Sharks’ Kevin Labanc nears return; Meloche on Keller injury: ‘It sucks’
There appears to be a good chance that Kevin Labanc – after a nearly four-month absence – will be back in the Sharks’ lineup within the next few days.
Labanc was in Los Angeles on Thursday to see the surgeon who repaired his shoulder separation. If Labanc gets cleared medically, he could be available when the Sharks play the Dallas Stars on Saturday at SAP Center, or by next week when both the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames visit San Jose.
Labanc practiced with the Sharks on Monday and Tuesday and seemed to feel OK after both skates, although it’s possible he might need another practice or two to get fully ready.
Labanc’s last game was Dec. 11 at home against Dallas when he was hit against the boards by Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpaa just minutes into the first period.
“(We’ll) leave that up to the medical team to decide whether it’s best to have him in a few more practices next week or if he’s ready to go,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Thursday before the Sharks played the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.
“From a standpoint of conditioning, fitness, and strength in the shoulder, he seems to be good. It’s just a matter of a certain amount of healing time. At that time, if everything’s healed and he’s ready to go, then we can put him back in.”
Labanc had six points in 21 games before his injury as he had seen his average ice time decrease from 16:25 per game last season to 13:17 this year. He was a healthy scratch for the Sharks’ game with the Flames on Dec. 7.
Labanc, though, has averaged a half-point per game – 183 points in 360 games – throughout his five-plus seasons in the NHL. He can be a top-six forward and first power-play unit type of player when he’s on top of his game.
Also, the Sharks are desperate to find some added scoring punch. Their 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday marked the 35th time in 66 games this season that they’ve been held to two goals or less.
The Sharks came into Thursday with an average of 2.62 goals per game — 27th-best out of 32 teams.
“His start wasn’t necessarily the start I was looking for or he was looking for, but the one thing you can’t teach about Kevin is he can put the puck in the back of the net,” Boughner said earlier this week. “If there’s a team that needs that, it is us.”
Labanc is presently the Sharks’ fourth highest-paid forward and he has two years remaining on the four-year, $18.9 million deal he was awarded in October 2020.
For that kind of money on a Sharks team that could be facing some salary cap restraints in the near future, it’s important that Labanc rediscovers his offensive touch.
“Of course, I want to see him play in our structure and be good defensively,” Boughner said. “But we want to be able to give him a little bit of a green light to have a little bit of freedom, too.”
“I think you obviously set high expectations for yourself when you’ve been here for six years,” Labanc said Tuesday. “These last 12, 15 games, you want to bring it and make sure you’re showing something, showing the young guys the ropes a little bit and the right way to play.
“For yourself as well, just to know that you can compete at this level and be a big factor in the team winning.”
MELOCHE ON KELLER: Defenseman Nicolas Meloche felt terrible for Coyotes forward Clayton Keller, who underwent surgery to repair a fractured leg hours after Wednesday’s game. The Coyotes announced Thursday that Keller, the team’s leading scorer, will be out for four-to-six months.
On the third-period play, Keller was building speed as he came into the Sharks’ zone and was trying to take the puck to the net. Meloche skated alongside Keller and tried to poke the puck away from him before he pulled back and maneuvered to the other side of the goal.
A moment later, Keller lost his balance and fell violently into the end boards legs first.
“He was trying to get to the net with a lot of speed,” Meloche said. “I didn’t see much because I turned the other way when I saw that he lost the puck. Then I turned around and saw him go (into) the boards. It was a pretty ugly scene to watch. You never want to see this. It sucks.”
Meloche said he needed a bit of time to gather himself after the accident.
“It took me a couple of minutes to get back in the game,” Meloche said. “Obviously he was in a lot of pain and you think about him and his family as well. It’s part of the game. It sucks. I just hope he has a speedy recovery.”