Sturm to IR; Sharks get Duehr off waivers

SHARKS

The Sharks’ Nico Sturm has played in 41 of the team’s 50 games this season and has five goals and six assists. NHAT V. MEYER — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Calgary Flames’ Walker Duehr, claimed off waivers by the Sharks, had no goals and one assist in 16 games this season for the Flames, who waived him Tuesday. Duehr averaged 8:48 of ice time. JEFF ROBERSON — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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By Curtis Pashelka

cpashelka@bayareanewsgroup.com

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 tonight 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.

Duehr will be eligible to play in tonight’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.

Sharks get big forward from Ducks >> The Sharks and Ducks swapped American Hockey League forwards, with San Jose sending Justin Bailey to the Ducks for Pavol Regenda.

Regenda, 25, has 16 points in 36 games this season with the San Diego Gulls and 75 points (36 goals, 39 assists) in 140 career AHL games. He has played in 19 NHL games, all with Anaheim, with his last appearance with the Ducks coming in March 2024.

Folllowing the trade, the Sharks loaned Regenda to the Barracuda, who hosted the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Wednesday night at Tech CU Arena.

Regenda has played for Slovakia at the IIHF World Championship the past three years. He helped Slovakia earn a bronze medal at the 2022 Olympics. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound native of Michalovce, Slovakia was originally signed as a free agent by Anaheim on June 1, 2022.

Bailey, 29, had 14 points in 33 games with the Barracuda this season. He split the 2023-24 campaign between the Sharks and Barracuda, finishing with 14 points in 59 NHL games of NHL and 11 points in 16 AHL games.

In his career, Bailey has 23 points (10 goals, 13 assists) in 141 NHL games and has registered 255 points (143 goals, 112 assists) in 403 AHL games. After last season, Bailey was re-signed to a one-year, two-way contract by the Sharks.

Last season, the San Jose chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominated Bailey for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The award is given to the NHL player who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. Goalie Connor Ingram, formerly with the Arizona Coyotes and now with the Utah Hockey Club, was voted the award winner by members of the PHWA.