Tomas Hertl Knee Injury Diagnosed as Torn ACL, MCL; Sharks Star Out for Year

The San Jose Sharks announced Thursday that All-Star forward Tomas Hertl will miss the remainder of the 2019-20 NHL season after he suffered a torn ACL and MCL in Wednesday's game against the Vancouver Canucks.

Hertl suffered the knee injury during the first period and didn't return to the contest.

The 26-year-old Czech Republic native scored the opening goal of the Sharks' 5-2 loss to the Canucks but logged just 1:10 of ice time.

Hertl enjoyed a breakout 2018-19 season in San Jose with a career-high 74 points (35 goals and 39 assists) in 77 appearances. He parlayed that into a strong start to this campaign, finishing with 16 goals and 20 assists in 48 games.

The 2012 first-round pick was one of the standout players in last weekend's All-Star Game. He recorded five goals as the Pacific All-Stars defeated the Central and Atlantic All-Stars.

"I don't know what happened, because normally I don't score that many goals," Hertl told the NHL Network (via Curtis Pashelka of the Bay Area News Group). "I had an awesome time. It was such a great experience playing with all of these guys. I'm happy I can help the team with some goals."

His 36 points this season were tied with Logan Couture for second on the team behind only Erik Karlsson (37).

Hertl's absence reduces the chances San Jose can make a late playoff surge. The Sharks are nine points behind the two wild-card teams in the Western Conference with a 22-26-4 record (48 points).

Joe Thornton figures to resume his longtime role as the Sharks' top center. He may share the duties with Evander Kane and Timo Meier, however, since it's unclear whether the 40-year-old Canada native can still handle around 20 minutes per game for the season's entire second half.

Barclay Goodrow and Patrick Marleau are other options to see some first-line action.