SAN JOSE – Between an extended break for the San Jose Sharks — and six straight games as a healthy scratch – Kevin Labanc, as of Tuesday, hadn’t played an NHL game in exactly four weeks.
Apart from the 2021-2022 season when Labanc missed the final four months with a shoulder injury, it’s the longest the winger has gone without playing a game for the Sharks during a season since he entered the NHL full-time in 2017.
“I think everybody’s a little bit frustrated from my end of it,” Labanc told the Bay Area News Group about repeatedly being a healthy scratch. “But you just do what you can. I’m ready to go.”
Perhaps that opportunity for Labanc to play again will come Wednesday when the Sharks play the Winnipeg Jets to start a two-game road trip. Sharks coach David Quinn said after Tuesday‘s practice that he still hadn’t finalized his lineup for the game, which will be San Jose’s first since Jan. 31.
Labanc’s most recent game was on Jan. 16 in Chicago, as he had just 7:53 of ice time and didn’t play the final 10 minutes of the third period or in overtime in what became a 2-1 shootout loss. Labanc was the only Sharks player to score in what became a nine-round shootout.
That was the last time Labanc was seen in a Sharks uniform, as forward Anthony Duclair re-entered the lineup for the following game against Anaheim, and the group of wingers the Sharks went with to finish the month remained largely the same.
Asked why Labanc hasn’t been playing of late, Quinn said, “We just think we’ve got 12 (forwards) who have played better than him.”
“It’s funny that people always talk about, ‘I need an opportunity,’ ” Quinn said. “Well, every day is an opportunity. I’m not out there making my grocery list while practice is going on. I’m paying attention to what guys are doing, how hard they’re working and if they’re trying to do what they’re supposed to do.
“That’s all part of the equation. It’s not just what you do in games. You’re getting evaluated in everything everything you do. That holds true to every player.”
Will Labanc get a chance to escape Quinn’s doghouse this week and show he can still contribute? Maybe.
The larger question for Labanc and the Sharks will be whether he’s still on the team past the March 8 trade deadline.
Labanc, in the final year of a four-year, $18.9 million contract and a pending unrestricted free agent, only has seven points in 32 games this season, well below the half-point per game he generated in the first six-plus seasons of his NHL career. The 11:47 he’s averaged in ice time per game this season is a career-low by nearly two minutes.
All of this suggests Labanc’s time with the Sharks will be coming to an end this spring. It’s just a matter of whether the New York City native will remain with the team past the trade deadline or be part of another team’s playoff push.
Labanc’s contract has an average annual value of $4.725 million. But since salary cap hits are prorated, Labanc’s will only be around $1 million by the first week of March.
Labanc has playoff experience, as he has 14 points in 30 career postseason games, including his famous four-point game against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of the Sharks’ first-round playoff series in April 2019.
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“(The deadline) is obviously looming over everyone’s shoulder. Trades are going to happen. I think it’s inevitable,” Labanc said. “It’s tough. You hate to see a couple of guys go. It’s such a great locker room.
“I think the biggest thing that I’m going to miss is just being around these guys. Just everybody in here. We just have such great chemistry. But it’s never goodbye. It’s always see you later.”
STARTING GOALIES: Kaapo Kahkonen will start Wednesday’s game against Winnipeg, Quinn said, likely leaving Mackenzie Blackwood to start Thursday’s game in Calgary. Kahkonen went 1-4-1 in six games in January with a .900 save percentage and 3.65 goals against average.
GETTING HEALTHY: All signs point to defenseman Mario Ferraro (lower body), and forwards Mikael Granlund (upper body) and Givani Smith (lower body) being activated off of injured reserve before Wednesday’s game. There might still be a question about Henry Thrun, though, as the Sharks only have three roster spots available even if they place Logan Couture (groin) on IR.
