Sharks' Marc-Edouard Vlasic won't require surgery in offseason

NBC Sports reporter Sheng Peng tweeted Wednesday that San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Édouard Vlasic won’t require surgery for his lower body injury. 

Peng had reported earlier in the week that Vlasic would be sidelined for the remainder of the year and that he wouldn’t accompany the Sharks on their final road trip. 

Little is known about what is ailing Vlasic, but Peng also mentioned that the injury is a shorter-term issue.

Vlasic and the Sharks have had a forgettable few seasons. San Jose is 22-42-16 on the season and haven’t qualified for the playoffs since the 2018-19 season when they went to the Western Conference Finals. 

That playoff push capped off a run of the Sharks making the playoffs in 19 out of 21 seasons. Since that time, they have missed the postseason four years in a row. Unheard of for a franchise that had become accustomed to playoff hockey every spring.

For his part, Vlasic hasn’t topped 25 points since the 2018-19 season and has transitioned into more of a depth role. This season Vlasic had just a single goal and 18 points while taking up $7M in cap space. 

The past couple of summers have seen talk of Vlasic being a buyout candidate, and with three years left on his contract and a partial no-movement clause, it seems unlikely that San Jose would find a taker for the 36-year-old.

The Sharks are sure to have an interesting summer as they move deeper into a rebuild. They have a middle of the pack farm system, a few desirable NHL assets, but have yet to build up much in the way of draft capital. 

They are at the beginning of what could be a very long and painful rebuild, but could jump start things if they choose to move defenseman Erik Karlsson.