As if the San Jose Sharks hadn’t been criticized enough this season, they got another dose of disapproval last night when AHL call-up Bryan Lerg was made a late healthy scratch for their game against Dallas.
Lerg is 29 and has never played an NHL game. Not surprisingly, he was overjoyed when told he finally would.
“It’s a dream come true and I’ve been waiting a long, long time for it,” he said Monday morning, per the Mercury News.
So when he wasn’t in the lineup because Tomas Hertl (ill) was well enough to play...
Is everyone on the same page in @SanJoseSharks land? Call up a player (Lerg) to reward his hard work & dedication and scratch him instead?
— Ross McKeon (@rossmckeon) April 7, 2015
The good news is that Lerg has not been sent back down and should make his NHL debut in one of the Sharks’ remaining two games, Thursday in Edmonton or Saturday in Los Angeles.
McLellan makes it clear Lerg will play for #SJSharks: "He'll play in the NHL because he deserves to play."
— David Pollak (@PollakOnSharks) April 7, 2015
Lerg understands nature of pro hockey, wasn't disappointed about being scratched on Mon. Commended coach for being straight up #SJSharks
— Paul Gackle (@GackleReport) April 7, 2015
The bad news is that the Sharks were officially eliminated from playoff contention yesterday.