SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks have been hit with one other damage to a key participant as forward Tyler Toffoli will probably be out for Saturday’s sport against the Philadelphia Flyers — and sure longer — with a lower-body ailment.
Toffoli left the Sharks’ sport against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday after the primary interval and didn’t return, whereas San Jose went on to lose 5-0 earlier than an introduced sellout crowd of 17,435 at SAP Center.
Toffoli, now in his second season with the Sharks, is the staff’s third-leading scorer with 44 factors, together with 18 objectives, in 67 video games. He performs on the Sharks’ prime energy play unit and is eighth amongst all San Jose forwards in common time on ice (15:17).
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky mentioned Friday that Toffoli, 33, was being evaluated and that he may need some clarification on the winger’s outlook on Saturday.
“Veteran guy, right? He’s been around a long time, seen a lot of playoff hockey, and in these kinds of moments, he can really help your group move forward,” Warsofsky mentioned of Toffoli, a veteran of 957 NHL video games who gained the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2014. “So we’re going to miss him for a little bit here. But I think we have some guys that can fill in and help out, and he’ll still be around.”
For Friday’s observe at SAP Center, Warsofsky had Philipp Kurashev be part of the Sharks’ prime line alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. Kurashev, with 20 factors in 41 video games this season, was a wholesome scratch for the Sharks’ final two video games, including their 5-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to get (Kurashev) going and kind of give him a clean slate, get him up there with (Celebrini),” Warsofsky mentioned.
Toffoli, who led the Sharks with 30 objectives final season, has performed a key management function on a staff that options a number of gamers underneath 23.
“A veteran presence,” Sharks middle Macklin Celebrini mentioned of Toffoli. “Especially over the last two years, how close we’ve gotten with him. His leadership, just the way he talks. He’s always there for you if you want to ask him questions. Even on the ice. He plays hard. He can score from anywhere, and he’s really dangerous.”
The Sharks proper now are additionally coping with accidents to No. 1 goalie Yaroslav Askarov (decrease physique), winger Igor Chernyshov (higher physique), and middle Ty Dellandrea (decrease physique).
Askarov and Chernyshov each skated aside from the Sharks on Friday, but it surely stays unclear when both participant would possibly start working towards with the staff. For the second straight day, Dellandrea skated with the Sharks whereas carrying an orange non-contact jersey. He stays week-to-week, Warsofsky mentioned.
Vincent Desharnais, who performed on the Sharks’ prime protection pair alongside Dmitry Orlov towards the Sabres, additionally missed Friday’s observe with an upper-body damage, and his availability for Saturday will probably be decided nearer to sport time.
The accidents come at a fragile time for the Sharks, who’ve misplaced three straight video games and entered Friday in eleventh place within the Western Conference with 70 factors, two factors behind the Kings for the second wild-card spot. The Sharks are additionally one level behind each the Seattle Kraken and the Nashville Predators.
The Sharks, feeling extra strain than typical, have collected simply six of a potential 16 factors over their final eight video games. In that point, they’ve averaged 4 objectives allowed per sport, fourth-most within the NHL, and have scored simply 2.63 per sport, Twenty fifth-best within the league.
After Saturday, the Sharks could have 14 video games remaining, beginning with a three-game highway journey subsequent week with stops in Nashville, St. Louis, and Columbus.
“I think we just need to regroup a little bit,” mentioned Celebrini, who leads the Sharks with 95 factors however has been held off the scoresheet the final two video games. “Try less, stop gripping the stick a little too tight. It’s tough with where we are. There’s (four) teams within (two points) of one another, so it’s tough to take that mindset. But we’ve got to grip the stick a little less and just play.”
SHERWOOD ON TOCCHET
Sharks winger Kiefer Sherwood has cited Rick Tocchet as a serious affect on his profession whereas the 2 had been each with the Vancouver Canucks in the course of the 2024-25 season. Sherwood was in his first season with the Canucks after signing a two-year take care of the staff, and Tocchet, now in his first 12 months because the Flyers’ head coach, was in what could be his third and closing season in Vancouver.
Tocchet stepped down because the Canucks’ coach on April 29, 2025, after he reportedly turned down a profitable contract extension provide from the staff. He was employed by the Flyers on May 14.
Sherwood flourished underneath Tocchet, establishing new profession highs with 78 video games performed, 19 objectives, and 40 factors.
“Players, coaches, everyone, they’ve got to do what’s best for them,” Sherwood mentioned, when requested about Tocchet’s departure from Vancouver. “It’s such a enterprise generally, and also you by no means know what goes on by means of individuals’s desires and wishes and form of private ambitions.
“He obviously wanted to continue to grow his Philly legacy or whatever, so you can’t really fault a guy … if you have, I don’t want to say leverage, but just a time that you can kind of control a little bit of your future to do that, it’s a business, obviously, and he’s earned the right to to be where he wants.”
