yahoo
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini was unexpectedly pulled from Monday night's lineup against the Dallas Stars because of a lower-body injury. The 20-year-old participated in pregame warmups, but the team declared he would not play just before the puck dropped.
With Celebrini unavailable, Alex Wennberg stepped into his spot on the top line. The Sharks ultimately suffered a 5-0 defeat, their first loss of the young season. San Jose had opened the year with two consecutive victories, during which Celebrini contributed five assists.
Celebrini, the youngest captain in franchise history, is coming off a record-breaking campaign in which he surpassed Joe Thornton's single-season scoring mark with 115 points. In the offseason, he signed an eight-year extension that briefly made him the NHL's highest-paid player, carrying an $18.8 million cap hit.
Following the game, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky did not provide a specific update on Celebrini's condition. "We will evaluate tonight and tomorrow and see where he's at," Warsofsky said, according to the Bay Area News Group. "He's still being evaluated. He's in the building, so he's with the team."
Key Analysis
The injury to Celebrini comes at a critical early juncture for San Jose, as the team relies heavily on his offensive production and leadership. His absence was immediately felt in the shutout loss, and the Sharks will anxiously await further evaluation to determine the severity of the injury.
Originally reported by yahoo.