San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek is facing more adversity as he is now considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury he suffered last weekend in a game against the Washington Capitals.
Simek left Saturday’s home game with the Capitals before the start of the third period with what was later described as upper and lower body injuries. Tuesday morning, before the Sharks played the Colorado Avalanche, coach David Quinn said Simek’s latest upper-body injury was, “a reoccurring situation.”
Simek, 30, has had two concussions this season, forcing him to miss about eight weeks’ worth of games.
Simek had just returned last month from his latest concussion, which occurred Dec. 31 on a reverse hit from Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment, causing him to 20 games from Jan. 1 to Feb. 20. Simek was officially cleared to play Feb. 22, and dressed for Sharks games last week against Montreal and St. Louis before he was injured again Saturday.
Simek also missed four games from Nov. 15 to 21 with a mild concussion he suffered as a result of a hit from forward Mason Shaw hit in the Sharks’ Nov. 13 game against the Minnesota Wild. Simek returned in late November and played in 12 straight games.
Simek, 30, is in the third year of a four-year, $9 million contract he signed in March 2020. He has been bothered by injuries at times during his six seasons with the Sharks organization, most notably a torn right ACL and MCL he suffered in March 2019. This season, he has played in 34 games, mostly as a third-pair defenseman.
COMING UP, GOING DOWN: Defenseman Derrick Pouliot, officially recalled from the Barracuda on Tuesday morning, will play against the Avalanche in what will be his first NHL game since May 1, 2022, when he was with the Seattle Kraken. Pouliot signed an AHL deal with the Barracuda in August and a two-way NHL deal with the Sharks on March 2.
“He’s got poise with the puck, makes good passes, he’s done a better job defending,” Quinn said of Pouliot. “He’s got to make sure he’s got good gaps, defends well. This guy’s played 200 games in the National Hockey League, so it’s nothing new to him.”
Nick Cicek was assigned back to the Barracuda after the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over the Winnipeg Jets. Asked why the Sharks made the switch, Quinn said, “as an organization, we just felt like Pouliot deserved this …read more
Source:: The Mercury News