Sharks’ Tomas Hertl won’t play Tuesday vs. Kraken

He exited last Saturday’s game against the Buffalo Sabres with a lower-body injury. The Sharks lost the game 5-2.

The team also expects defenseman Jacob MacDonald to be in the lineup, replacing the injured Mario Ferraro who the Sharks placed on IR on Monday. It will be MacDonald’s first game with the club since Dec. 23 when he injured himself against the Vancouver Canucks.

Hertl, 30, has 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 48 games with the Sharks this season. He leads the team in both goals and points, and is averaging a career-high 20:54 in ice time.

The 17th overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft is in the second year of an eight-year, $65.1 million deal with an AAV of $8.13 million signed ahead of the 2022-23 season.

In 11 NHL seasons, all with the Sharks, Hertl has 218 goals and 266 assists for 484 points in 712 games. He reached career highs in 2018-19, scoring 35 goals and 74 points.

The native of Praha, Czechia has represented his country in international play multiple times, including two World Junior Championship appearances in 2012 and 2013, and four World Championships, including a bronze medal in 2022.

San Jose is having one of its worst seasons in franchise history. Going into Tuesday night, the Sharks are 13-32-4 with 30 points through 49 games, tied for last in the entire league with the Chicago Blackhawks. After Tuesday’s game vs. the Kraken, the Sharks go up the road to Orange County to face the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday, then they’re off for the next two weeks for the All-Star Break.

Their next game is Wednesday, Feb. 14 against the Winnipeg Jets.