The San Jose Sharks and the agent for forward Kevin Labanc are working together to try and find a fresh start elsewhere for the 28-year-old forward who has been a healthy scratch 12 times in 17 games since Christmas.
Both Sharks general manager Mike Grier and Michael Curran, Labanc’s agent, confirmed to Bay Area News Group that they would like to find the New York City native a new place to play either before the March 8 trade deadline or in the offseason. Neither Grier or Curran would say where they are at in the process.
“Regardless of the outcome, I know (Labanc) will continue to work as hard as he can to get back in the lineup and give the Sharks his best effort,” Curran told The Hockey News, which first reported the development earlier Wednesday.
Labanc, in the final year of a four-year, $18.9 million contract and a pending unrestricted free agent, will be a healthy scratch for the seventh straight game Wednesday when the Sharks face the Winnipeg Jets and Canada Life Centre. Labanc was also out of the lineup five times in six games from Dec. 28 to Jan. 9.
Labanc, a sixth-round draft choice by the Sharks in 2014, has just seven points in 32 games this season, as he’s seen his ice time reduced from 14:20 per game last season to 11:47. For his career, Labanc has 223 points in 464 games, all with San Jose.
“I think the biggest thing that I’m going to miss is just being around these guys,” Labanc told this news organization this week when asked about the trade deadline. “Just everybody in here. We just have such great chemistry. But it’s never goodbye. It’s always see you later.”
Asked if he would welcome a change of scenery, Labanc said, “That’s not my call. That’s up to (Grier) and whatever he wants to do.”
Trading Labanc might not be easy.
Although his pro-rated salary cap hit will be just over $1 million by the March 8 deadline, several playoff-contending teams might not have that kind of cap space to add a depth winger. Labanc is also making $5,875,000 in salary this season, although a large majority of that would have been paid out by the deadline.
The Sharks could also place Labanc on waivers to see if another NHL team would take him without giving up anything in return. But, again, Labanc’s cap hit could be a hindrance to any move.
Labanc’s offensive talents have rarely been in question during his time in San Jose. But Sharks coach David Quinn and his predecessors have always wanted Labanc to compete on a higher level and play a more well-rounded game.
Asked Tuesday why Labanc hadn’t been playing more of late, Quinn said, “We just think we’ve got 12 (forwards) who have played better than him.”
“It’s funny that people always talk about, ‘I need an opportunity,’ ” Quinn added. “Well, every day is an opportunity. I’m not out there making my grocery list while practice is going on. I’m paying attention to what guys are doing, how hard they’re working, and if they’re trying to do what they’re supposed to do.
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“That’s all part of the equation. It’s not just what you do in games. You’re getting evaluated in everything everything you do. That holds true to every player.”
Labanc is one of 10 pending UFA’s the Sharks have within the organization, a group led by forwards Alexander Barabanov, Anthony Duclair, and Mike Hoffman, and goalie Kaapo Kahkonen.
Please check back for updates to this story.
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