San Jose Sharks fans are waiting to see what happens as General Manager Mike Grier makes moves from the front office. Earlier today, the team added Kiefer Sherwood in a trade with Vancouver, a move that will have a significant impact on the forward grouping, though we’re not sure how just yet. It’s just the latest move.

Yesterday, San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng was the first to report that defenseman Nick Leddy was placed on waivers.

Leddy is going on waivers

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) January 18, 2026

Leddy has since cleared waivers and has been added to the San Jose Barracuda roster. Meantime, Vincent Desharnais has been activated from injured reserve, according to San Jose Sharks PR.

The #SJSharks have activated D Vincent Desharnais from injured reserve.

D Nick Leddy has been assigned to the @sjbarracuda

— San Jose Sharks PR (@SanJoseSharksPR) January 19, 2026

Shakir Mukhamadullin is still on injured reserve and San Jose will need to make room for him soon as well. There’s a definite feeling that more moves are coming. The rumor mill is churning. The Sharks have been linked to players like Jordan Kyrou of the St. Louis Blues and Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers, to name a few.

It feels like, however, that any big deal that needs to happen should be to upgrade the blueline rather than the forward corps, but who knows. Grier is pretty good at playing things close to the chest, so we’ll see what he’s got cooking.

The Sharks will see how both stack up against the defending Stanley Cup Champions today. Last time these two teams met, it ended favorably for the Sharks. San Jose won 3-1 at home with Yaroslav Askarov making 38 saves in the win.

The Panthers are 25-19-3 this season, sitting seventh in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the Eastern Conference wild card race. Florida is 5-4-1 in its last 10 games. It beat the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Saturday.

Of course, injuries are what are really hurting the Panthers. Aleksander Barkov is out for the season with an injury. Forward Matthew Tkachuk has missed most of the season. Of course, he’s decided that he’ll play his first game back today against the Sharks. The Panthers will be without defenseman Seth Jones, who is expected to miss the remainder of the month. Forward Brad Marchand was also injured recently and might be back today, but it’s questionable.

Florida’s top scorer is Sam Reinhart. He has 47 points in 47 games. Reinhart also leads the team with 24 goals. Marchand is second on the team with points (46) and goals (23). In the net, Sergei Bobrovsky is 19-13-1 with a .875 save percentage. Daniil Tarasov is the backup; he’s 6-6-2 this season with a .905 save percentage.

San Jose Sharks lines today

San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng reports that Collin Graf is back on the top line with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, putting Pavol Regenda back down on the third line with Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov. Look for Ryan Reaves to get back into the game and Adam Gaudette to sit this one out. Desharnais gets into the lineup for the first time since he was injured at the end of November. Alex Nedeljkovic gets the start.

Forwards
Collin Graf — Macklin Celebrini — Will Smith
William Eklund — Alexander Wennberg — Tyler Toffoli
Pavol Regenda — Michael Misa — Igor Chernyshov
Barclay Goodrow — Zack Ostapchuk — Ryan Reaves

Defense
Dmitry Orlov — John Klingberg
Mario Ferraro — Timothy Liljegren
Sam Dickinson — Vincent Desharnais

Goaltenders
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov

Florida Panthers lines vs. San Jose Sharks

According to NHL.com, Tkachuk will play on the third line since it’s his first game back from injury. Former Shark, Luke Kunin, will be a healthy scratch with the return of Tkachuk. Meantime, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start in the net.

Forwards
Eetu Luostarinen — Anton Lundell — Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe — Sam Bennett — A.J. Greer
Mackie Samoskevich — Evan Rodrigues — Matthew Tkachuk
Sandis Vilmanis — Cole Schwindt — Jesper Boqvist

Defense
Gustav Forsling — Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola — Uvis Balinskis
Tobias Bjornfot — Jeff Petry

Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov

How to watch San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers Jan. 18, 2026

The puck drops at 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET at Amerant Arena in Sunrise, Florida.

Sharks fans can watch today’s game on NBCSCA or listen on the Sharks Audio Network.

Florida fans can watch the game on Scripps.

Be sure to come back here at game time to talk about what’s happening on the ice and around the league. It sounds like trading is heating up as the Olympic freeze nears.