The Sharks placed veteran forward Nico Sturm on injured reserve Wednesday and claimed Calgary forward Walker Duehr off waivers.
Duehr, a 27-year-old Sioux Falls, South Dakota native, has no goals and one assist over 16 NHL appearances this season. He was waived Tuesday by the Flames and has averaged just under 9 minutes of ice time per game he has played.
Sturm has a lower-body injury and did not play in the Sharks’ 7-5 collapse Tuesday night in Nashville. The Sharks play the Predators again Thursday night in San Jose. After going on injured reserve, he’ll miss at least that game and the next two, home games against the Panthers on Saturday and Penguins on Monday.
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Duehr will be eligible to play in Thursday night’s game. He has played 20 games at the AHL level for the Calgary Wranglers this season, scoring 11 goals and 19 points. In his NHL career, he has nine goals and 19 points over 84 games since signing with the Flames as a free agent in April 2021.
Sturm has played in 41 of the Sharks’ 50 games this season, scoring five goals and totaling 11 points. His ice time has dipped below 10 minutes per game for the first time in his career (9:51). The 29-year-old German has been the Sharks’ fourth-line center all season and leads the team in faceoff percentage at 63.7%.
Duehr has played in Northern California before: After four years at Minnesota State, he played for the AHL’s Stockton Heat from 2020-2022.
Calgary Flames’ Walker Duehr (71) controls the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
