The agent for Kevin Labanc said he is working with the San Jose Sharks to try and find a fresh start elsewhere for the 28-year-old forward who has been a healthy scratch 12 times in 17 games since Christmas.
Michael Curran, Labanc’s agent, confirmed to Bay Area News Group that he would like to find the New York City native a new place to play either before the March 8 trade deadline or in the offseason. The Hockey News first reported the development earlier Wednesday.
“Regardless of the outcome, I know (Labanc) will continue to work as hard as he can to get back in the lineup and give the Sharks his best effort,” Curran told the publication.
Efforts to reach Sharks general manager Mike Grier on Wednesday for comment were not immediately successful.
Labanc, in the final year of a four-year, $18.9 million contract and a pending unrestricted free agent, will be a healthy scratch for the seventh straight game Wednesday when the Sharks face the Winnipeg Jets and Canada Life Centre. Labanc was also out of the lineup five times in six games from Dec. 28 to Jan. 9.
Labanc, a sixth-round draft choice by the Sharks in 2014, has just seven points in 32 games this season, as he’s seen his ice time reduced from 14:20 per game last season to 11:47 this season. For his career, Labanc has 223 points in 464 games, all with San Jose.
“I think the biggest thing that I’m going to miss is just being around these guys,” Labanc told this news organization this week when asked about the trade deadline. “Just everybody in here. We just have such great chemistry. But it’s never goodbye. It’s always see you later.”
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Asked if he would welcome a change of scenery, Labanc said, “That’s not my call. That’s up to (Grier) and whatever he wants to do.”
Has he spoken with Grier, Labanc was asked.
“I’m sure that he’s had conversations with other people,” Labanc said. “So if there is a trade on the line, like I said, it’s not my call. I’m just a player and I go on the ice and I do what I’m told.”
Please check back for updates to this story.
