San Jose Sharks All-Star center Tomas Hertl will miss several weeks due to knee surgery, costing the team its leading scorer for the foreseeable future. How does this affect the team moving forward?
Tomas Hertl was the Sharks’ Lone All-Star Game Rep
A woebegone season for the Sharks has gone from bad to worse as the team announced Monday that Tomas Hertl has elected to undergo surgery to clean out cartilage from his left knee. Instead of waiting for the season’s end, the 30-year-old from Czechia decided to have the procedure done now.
“We will monitor his progress during the rehab process and provide an update on his status at a later date,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier told the San Jose Mercury News.
According to the Mercury News, the Sharks were “completely comfortable” with Tomas Hertl deciding to have the surgery now despite his taking part in the NHL All-Star games and festivities at the beginning of the month in Toronto.
Sharks will miss Hertl’s scoring touch
Tomas Hertl was the Sharks’ leading scorer this season with 34 points through 48 games. He scored 15 goals with 19 assists so far during a campaign that has seen San Jose score an NHL-low 107 goals. The Sharks currently sport the league’s second-worst record with 33 points on just 14 wins.
It is not yet known when Hertl will return to the San Jose lineup. A first-round pick of the Sharks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Hertl has had a history of knee injuries over the years. He told the Mercury News that he has been intermittently contending with soreness in his left knee all season long.
Tomas Hertl has a history of knee issues
Hertl’s knee issues go back to his rookie season in 2013. The then-19-year-old required surgery that season to repair both the medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in his right knee following an on-ice collision.
He also missed out on most of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins after injuring his right knee once again. In 2020, he suffered torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his left knee during a game against the Vancouver Canucks.
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