San Jose Sharks to start season without key defenseman

Defenseman Radim Simek will not be ready to play Thursday when the San Jose Sharks open their season against the Arizona Coyotes.

Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Wednesday that Simek is still experiencing pain in his surgically repaired right knee and that he’ll likely have to miss Saturday’s game with the Coyotes as well. After Saturday, the Sharks travel to face the St. Louis Blues on Monday and Wednesday.

Simek complained of knee discomfort on Jan. 5 halfway through training camp, and the Sharks were confident at that time that he would be ready to play Thursday. Simek did not skate the following four days but has been on the ice recently, including over the weekend and on Wednesday.

Boughner said Simek had an MRI recently and added, “Structurally, I think everything’s fine. He’s just dealing with some pain and a little bit of swelling. But structurally, he’s fine.”

Now the Sharks have to turn to some less-experienced players to start on their third defense pair, at least for the time being. Also on the roster are Nicolas Meloche, Nikolai Knyzhov and Jake Middleton.

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“From what I’m hearing, we’re hoping that (Simek) is just day-to-day and he’ll be ready for the St. Louis series,” Boughner said. “But if not, we’ve got to make some decisions on those other guys, (depending on) what team we’re playing, what kind of look we want on the back end.

“But (Knyzhov) has really improved and all those guys are big men, and we want them to play a simple game. Move the puck, make the first pass and defend hard, and they all can do that.”

Meloche, 23, Knyzhov, 22, and Middleton, 25, have a combined 16 games of NHL experience. Middleton’s is in his fifth season in the Sharks organization, and Knyzhov and Meloche are both in their second seasons.

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“I thought that Knyzhov’s had a nice camp, (Middleton) has had some good days, and I really like Meloche,” Boughner said. “Those are the three guys that we’re going to be making decisions on, and I think that’s going to be a game-to-game thing.”

Simek, a left-shot defenseman, suffered a torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his knee in March 2019 in a game against the Winnipeg Jets. Simek, who also damaged his meniscus in the accident, missed the rest of the 2018-19 season and the Sharks’ playoff run to the Western Conference final.

Simek returned to the Sharks’ lineup on Nov. 5 of the 2019-2020 season and played 16 games until Dec. 7. Then he had to sit out seven games to have a procedure done to alleviate the irritation in his knee that was related to his meniscus. Simek returned to play the final 32 games of the season.

Simek, who signed a four-year contract extension with the Sharks in March, said last week that he began to be bothered by the knee shortly after he started to skate again in May or June in his native Czech Republic.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 8: San Jose Sharks’ Nikolai Knyzhov (71) waits for a face-off against the Colorado Avalanche in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday, March 8, 2020. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group) 

“I did nothing wrong, and my knee was starting to hurt again,” Simek said. “I’m trying to do my best (in practice), but sometimes it’s so hard for me.

“I’m sad sometimes about my knee, because I’m trying to do the best every day, and sometimes I cannot do the best. So, I have to keep working, and we’ll see what happens.”

In two seasons, the Sharks are 53-29-7 with Simek in the lineup, and his injury figures to put more responsibility, at least in the short term, on the shoulders of the Sharks’ top-four defenseman — Brent Burns, Mario Ferraro, Erik Karlsson and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Sharks roster, as a whole, figures to be young, as 22-year-old forwards Noah Gregor and John Leonard will likely both be in the lineup Thursday. Ferraro is also 22 and is in his second full season with the Sharks.

“Tomorrow night you could see possibly four rookies in that lineup and about six different faces,” Boughner said as he talked about the changes from last season. “We’re in a different spot. We’ve talked about the way we want to act as a team and treat each other, and I really believe we’re in a completely different spot.”

MR. SHARK IS AN ALTERNATE: Boughner said Patrick Marleau will be one of the Sharks’ alternate captains this season. Logan Couture is in his second season as the Sharks’ captain, and Tomas Hertl, Burns and Karlsson also remain alternates.

“I couldn’t think of anybody better to wear (a letter) and be a leader,” Boughner said of Marleau. “Just a first-class guy. I know we have a lot of young guys in our lineup right now and he’s a great person to look up to. We’re happy with our leadership group and we’re happy with the way things have gone.”

Marleau, who replaces Joe Thornton as the Sharks’ fourth alternate, is San Jose’s all-time franchise leader in points (1,102), goals (518), power-play goals (161), game-winning goals (101) and games played (1,551). He was the Sharks’ captain from 2003 through 2009.

Marleau is in position to pass Gordie Howe this season on the NHL’s all-time games played list. Marleau has played 1,723 games, fifth-most all time. Howe played 1,767 games.

JONES TO START?: Boughner did not want to say who his starting goalie will be Thursday, but added that it will likely be Martin Jones. “He’s had a great camp. He definitely deserves it,” Boughner said.