SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks believed winger Nikolai Kovalenko would be a part of their future when they acquired him as part of the trade that sent goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche in December.
But after a frustrating first few months in San Jose, Kovalenko’s outlook with the Sharks appears murky at best, with the 25-year-old forward saying Thursday that he’d like to be back with the team but only if his usage changes and his playing time increases.
Between injuries and repeated healthy scratches, including seven in a nine-game span from March 15 to April 5, Kovalenko had 12 points in 29 games with the Sharks as he was moved up and down and in and out of the lineup.
Since the trade, Kovalenko averaged 12:40 in ice time with the Sharks, ninth most among all forwards still with the organization. The Sharks (20-50-12) ended their season with a 3-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday and finished last in the NHL with 52 points.
Kovalenko, a pending restricted free agent, revealed Thursday that two general managers from the Kontinental Hockey League, where he spent five-plus seasons before coming to North America last April, have already contacted him.
In a recent interview with Russia Hockey, Nikolai’s father, longtime NHL player Andrei Kovalenko, said, “Overall, there’s discontent from (Nikolai’s) side,” and that his son’s agent was talking with his former KHL team, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, about a possible return.
The website also reported that Andrei Kovalenko recently met with Sharks general manager Mike Grier, his former Oilers teammate.
Nikolai Kovalenko said his dream is to play in the NHL. On Thursday, when the Sharks met as a team for the final time this season, he was asked if he wants to stay with San Jose if he remains in the NHL.
“I think it’s a good question for Mike Grier, not for me,” Kovalenko said, “and if he would like me to stay, we’ll have a conversation about this. If not, OK, we’ll find just another team.”
The Sharks need to issue a qualifying offer to Kovalenko by late June if they want to retain his rights. If Kovalenko leaves for the KHL without a trade to another NHL team, the Sharks would still hold his NHL rights.
Does Kovalenko want to return to San Jose if Grier wants him back?
“I think if it will be the same thing like this year, obviously not,” Kovalenko said, referring to his playing time. “So, maybe if something changed, or something like that, we can have this conversation.”
Kovalenko missed 14 games with the Sharks this season because of injury, including nine straight games from Feb. 4 to March 4. He returned to the lineup on March 6 when the Sharks played the Avalanche in Denver and dressed for six of the next seven games.
Kovalenko was scratched for six straight games from March 27 to April 5. The scratches coincided with the arrival of forward prospect Cam Lund, who signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks on March 21 and made his NHL debut six days later.
Asked about his message to Kovalenko, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, earlier this month, said, “I think every time you’re on the ice, if it’s a practice, if it’s a morning skate, that’s your game. You’re always being evaluated.”
Kovalenko played the season’s final six games and saw increased ice time, playing at times on a line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. In the final six games, Kovalenko had a goal and two assists and averaged over 15 minutes in ice time, revealing that he can perhaps be an asset to the Sharks.
Sharks veteran center Alexander Wennberg saw Kovalenko’s ability but noted that if someone wants to play more, it must be on merit.
“I feel like you kind of earn your ice time,” said Wennberg, who just finished his 11th NHL season. “Obviously, everyone wants to play more, but you’ve got to leave it all out there. I don’t have any secret recipe for how you play more or not. But if you look around the room, there are so many talented players. Everyone wants to play more. Everyone wants to play the power play and all that.
“So it comes down to you, your work ethic, and how much you want to do it, and (Kovalenko’s) doing a good job. But obviously, it’s competitive. Everyone here wants to do the same thing as well. So the only thing you can do is try to be better than the guy next to you. That helps everyone push to a higher level and helps the team.”
GEORGIEV GONE: Alexandar Georgiev’s time with the Sharks is ending, with the goalie saying after Wednesday’s game that Grier told him the team is going in a different direction at the position.
Georgiev is in the final year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract he signed with Colorado in July 2022 and he is set to become an unrestricted free agent. The Sharks acquired Georgiev, Kovalenko, and two draft picks in the Blackwood trade.
Georgiev, 29, went 7-19-4 with an .875 save percentage in 31 games with the Sharks.
As a team, San Jose had the NHL’s worst goals against average (3.75) and third-worst save percentage (.881), only ahead of Buffalo (.879) and Philadelphia (.872).
MUKHAMADULLIN UPDATE: The Sharks announced Thursday that defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin had surgery last week to repair his left shoulder. Mukhamadullin said Thursday that he’ll be ready for training camp in September.