Preview/Lines #52: Karlsson Talks ‘Tough’, ‘Unexpected’ Megna Trade

I don’t think anybody is surprised that the 15-25-11 San Jose Sharks traded Jaycob Megna.

After all, he was making the veteran’s minimum, but playing over 19 minutes a night, mostly with All-Star Erik Karlsson.

“I thought he really came into his own this year,” head coach David Quinn said. “A guy that obviously plays with Erik and they had great chemistry and a guy that’s very well-respected.”

And even if the stay-at-home defenseman won’t have as large a role on the Seattle Kraken – San Jose sent Megna to Seattle for a 2023 fourth-round pick on Sunday – the 30-year-old should add solid, experienced depth to the playoff-bound Kraken.

The surprise probably is in the timing of GM Mike Grier dealing Megna so soon, almost a month before the Mar. 3 Trade Deadline.

Erik Karlsson acknowledged as much, when asked about his recently-departed defensive partner.

“It’s tough, both professionally and personally. And it was a little bit unexpected, too, I think,” Karlsson shared. “But unfortunately, that’s the way it goes sometimes when you’re [with the record] that we are.”

The Karlsson and Megna families had grown close. Karlsson’s daughter Harlow and Megna’s daughter Evie even attended ballet class together.

SJHN Daily: Karlsson, Megna Take Ballet Lessons With Daughters

“I enjoyed playing with him, and we enjoyed each other’s company off the ice as well,” Karlsson noted. “So it’s gonna take a little bit to adjust to.”

But such is life in the NHL.

Megna had built himself from a zero-value NHL asset – he joined the Sharks organization via a contract with the San Jose Barracuda in Oct. 2020 – into an everyday NHL defenseman, worthy of a middle-round draft pick. However, the veteran wasn’t necessarily an indispensable piece to the San Jose Sharks’ rebuild or reset or whatever they call it.

“He’s obviously had a good year for us and showed some true qualities as an NHL player,” Karlsson said. “Hopefully, he gets a chance to build on that and go to a team and play some playoff hockey and showcase himself.”

Quinn pointed out, about replacing Megna: “We still got a lot of players who we believe in and trust, it’s just an opportunity for somebody else and that’s really how you have to look at it.”

San Jose Sharks (15-25-11)

Kahkonen will start — #SJSharks will run same forward group as last game, that means Labanc out.
Harrington will replace Megna next to Karlsson, SJS will not have a 7th d-man available to them tonight. Simek has been practicing in full but will not be activated tonight

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 7, 2023

Quinn on how Labanc has handled string of healthy scratches: "He certainly doesn't like not playing, but he's handling it in the manner that I expected him to handle it, in a professional way, and he's doing everything he can to get back in the line-up."

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) February 7, 2023

This was their line-up in their last game before the break:

#SJSharks lines tonight, Labanc/Harrington out, Kahkonen starts: pic.twitter.com/2ZVenK3R4Q

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 29, 2023

Tampa Bay Lightning (32-16-1)

These were Lightning lines from last night, a 7-1 loss to the Florida Panthers.

No changes to the #Bolts morning skate lines and D-pairings:

Stamkos-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-Killorn
Colton-Paul-Maroon
Namestnikov-Bellemare-Perry

Hedman-Bogosian
Cole-Cernak
Sergachev-Perbix
Fleury-Foote

— Chris Krenn (@Chris_Krenn) February 6, 2023

Where to Watch

The San Jose Sharks will take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at 4 PM PST at Amalie Arena. Watch it live on NBC Sports California. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.