Sharks’ Adam Gaudette leaves game against Wild with injury

An early exit for a solid veteran in the Bay Area.

San Jose Sharks forward Adam Gaudette exited the team’s Sunday night matchup with the Minnesota Wild due to an upper-body injury.

The Sharks didn’t specify when or where Gaudette was hurt during the contest. It became apparent something was amiss when the 29-year-old was noticeably absent from the San Jose bench once the third period started. Gaudette had registered just 6:39 of ice time across eight shifts in the game. He delivered a hit and finished with a plus/minus of +1.

The Sharks managed to pull out a 6-5 overtime win.

The Braintree, Mass. native has played in each of the Sharks’ first nine games of the 2025-26 season, despite battling illness a few games ago. He has scored three goals and an assist for four points, scoring in back-to-back games last week. Gaudette has a -4 rating while averaging 11:13 of ice time thus far.

Gaudette came to the Sharks after a successful 2024-25 campaign with the Ottawa Senators. In 81 games in Canada’s capital, he scored a career-high 19 goals and a +12 rating, finishing with 26 points, helping the Sens clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in eight years. He signed a two-year contract with San Jose, with the deal carrying a cap hit of $2 million through the 2026-27 season.

Gaudette has seemingly established himself as a regular in the NHL with his solid performance in Ottawa. It came after he spent most of the 2023-24 season in the American Hockey League, playing just twice for the St. Louis Blues.

In 310 NHL regular-season games, which included stops with the Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks, Gaudette has scored 49 goals and 51 assists for 100 points, with three points in 16 postseason contests.

The Sharks (2-5-2) are scheduled to host the rival Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.