Sharks add Nico Sturm to injured reserve with lower-body ailment

The San Jose Sharks have placed center Nico Sturm on the injured reserve due to a lower-body ailment, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News.

Sturm has made 41 appearances with the Sharks this season in which he has registered five goals and six assists for 11 points alongside a minus-four rating and 11 penalty minutes. Facing the Boston Bruins on Monday, Sturm recorded an assist en route to a 6-3 final, but was held out of the lineup Tuesday versus the Nashville Predators due to his lower-body injury.

Sturm is skating in his third season with the Sharks, underscored by the 2022-23 campaign when he reached a career high of 26 points counting 14 goals and 12 assists coming in 74 contests. In all, the 29-year-old German-born forward has made 310 NHL appearances, counting stops with the Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche, and Sharks in which he has collected 44 goals and 45 assists for 89 career points.

Per PuckPedia, Sturm is in the final year of a three-year contract that carries a $2-million annual average value and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. After going unselected in the NHL Draft, Sturm originally signed with the Wild in 2019 as an undrafted free agent.

With Sturm on the sidelines, the Sharks made another roster move Wednesday, claiming right winger Walker Duehr off waivers from the Pacific Division rival Calgary Flames. Through 16 games with the Flames this season, Duehr has registered one point, while through 20 appearances at the AHL level he has notched 11 goals and eight assists.

In the midst of a four-game losing skid, the Sharks have fallen to the bottom of the NHL standings with a 14-30-6 record and 34 points. The Sharks will look to return to the win column when they retake the ice Thursday versus the Predators.