Sharks activate Vincent Desharnais off IR, assign veteran to Barracuda
Defenseman Vincent Desharnais has been activated off injured reserve and will be in the San Jose Sharks’ lineup for Monday’s game against Matthew Tkachuk and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.
Desharnais has missed the last seven-plus weeks with an upper-body injury. His last game was on Nov. 26, when the Sharks lost 6-0 to the Colorado Avalanche.
Desharnais was not injured in that game, but said Monday he had surgery, which was not announced by the Sharks, to repair a bothersome elbow, according to San Jose Hockey Now.
Prior to his injury, Desharnais was the Sharks’ top penalty-killing defenseman, with a team-leading 3:27 in average shorthanded time on ice in 20 games. For the season, he’s averaged 16:33 in ice time, mainly as a third-pair defenseman.
The Sharks’ penalty kill on Nov. 27 ranked 18th in the NHL at 80%, and entered Monday ranked 25th at 76.9%.
The Sharks on Sunday made room for Desharnais’s return to the 23-man roster by placing veteran defenseman Nick Leddy on waivers. The 34-year-old Leddy, whose contract carries a $4 million cap hit, cleared waivers on Monday and was assigned to the Barracuda of the AHL.
Leddy, a veteran of 1,061 NHL games, last played in the AHL on Jan. 5, 2013, with the Rockford IceHogs. He was recalled by the Blackhawks eight days later and remained in the NHL for the rest of the season, including dressing for all 23 playoff games as Chicago went on to win the Stanley Cup.
The Barracuda’s next game is on Wednesday in Coachella Valley. It was not immediately clear if Leddy would be in the lineup for that game.
Tkachuk will be making his season-debut for the Panthers after he had surgery in August to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia. He last played on June 17, 2025, when the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 to win the Stanley Cup Final in six games.
“I’m feeling great,” Tkachuk said. “Just so excited to be back. It has been a little over five months since the surgery, so I have just been champing at the bit to come back. Really happy the day is finally here.
“I’m here to be a hockey player, not to cheer from the sidelines. I am here to compete with the guys. It’s not like I can dip my toe like it is the preseason or even the beginning of a season like past years. I told them I am coming back. Throw me in the fire.”
Monday’s game is the third on the Sharks’ four-game road trip that ends on Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Earlier Monday, the Sharks acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks for second-round draft picks in 2026 and 2027 and AHL defenseman Cole Clayton.
The Sharks (24-20-3) entered this week locked in a tight playoff battle. San Jose, before Monday’s games, was the Western Conference’s second wild-card team with 51 points, the same as Pacific Division rivals Seattle Kraken, Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings. The Nashville Predators are right behind with 50 points.