Four days ago, Joel Ward was a surprising healthy scratch when the Sharks took on the Habs in Montreal.
Today? It’s Ward again, this time joined by veteran defenseman David Schlemko.
The pair will be in the press box when San Jose hosts Calgary, per the Mercury News. For Ward, the decision comes after he drew back in for Sunday’s loss to Chicago, in which he finished minus-1 in 13:38 of ice time.
“I thought he did a good job. I saw some good things,” Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer said of Ward. “Definitely a step in the right direction.”
The 36-year-old winger has woefully under performed this year, with just two goals through 31 games. That has him on pace for just five this season, well off his pace of ’15-16, when he scored 21 times (his first year in San Jose, after signing in free agency).
As for Schlemko, he’s appeared in 28 of 32 games this year, while averaging over 17 minutes per night.
He’s been a decent contributor offensively -- sitting third behind Brent Burns and Paul Martin in d-man scoring, with eight points -- and was one of GM Doug Wilson’s biggest moves this past summer, agreeing to a four-year deal worth $8.4 million.
With Ward and Schlemko out, it looks like Micheal Haley and Dylan Demelo will draw in.