Why Sharks’ trade with Hurricanes is significant; Will Smith back in lineup

Once the San Jose Sharks told Michael Misa last week that he would be staying in the NHL for the rest of the season, it became a matter of when the team would take the necessary next step of making room for the rookie center’s entry-level contract.

It happened on Friday, as the Sharks traded minor league defenseman Kyle Masters and their own 2026 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2027 fifth-rounder originally owned by the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks were at the maximum of 50 NHL contracts, so trading Masters for only a draft pick creates an opening for the team to add Misa’s deal to their ledger.

Misa, 18, played his ninth NHL game of the season on Thursday in the Sharks’ 3-2 win over the Washington Capitals. When Misa plays his 10th NHL game, possibly as soon as Friday night against the Detroit Red Wings, the first year of his entry-level deal will be burned, and it will become the Sharks’ 50th contract.

Misa has three points in nine NHL games and is averaging 11:32 in ice time. Against the Capitals, Misa had a season-low 9:58 in ice time, had one shot on net, and won one of five faceoffs.

The Sharks now have eight picks in the 2026 draft, including four in the first two rounds and a fourth-rounder they acquired from the Florida Panthers for center Nico Sturm. They also have five picks in the 2027 draft.

The 22-year-old Masters — initially acquired from Minnesota in October for forward Oskar Olausson, who San Jose acquired in July for forward Danil Gushchin — might have been low on the Sharks’ organizational depth chart, as he appeared in only 10 games for the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder and not with the AHL’s Barracuda.

After Friday, the Sharks finish their road trip with games against the Florida Panthers on Monday and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.

WILL SMITH ACTIVATED

As expected, forward Will Smith, after a nearly five-week absence, was activated off of injured reserve on Friday and will play against the Red Wings, coach Ryan Warsofsky confirmed.

Smith sustained an upper-body injury in the Sharks’ Dec. 13 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before his injury, he was second on the Sharks in his season with 29 points in 33 games. The Sharks were 8-5-0 in his absence.

The Sharks (24-19-3) on Thursday afternoon cleared a spot on their 23-man roster for Smith’s return when they placed center Ty Dellandrea on IR. Dellandrea sustained a lower-body injury on Jan. 6 in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets and is considered week-to-week. He will be reevaluated before the Olympic break in early February.

Smith and forward Philipp Kurashev have been on injured reserve since Dec. 15.

A win on Friday would give the Sharks 53 points, one more than they had all of last season, when they finished with the NHL’s worst record at 20-50-12.