SAN JOSE – Who knows what the San Jose Sharks’ lineup will look like after the NHL trade deadline on Friday.
Several players presently on the Sharks active roster could be on the move as general manager Mike Grier continues his overhaul of the rebuilding team.
Anthony Duclair, who had two goals and two assists Tuesday in the Sharks’ 7-6 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars at SAP Center, figures to be one of those players.
The speedy Duclair, a pending unrestricted free agent, now has 16 goals on the season – tied for the team lead – and 10 points in his last eight games.
It didn’t take the sting out of Tuesday’s loss.
The Sharks built a 6-3 lead on Mikael Granlund’s ninth goal of the season at the 3:02 mark of the third period. But the Stars scored three times in a span of 2:44, with Wyatt Johnston scoring at the 13:41 and 15:42 marks to tie the game 6-6.
Then Roope Hintz scored at the 1:49 mark of overtime to complete Dallas’ unlikely comeback win.
With two days left before the trade deadline, it would be stunning to see forward Fabian Zetterlund shipped out.
Not only is the 24-year-old Zetterlund under team control for a few more years, including for an economical $1.45 million next season, he’s also become one of the Sharks’ most impactful players.
Zetterlund assisted on Duclair’s goals in the first and second periods and notched one himself — off an assist from Duclair – in the first period as the Sharks snapped a seven-game losing streak and improved to 10-18-2 at home this season.
Zetterlund also has 16 goals to go with 12 assists and figures to be a part of the Sharks’ young nucleus going forward, a group which includes William Eklund and Henry Thrun, and probably Filip Zadina and Luke Kunin.
Zetterlund was knocked out of Tuesday’s game midway through the third period on a hit by Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa and did not return.
Other pending unrestricted free agents had an impact in Tuesday’s game. Mike Hoffman assisted on Zadina’s second period goal and Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen allowed three goals on 25 shots in the first two periods.
The game was played in front of the season’s smallest announced crowd as just 10,070 tickets were distributed for the game. The previous season-low was 10,074 for a Nov. 7 game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The actual number of fans in attendance Tuesday looked to be far less than 10,000, with most sections around the arena far less than half full. Arena officials were expecting just over 6,000 fans in the building.
