Sharks get bad news on major summer trade acquisition

San Jose Sharks center Mikael Granlund will be placed on injured reserve after re-aggravating a lower-body injury in Thursday night’s season opener against the Vegas Golden Knights, Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News reports. Granlund logged 15:36 of ice time before leaving early in the third period. No corresponding recall has been made yet, nor has the IR placement been registered with the league.

Granlund is still listed as day-to-day, and it’s unclear whether he’ll miss more than the seven days (and three games, in this case) required to land on IR. Head coach David Quinn told reporters that Granlund is “not feeling great” and that he noticed the previous injury rearing its head early in the game, via The Hockey News’ Max Miller. The summer trade acquisition from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Erik Karlsson deal missed a significant chunk of preseason with the injury.

Granlund is coming off a brutal end to the 2022-23 season, during which he scored just one goal and five points in 21 contests with the Penguins after they acquired him via trade from the Nashville Predators in March. The 31-year-old never lived up to expectations with the Predators after they acquired him from the Minnesota Wild for then-youngster Kevin Fiala, only eclipsing the 50-point mark once after doing so thrice with the Wild. Last season was also one of the worst of his career defensively, posting a -15 rating and 48.2% Corsi share at even strength.

His injury leaves the Sharks with 12 healthy forwards, meaning a recall is necessary for the Sharks to have an extra on the roster. Most of their likely recall options — namely Ryan Carpenter, Oskar Lindblom or Jacob Peterson — are not waiver-exempt and would need to clear again should they play more than ten games or stay on the roster for 30 days. For now, Luke Kunin is likely to shift to center after playing on Granlund’s wing last night, and Kevin Labanc will likely make his season debut tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche after sitting against Vegas.