizona Coyotes lines
As for the Coyotes, it’s the first chance to see young Logan Cooley in action. Here’s what the lines are expected to look like, courtesy of The Daily Faceoff.
Forwards
Clayton Keller – Nick Schmaltz – Jason Zucker
Matias Maccelli – Nick Bjugstad – Lawson Crouse
Michael Carcone – Logan Cooley – Alex Kerfoot
Milos Kelemen – Jack McBain – Liam O’Brien
Defensemen
J.J. Moser – Mathew Dumba
Juuso Valimaki – Troy Stecher
Travis Dermott – Michael Kesselring
Goaltenders
Connor Ingram
Karel Vejmelka
How to watch San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes
Tonight’s game will be broadcast regionally on NBCSCA. Streaming is available with a subscription to ESPN+ (blackout restrictions may apply). The game is also set to air on the NHL Network. The radio call will be streamed through the Sharks Audio Network. Arizona Coyotes fans can watch the game your local Scripps Sports station (full details here) or listen on Radio ESPN 620.
The game starts at 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET at Mullett Arena.
Check back then to follow along with all of the play-by-play action in the comment section below!
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