Sharks trade Wingels to Senators

The San Jose Sharks traded forward Tommy Wingels to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2017 seventh round pick, and Binghamton Senators forwards Buddy Robinson and Zack Stortini, the team announced. As part of the deal, San Jose will retain 30% of Wingels’ salary, according to a release from the Senators.

Wingels, a 2008 sixth round pick, played 337 games and scored 122 points with the Sharks. He made his NHL debut during the 2010-11 season, and established himself as a regular in the Sharks’ lineup over the next two seasons.

“Tommy has been a valuable member of our franchise for many years, a phenomenal teammate and a true role model on and off the ice for our organization and the NHL,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. “As a team evolves and younger players push for roster spots, unfortunately tough decisions have to be made. We wish Tommy and his wife, Molly, nothing but success in the future.”

The Sharks now have 14 forwards on their roster, including the injured Micheal Haley, according to Cap Friendly. Excluding Tomas Hertl’s long-term injured reserve exemption, the Sharks are now $523,471 over the salary cap.

Sending down Ryan Carpenter, Barclay Goodrow, or defenseman Tim Heed to the Barracuda should alleviate those cap concerns once Hertl is activated from injured reserve, as all of their contracts are worth more than the Sharks’ salary cap overage.

In the immediate future, this opens up a spot for Carpenter to assume the Sharks’ fourth line center role. That may not last long, however, as friend of the blog Kevin Kurz has been told it’s likely Hertl will return to the lineup Thursday against Edmonton.

Meanwhile, Robinson and Stortini have already been assigned to the Barracuda, the Sharks said. Robinson’s played in just seven NHL games, while Stortini has not played in the NHL since the 2011-12 season. The 25-year-old Robinson is set to become a restricted free agent after the season, while Stortini will become an unrestricted free agent.