SAN JOSE – Matt Nieto watched final yr as Andrew Cogliano raised the Stanley Cup over his head only a few months after he was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche from the San Jose Sharks.
Now Nieto needs to expertise that very same feeling, as he’s match proper again in with an Avalanche group that totally expects to go on one other deep playoff run this spring.
“That’s the objective for positive,” stated Nieto, who additionally performed with the Avalanche from 2016 to 2020. “Proper after I obtained traded right here and conversations I had with employees and gamers, everybody needs to repeat that once more. Simply watching the work that we do each day, guys are actually dedicated to succeeding and ensuring that occurs.”
Each Nieto and Cogliano had been again in San Jose on Tuesday for the primary time since they had been every traded by the Sharks to Colorado. The Avalanche acquired Cogliano from the Sharks for a draft decide on the commerce deadline final yr, and picked up Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley on Jan. 25 for ahead Martin Kaut and defenseman/ahead Jacob MacDonald. Merkley and Kaut are each within the AHL proper now.
Whereas Kaut, the important thing determine in that deal from San Jose’s perspective, figures to be part of the Sharks’ future previous this season, Nieto, Cogliano, and the Avalanche are fascinated by proper now. They entered Tuesday’s recreation in San Jose simply two factors out of first place within the Central Division.
Nieto, who signed a two-year contract with the Sharks in 2021 as a free agent, averaged near 16 minutes per recreation as a middle-six ahead in San Jose. On a deeper Colorado group, he’s performed about 11 minutes per recreation with a while on the penalty kill.
“He’s been nice, a seamless transition, it appears like he by no means left,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar stated of Nieto. “We clearly favored him the primary time we had him. He’s performed an enormous function for us once more, doing the identical issues that he did for us earlier than he left.”
Cogliano was acquired by the Avalanche ultimately yr’s commerce deadline for a 2024 fifth-round decide, an apparent indication that the Sharks needed to do proper by the ahead, who was nonetheless chasing his first Cup after 15 years within the NHL.
“(The Sharks) did me an enormous service by buying and selling me to a extremely good group and giving me the chance to win, which sort of labored out completely,” Cogliano stated. “In hindsight, all the things labored out precisely how I'd envision it. I thanked (then-interim common supervisor Joe Will), all of the employees, (former scouting director) Doug Wilson Jr., all of the people who had been right here final yr that did a superb job by way of giving me a possibility to return right here.”
The Sharks, in some respects, did the identical with Nieto, though they've seen extra of an instantaneous return with Kaut, 23, and MacDonald, 30. Kaut has 5 factors in 9 video games with the Sharks, and MacDonald had performed 19 video games with the group earlier than Tuesday and has offered some useful depth on protection. Merkley is within the AHL with eight factors in 26 video games.
“It’s a extremely good tradition on this room,” Nieto stated. “I’m pleased to be part of it and I can’t wait to get to the playoffs.”
INJURY UPDATES: Forwards Andreas Johnsson and Alexander Barabanov may very well be out for the rest of the season with their respective accidents, Sharks coach David Quinn stated Tuesday.
Johnsson hasn’t performed since March 20 when he blocked a shot by defenseman Darnell Nurse within the second interval of a Sharks’ recreation towards the Edmonton Oilers. Barabanov’s final recreation was March 25 towards the Calgary Flames. Barabanov, within the first yr of a two-year contract, has 47 factors in 68 video games this season.
After Tuesday, the Sharks have simply 5 video games remaining, beginning with their two last house video games towards Colorado on Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday.
Injured winger Oskar Lindblom was held out of Tuesday’s recreation however Quinn was optimistic he might play Thursday. With Lindblom out, the Sharks recalled Danil Gushchin from the Barracuda on Tuesday morning.
Evgeny Svechnikov, who had missed the Sharks’ final seven video games earlier than Tuesday, was additionally accessible to play towards the Avalanche.
OKHOTIUK DONE FOR YEAR: Defenseman Nikita Okhotiuk, acquired by the Sharks from New Jersey in February as a part of the Timo Meier commerce, has had core muscle surgical procedure, the group introduced Tuesday.
Okhotiuk had the surgical procedure Monday and is predicted to get well in time for the Sharks’ coaching camp in September, the group stated.
Okhotiuk, 22, posted an image of himself in a San Jose hospital mattress on his Instagram account Tuesday morning, saying his season was over. He's anticipated to be launched from the hospital quickly. Okhotiuk has not performed since Feb. 11 when he was with the Utica Comets of the AHL.