SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl is expected to miss several weeks after he decided to have surgery to remove loose cartilage in his left knee, the team announced Monday.
It was not immediately clear when Hertl, 30, would have the procedure. In a statement, Sharks general manager Mike Grier said the timetable for Hertl to return “is still to be determined based on the findings of the procedure and his rehabilitation.”
Hertl’s ailment caused him to miss the Sharks’ last two games at the end of last month, as he sat out games against the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 30 and the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 31.
Hertl attended the NHL All-Star festivities from Feb. 1-3 in Toronto and at less than full strength, played in the 3-on-3 tournament that saw his team with captain Connor McDavid make the final but lose to a team captained by Auston Matthews.
Grier said because of the nature of this injury, the Sharks were “completely comfortable” with Hertl’s decision to participate in the All-Star Weekend.
“We respect his decision to have this procedure done now,” Grier said.
The Sharks entered the week at 14-32-5, the second-worst record in the NHL. San Jose, with 33 points, is two points ahead of Chicago (14-35-3).
Hertl, who leads the Sharks with 15 goals and 34 points in 48 games, issued his own statement through the team on Monday, saying he had been experiencing soreness in his left knee on and off this season.
“After speaking with doctors and our medical staff earlier this year, it was clear that the injury was not going to get any worse and I could continue to play through it, including attending the NHL All-Star Weekend in Toronto,” Hertl’s statement said. “After returning from Toronto and having additional conversations with my family and our team medical staff over the last week, I made the decision to have this procedure done now so that I can return to 100% as soon as possible.”
Hertl has had several knee issues during his 11-year NHL career.
In 2013, Hertl, then a 19-year-old rookie, needed surgery to repair damage to the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee following a knee-on-knee collision with then-Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown.
In the 2016 Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hertl’s right knee was injured in Game 2. He missed the rest of the series, which the Penguins won in six games, but did not need surgery.
In Jan. 2020, Hertl, then 26, suffered a torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments n his left knee during a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Sharks were looking forward to having a full complement of centermen available to them for the first time this season, as Hertl, Logan Couture, Mikael Granlund, and Nico Sturm have all had to miss at least some time this season.
Couture did not practice Sunday or Monday as Sharks coach David Quinn has labeled him “day-to-day.”
It was not immediately unclear as to when Couture would be able to return to practice as he was dealing with soreness related to the injury he had, osteitis pubis, throughout the first half of the season.
Couture returned to the Sharks’ lineup on Jan. 20 for a game against the Anaheim Ducks, and played in six straight games last month before the NHL All-Star break.
The Sharks have five other players on IR at the moment — forwards Mikael Granlund and Givani Smith and defensemen Mario Ferraro, Henry Thrun, and Matt Benning.
Granlund, Smith, Ferraro, and Thrun all practiced Sunday and appear to be nearing a return. Benning is expected to miss the remainder of the season after he had hip surgery in December.
The Sharks are practicing again this morning, and are scheduled to practice again on Tuesday before they fly to Winnipeg to take on the Jets on Wednesday. The Sharks then complete the two-game jaunt to Western Canada with a game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Please check back for updates to this story.
Source: www.mercurynews.com