San Jose Sharks to honor Vegas Golden Knights’ Tomas Hertl

On By Littum

SAN JOSE – Former San Jose Sharks center Tomas Hertl was a little curious about what kind of reception he would get Friday night in his return to the SAP Center.

While Hertl became one of the Sharks’ most popular and productive players during his 11 seasons in a teal uniform, he also returned — for the first time — as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose’s once-fierce rival.

“I think the rivalry kind of slipped away, but hopefully it will be good. I think it was a wonderful 11 ​​years,” Hertl said Friday morning when asked about the reception he might get. “But maybe it’s up to the fans now. (There’s) nothing I can do about it right now.”

The reception was expected to be positive, considering Hertl had 484 points in 712 regular-season games for the Sharks before being traded to the Golden Knights in March. Team officials plan to recognize Hertl for his time in San Jose with a pregame tribute similar to the ones they bestowed on longtime Sharks Joe Pavelski and Brent Burns in their first games back in San Jose.

But while Hertl’s time with the Sharks won’t be forgotten, his departure from San Jose created a somewhat complicated legacy.

Hertl could have opted to become an unrestricted free agent in 2022. Instead, he signed an eight-year, $65.1 contract extension with the Sharks, hoping the team’s fortunes could quickly turn around for what would be — at the time — three years without a playoff appearance.

The Sharks also did not receive any trade offers for Hertl that year, hoping he could be an organizational tentpole as they remained in a transition phase.

However, the Sharks hired Mike Grier as their new general manager less than four months after the deal. Grier knew that for the Sharks to become a Stanley Cup contender again, he would have to rebuild the team from the ground up.

That meant taking some steps back for the opportunity to draft future stars with lottery picks. Grier also traded some high-profile players to long-term contracts, such as Burns, Timo Meier and Erik Karlsson, to gain prospects, draw capital and free up valuable cap space.

Speaking about Hertl and captain Logan Couture as 2023 training camp began, Grier said, “If there was ever a time when they felt they needed or wanted to go somewhere else, it’s definitely something I would listen and if it made sense to us, I would explore it.”

While Couture, injured and out indefinitely, remains a Shark, Hertl, a playoff participant in five of his first six NHL seasons, knew at the time that it could be years before he could legitimately compete for a Cup again . He loved the Sharks, but he had a decision to make.

Ultimately, Hertl, with a no-movement clause for the first three years of his contract, decided it was best to move on and join a contender.

It looks like the right choice. Entering Friday, the Golden Knights led the Pacific Division, and the Sharks were in eighth and final place.

“I couldn’t say a bad word about the organization, about the teammates in the locker room right away, how they (included) me on the team, even fans around town,” Hertl said. “Obviously when you win a lot of hockey games, everything becomes pretty easy about it. I almost forgot over the last couple of years, honestly, how much fun it is to win a lot of games.

“The last few years (in San Jose) were pretty tough. When you’re one of the leaders and you’re trying to help but the win didn’t come, it wasn’t easy. So this is definitely the fun part.”

It turns out that Grier and Golden Knights GM Kelly McCrimmon began talking about a Hertl deal before the all-star break, and on March 8, just minutes before the deadline, the Sharks sent the No. 1 center plus third-round pick in 2025 and 2027, to Vegas for center prospect David Edstrom and a 2025 first-round pick.

“I just heard, like maybe January, before I got hurt, that (Vegas) was thinking about (trading me) from my agent, but nothing happened,” said Hertl, who injured his knee earlier in a 27. January. game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Hertl attended the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto, and trade talks between the Sharks and Golden Knights began to pick up again a few days before the deadline.

Hertl then had to waive his no-move clause to make it happen.