Just moments away from an impressive, yet all-too-rare victory at SAP Center this season, the Sharks instead suffered another crushing defeat, as the New Jersey Devils tied the game late in regulation time and scored the only goal in the shootout to earn a 4-3 win before an announced crowd of 13,293 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

After the Devils pulled their goalie to create a 6-on-5, Jack Hughes scored with 8.6 seconds left in regulation, as his shot from near the half-wall went off Erik Karlsson’s stick and past goalie James Reimer to tie the game 3-3.

After a wild but scoreless overtime, Devils forward Tomas Tatar scored the only goal in the shootout as the Sharks (13-23-9) lost for the eighth time in 10 games since the Christmas break.

Close losses, blowout losses, overtime losses, shootout losses. The Sharks have endured them all multiple times inside their own building so far this season, as their record at the once-formidable Tank fell to 4-12-7, easily the worst home mark for any NHL team this season.

“You look at our home record, I don’t think we’ve played any different at home than we have on the road,” Sharks coach David Quinn, whose team owns a 9-11-2 mark away from San Jose. “Everyone looks at our record, but it is what it is. That’s our record at home.

“We seem to lose these games more so at home than we do on the road, and that’s really frustrating.”

The 15 points the Sharks have accrued in 23 home games so far puts them on pace for 27 points, their lowest total since the 1995-96 team went 12-26-3 at what was then San Jose Arena.

The Sharks finish their three-game homestand Wednesday against the Dallas Stars, who are led by Joe Pavelski, their former captain, and Pete DeBoer, who coached in San Jose from 2015 to 2019.

“We deserve better from a results-driven standpoint,” Quinn said. “But I think our fans appreciate the effort we give and the way we play. We’ve got to win hockey games.”

Nick Bonino’s goal with 14:04 left in the third period had looked like it was going to be the winner for the Sharks, who were coming off their most lopsided loss of the season.

After newcomer Mikey Eyssimont put a shot on the Devils’ net, Bonino grabbed the loose puck and slid it past goalie Vitek Vanecek for his sixth goal of the season, breaking a 2-2 tie just after a high sticking penalty to Hughes had expired.

Karlsson and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist, Eyssimont had two assists and Reimer finished with 34 saves in regulation time for the Sharks, who bounced back to some degree after their 7-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

“Just showing up and putting our equipment on would have been a huge step from the last game we played,” Quinn said. “I was proud of a lot of things we did. I thought we really came to play tonight. Just disappointed with the way it started because I really liked the first two periods.”

The Sharks allowed a goal by Ryan Graves on an odd-man rush 29 seconds into the first period. But Eyssimont earned his first point with his new team with 3:16 left in the opening frame, as he did some heavy lifting on the forecheck before he fed Meier for a tap-in goal that tied the game 1-1.

Eyssimont, claimed off waivers by the Sharks on Jan. 6, played on the top line with Meier and Tomas Hertl, taking Kevin Labanc’s spot on the right wing. Labanc was a healthy scratch.

Besides his two assists, Eyssimont was credited with three shots and four hits as he finished with a career-best 17:36 of ice time in 24 career NHL games.

“I think I can kind of try to create some space,” for Meier and Hertl, Eyssimont said. “I think we’re still a ways away from where we want to be as a line. If we get an opportunity to stay together, we’re going to continue to communicate and work with each other in between periods before games just so we can get a better idea of where we’re going to be.”

The Sharks are now 5-6-9 in one-goal games.

“It’s happened 25 times now, so it’s getting pretty old,” Bonino said of the close losses. “We’re doing everything we can to win. Whether it’s a bad bounce on the first shift of the game and then we’re chasing it a bit or a deflection with eight seconds left off our guy’s stick.

“It sucks. We don’t think we should be here but the reality is we are in the spot we’re in and you’ll go crazy if you don’t take positives.”

Noah Gregor, who had been a healthy scratch for eight straight games before Monday, was inserted into the lineup as coach Quinn played him on a line with Bonino and Nico Sturm. Gregor played 15:21 and nearly scored on a breakaway.

Quinn scratched Labanc for just the second time this season, feeling the winger hadn’t played enough complete games of late.

“Just need him to be a little bit more consistent overall, in a lot of aspects,” Quinn said before Monday’s game.  “When he’s on his game, there’s a swagger to him, there’s an edge to him. Makes life hard on the other team, makes good decisions, and I just think he’s lost his way just a little bit.”

Marleau will become the first player in Sharks history to have his number permanently retired at the downtown arena, with a ceremony taking place prior to the team’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 25.

Former Sharks and NHL players who, as of Monday, were expected to attend include Curtis Brown, Ryane Clowe, Adam Graves, Mike Grier, Scott Hannan, Dany Heatley, Bret Hedican, Shawn Heins, Kelly Hrudey, Evgeni Nabokov, Owen Nolan, Scott Parker, Tom Pederson, Mike Ricci, Scott Thornton, Devin Setoguchi, Mark Smith, Joel Ward and Tommy Wingels.

Other former players could also be added later to the list of attendees.

Marleau, 43, is the franchise’s all-time leader in regular season games played (1,607), goals (522), and points (1,111). Marleau became the NHL’s all-time leader in games played, dressing for his 1,768th game and passing Gordie Howe, on April 19, 2021, when the Sharks played the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena.

Marleau ranks 23rd all-time with 566 goals and is 51st all-time with 1,197 points, as he finished his career with 1,779 games played. He announced his retirement on May 10 of last year, and the Sharks announced on July 28 they would retire Marleau’s No. 12.

Members of Sharks365 and The Battery, which is the Barracuda’s special club for season ticket holders, can purchase tickets to the event for $25 starting on Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Tickets for the general public cost $35 and go on sale on Jan. 20.

Per the Sharks, a limited number of VIP tickets will also be available for purchase, which will include a premium ticket location, food, and beverage throughout the game, as well as a post-game reception with the Sharks legends.

All net proceeds will be donated to The Sharks Foundation and the Sharks Alumni Foundation.

More details, including ceremony timing and other special announcements, will be announced in the coming weeks, the Sharks said.

“Just like a normal game,” Meier said. “Game days you kind of have your routine, (1 p.m.) games are a little different, obviously. But It’s not like I woke up and there were birds on my window and the sun was shining.”

Nevertheless, the day would turn out to be an extraordinary one for Meier, who made Sharks history on last year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, scoring a team-record five goals in what was a 6-2 San Jose win over Los Angeles before an announced crowd of 10,705 at SAP Center.

The Sharks host the New Jersey Devils on Monday at 1 p.m. Although it would be nice for him and the Sharks, Meier isn’t guaranteeing a repeat performance.

“We all know, almost every shot went in for me, so it’s a nice feeling,” Meier said, “but there’s no expectation that there’s going to be a day like that (Monday).”

Meier had a hat trick by the 19:09 mark of the first period.

Meier scored a power-play goal 3:02 into the game, taking a hard cross-ice pass from Brent Burns and firing a wrist shot past the outstretched right pad of goalie Jonathan Quick for what was then his 16th goal of the season.

Rudolfs Balcers then scored what might be the most forgotten goal in Sharks history, as his tally off an assist from Tomas Hertl with 4:04 left in the first period gave San Jose a 2-0 lead before Meier went back to work.

After Burns’ put a shot toward the Kings’ net, Meier jumped on a loose puck near the Kings’ net after it went off the skate of defenseman Mikey Anderson, spun around, and fired a shot past Quick with 1:12 left to go in the first period.

Then, on the next shift, just 21 seconds later, Meier was again around the Kings’ net and fired a shot on goal after Hertl won a battle for the puck in the corner. As Meier drifted toward the crease, Hertl took control of the puck and found Meier, who wasted no time in backhanding it into the Los Angeles net for a 4-0 Sharks lead.

It was the 11th single-period hat track in Sharks’ history.

Meier said his teammates were telling him, “keep shooting, and Quick was saying, ‘stop shooting.’”

Meier’s fourth and fifth goals came at the 1:24 and 19:32 marks of the second period, respectively. Both were remarkable.

On a Sharks power play, Erik Karlsson found Meier with a long diagonal pass inside the Kings zone. From below the faceoff dot, Meier saw an opening and fired the puck between the post above the left shoulder of Quick, who was crouched down, for his fourth goal of the game at the 1:24 mark of the second period.

Right then, he and everyone else knew he was in a zone.

“Whenever you’re in a spot like that, kind of in the corner, you see maybe a hole somewhere by the goalie, and then some days you’re like, ‘probably not going to hit that, so I’m not going to shoot,’” Meier said. “And there you just see the hole and you don’t even think, you just instinctively rip it.

“That day, it was going in.”

Karlsson said after the game, “Today if you wore No. 28, you shoot everything.”

Meier’s fifth goal with 28 seconds to go in the second period might have been his prettiest.

He took a pass from Hertl on a Sharks rush into the Kings zone, toe-dragged the puck around sliding defenseman Drew Doughty and beat Quick with a wrist shot inside the far post for a 6-1 Sharks lead, setting a new Sharks record on just six shots.

“It’s something special to score four or five goals,” Hertl said. “Five in one game, you’re (part of) history.”

Hertl knows the feeling, having scored four goals against the New York Rangers in just his third NHL game in Oct. 2013.

“It’s the same thing as when you’re on a hot streak,” Hertl said. “Sometimes you don’t even have to play well, you just keep shooting me and everything is going in, you don’t even know how. It’s just one of these games or streaks.

“I always say, if you’re hot, you have to keep shooting because it’s a full season and you have maybe a couple of moments (like that) and you have to explore it and get the most out of it.”

By the start of the third period, with fans chanting, “Timo, Timo,” Meier was just two goals shy of the single-game NHL record of seven, set in 1920 by Joe Malone of the old Quebec Bulldogs.

Is Meier thinking of record at that time?

“Everybody in here wants to score as many goals as we can,” Meier said, “and if you’re already feeling it, why not go for more? But you’re not thinking at this moment about history. I didn’t even know, to be honest, about that stuff. You’re just playing and trying to give your best.”

Meier wasn’t able to get a shot on the net in the third period, but it didn’t matter. His place in team history was already secure.

“Every time (Meier) shot, it seemed like he would score,” said Hertl, who assisted on three of Meier’s goals. “He had a couple of chances to score even more, but it was nice to be a part of it.”

Gregor, who has been a scratch for the last eight games, skated on the Sharks’ third line Sunday with Nico Sturm and Nick Bonino. Labanc rotated in on that line during drills, but was not part of either Sharks’ power play unit, as recent waiver claim Mikey Eyssimont skated with the second group.

Labanc had a goal and an assist in the Sharks’ 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Jan. 10 but faced some criticism from Sharks coach David Quinn for his lack of defensive effort on a Christian Fischer goal near the end of the first period.

Quinn benched Labanc for the first half of the second period but gave him a chance to return, and liked the way he bounced back, as the Sharks won in their first visit to 5,000-seat Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.

Labanc, though, hadn’t been as sharp the last two games in Quinn’s eyes – although several players could fit that description – as the Sharks lost to both the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.

“He and I have talked. He’s just got to play better,” Quinn said. “There’s not really one thing. It’s an overall thing. He’s aware.”

Labanc, in the third year of a four-year, $18.9 million contract, has been a healthy scratch once before this season as he sat out the Sharks’ Oct. 18 game at Madison Square Garden in his hometown of New York.

But Labanc, 27, has skated in all 38 games since and had been having something of a bounce-back season after he had major shoulder surgery in Dec. 2021. He’s sixth on the Sharks with 25 points.

The Sharks’ next game after Monday is Wednesday against the Dallas Stars.

FRESH START: Gregor has been a scratch for eight straight games and Monday’s game, if he plays, will be his first since Dec. 27.

Gregor, who has played in just 19 of the Sharks’ first 44 games, told this news organization Friday that he had grown frustrated with the repeated healthy scratches, feeling that he should be playing more often after an improved 2021-2022 season.

Gregor, who has two goals in 19 games, also said there hadn’t been enough communication between himself and the coaching staff. But the 24-year-old winger, and Quinn, both said Sunday that the issue if there was one, has been resolved.

“We’ve talked and we’re on the same page,” Gregor said, “so, looking forward to whatever comes next.”

Quinn said he and Gregor talked at length prior to the Sharks’ Jan. 1 game in Chicago, pointing out, too, that assistant coaches had also talked to Gregor, and that the coach’s door was open as well.

Before Sunday’s practice, Quinn spoke with Gregor to let him know, or reiterate, where he stood, saying, “You’re close, keep doing what you’re doing, and we’ve talked about what you need to do.

“I actually said to him, ‘I feel like I should come to you every day but we’ve talked about this for six months about what we’re looking for, so I don’t feel I have to say it to you every single time.’”

FEELING BETTER: Defenseman Scott Harrington practiced Sunday and could be an option to play Monday. Harrington sat out Friday’s 7-1 Sharks loss to the Oilers, two days after he suffered a head injury on a reverse check by Kings forward Brendan Lemieux toward the end of the first period.

“I felt OK, but ultimately, you have to be smart with that stuff,” Harrington said. “It felt good today to go out and practice with the guys, get a good sweat in and feel like a hockey player.”

“It’s a 19-year-old tournament,” Grier said Friday. “For a kid to go in there and do what he did as a 17-year-old. After one game I said, ‘I don’t even think he played well.’ Then I was handed the (scoresheet) and was like, ‘Oh, he had four points. I guess he was OK.’

“Special, special player.”

Bedard, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound center, had 23 points in seven games and was named the tournament’s MVP as he helped lead Canada to its 20th all-time gold medal at the event.

In late June, Bedard, who had 75 points in 30 WHL games this season before Saturday, is expected to be the first player chosen in the NHL Draft, bringing the kind of exceptional talent that can help turn around the fortunes of a moribund franchise.

The Sharks say they’re not tanking, and although they were blasted 7-1 by the Edmonton Oilers on Friday, the fact that over half of their games have been decided by two goals or less lends some credence to that argument.

Still, this is a Sharks roster that needs a lot of work, as proven by a 13-23-8 record that is fifth-worst in the NHL. If the Sharks stay in that spot and the NHL keeps the same draft lottery odds they had last year, they’ll have an 8.5 percent chance of drafting Bedard.

Grier can already envision the tantalizing possibilities.

“It you get a chance to draft a guy at the top. I think they can do wonders for your organization,” Grier said. “Not only on the ice, but I think it gives hope and optimism to the fan base as well.

“Adding someone like (Bedard), I think people will want to come out and see him and see what he’s all about. So it would be great for the organization, but we’ll play as hard as we can here for the second half of the year, and we get to (the lottery), we’ll see where the balls land.”

Could winning the lottery accelerate Grier’s plan?

“I don’t know if it’ll accelerate it. It’ll bring some excitement to the organization for sure,” Grier said. “But we have to be smart about how we approach the offseason, who we sign, or who we try to acquire. I don’t think we want to get out of hand and get too excited because we’ve got an 18-year-old kid coming in.

“We’d be excited to get a player like (Bedard) for sure, but I don’t think it changes what we’re going to try and do.”

Grier touched on several topics Friday as he met with local reporters. Here are some highlights:

ON WHAT THE ROSTER NEEDS: “We don’t really have the young guys pushing to grab the torch from the other guys, which I think (the Sharks) have had in the past. Whether you’ve had (Joe Thornton), Patty (Marleau), and (Joe Pavelski) here and you had Tomas (Hertl) and Logan (Couture) and those guys kind of pushing up from the bottom to kind of grab the mantle. If I was going to point to one thing, we don’t have those young guys who are ready to kind of take over the core.”

ON IF THE PLAYOFFS ARE REALISTIC FOR NEXT SEASON: “In sports, things can happen. Guys can play well. You can have unexpected seasons, but I don’t know if it’s realistic or unrealistic. At the same time, everyone’s a year older.”

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF A HIGH-DRAFT PICK: ”It would be great for the franchise. We’re trying to do the best we can to replenish some of the prospect pool and get some guys in there to kind of push up. We’ll see how the rest of the season goes. But if we’re able to get one of those top guys, I think it’s hugely important for the organization and to move forward with someone we can start to really build around.”

ON SHARKS OWNER HASSO PLATTNER: “He’s a busy man. We talk, whether that’s through text or phone call or email, I would probably say every couple of weeks. He’s busy, but he watches every game and he’s sharp. He’s got his thoughts on the group and on the players. It’s always nice to talk with him and to see how passionate he still is about the Sharks.”

ON PLATTNER’S THOUGHTS ON THIS SEASON: “I think it’s safe to say he wants this team to do well and wants us to get back to being in the playoffs and having a chance to win the Stanley Cup as soon as possible.”

ON WHEN HIS TOP PROSPECTS WILL BE CALLED UP: “There’s no specific date. We sent those guys down with specific things we wanted them to work on and to their credit, they’re working on those things, and they’re improving. They have some success and they also have some tough nights.”

ON RYAN MERKLEY’S TRADE REQUEST: “I don’t think he was thrilled that he didn’t go to Europe to begin with. We’ve asked him to do things … things we’ve asked him to do more consistently and the consistency hasn’t been there from his standpoint.

“He’s got NHL talent. He can run a  power play. He’s got great vision, but to play in the NHL you’ve got to consistently compete defensively. You’ve got to be engaged, whether you’re a big guy or a small guy, you’ve got to be willing to engage physically in your own end and care about box outs and things like that, and I think he’s just been very inconsistent with that. So that’s what we’re asking from him. If he can give us that, there’s opportunity.”

ON JOE THORNTON: “There will be a place for him whenever he decides he wants one. I think he’s just enjoying being a dad, to be honest. He’s being a hockey dad, driving (his son) around and he’s on the bench and on the ice. I think he’s just enjoying being a dad. He had a weekend with his daughter, where it’s just him and his daughter for a weekend.

“I just think he’s enjoying being a dad and not having any time constraints or having to be anywhere at any time. When he wants to do something else, there’s a spot for him here but in the meantime, he’s been a good sounding board for me. He watches our games, he watches the Barracuda games. He’s someone I can ask his opinion on different things.”

McDavid and Draisaitl each had three points in the first two periods as the Oilers built a five-goal lead and cruised to a 7-1 win over the Sharks at SAP Center, handing the home team its most lopsided loss of the season.

Sharks winger Oskar Lindblom scored in the third period for the Sharks’ only goal.

Goalie Kaapo Kahkonen allowed the Oilers’ first five goals on just 27 shots and finished with 34 saves as he was hung out to dry by the skaters around him on more than one occasion.

“We just stunk,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “We stunk on the power play, we stunk on the penalty kill, we stunk 5-on 5, our forwards stunk, our defensemen stunk. The only guy that didn’t stink was our goalie.

“(A game like) that hasn’t happened all year and over 82 games, something like this is going to happen, and we move past it pretty quickly.”

Klim Kostin, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jesse Puljujarvi, and Ryan McLeod also scored for the Oilers, who play the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

“The game got away from us,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “I think too many shifts where it snowballed, and we made mistakes, and they ended up in the back of our net. When you get down three or four goals, you want to go out and make a difference in the game, and it’s human nature to try and do too much.”

Even though San Jose’s record at home is now a league-worst 4-12-6, the 15,887 patrons who paid to watch Friday’s debacle haven’t seen a defeat at the Shark Tank this bad all season.

The Sharks’ worst loss this season before Friday was on Dec. 20, when they were blasted 7-3 at home by the Calgary Flames.

The Sharks’ homestand continues next week with games against New Jersey on Monday and Dallas on Wednesday.

“If you don’t (bounce back) and you fall into the rut of just accepting games like this, then that’s when things get ugly, and I know that won’t happen here,” Couture said. “We’re too proud of our style of play and that is hard work. We’re going to show up and get back to work and play a hard game on Monday.

“It starts with obviously our leaders. I need to be a lot better. We need to go out and work.”

Draisaitl assisted on McDavid’s two goals, with both coming on the power play, and scored his own at even strength with 2:05 left in the second period to give Edmonton a 5-0 lead.

McDavid’s goals came at the 10:59 mark of the first period with Nick Cicek serving an interference penalty, and also at the 11:28 left in the second period with Cicek in the box for tripping.

The Sharks have struggled on special teams for most of the last two weeks. Friday, San Jose went 0-for-4 on the power play and is now 1-for-21 with the man advantage over the last seven games. The Sharks also went 2-for-4 on the penalty kill, and are 17-of-22 while down a man over that same time frame.

McDavid, who turned 26 on Thursday, now has a league-best 82 points in just 44 games, as he remained on pace to become the first NHL player to finish with 150 points or more since Mario Lemieux had 161 points in 1995-1996.

“This is year eight for (McDavid) now, whatever it is, and no one’s been able to figure out how to defend him,” said Sharks defenseman Matt Benning, a former Oiler, and teammate of McDavid’s who was on the ice for Edmonton’s first five goals.

“He finds ways to get it done. He’s quick, he does it all. He was good tonight. I’m going to take responsibility, I’ve got to know when he’s out there and make better plays with the puck, and can’t let those guys have those opportunities.”

Karlsson is having a historic, resurgent season, driving the Sharks’ offense like perhaps no other player in team history. Meier, a pending restricted free agent, is also having a career-type year and could be a cornerstone for any NHL team over the next decade.

But the Sharks are on track to miss the postseason for a fourth straight year and trading one or both players might recoup the type of assets that could help the team once again become playoff contenders in the long run, although that’s no guarantee.

“If those guys stay, we’ve still got to figure out a way to get some younger impact players into the lineup,” Grier said Friday before the Sharks played the Edmonton Oilers, “and if they go, it opens up the possibilities of cap space to bring in players.

“Some of the pieces that we get from those deals, if you hit on a couple of those, that’s also something that can help turn things around quickly.”

Karlsson is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $92 million contract extension that he and the Sharks agreed to in June 2019. After three frustrating and injury-filled seasons, Karlsson has turned back the clock on his career, as he entered Friday as the NHL’s top-scoring defenseman with 56 points in 43 games.

Grier, who was hired by the Sharks in July, told reporters in Toronto in November, that he would listen to trade offers for just about anyone on the Sharks’ roster, including Karlsson, who has a full no-movement clause in his contract that carries an average annual value of $11.5 million and expires after the 2026-27 season.

“There are some teams that have reached out about him,” Grier said of Karlsson. “I’m not surprised being that this is a right shot, dynamic defenseman, and how often those guys get on the market, possibly, right? So it’s only natural for teams to kick the tires and it’s my job to listen to all offers and see what I think is best for the organization, short term, and long term.”

Grier would not specify what his asking price is for the two-time Norris Trophy winner, who is on track for a third, but said a report from a Canadian media outlet that his asking price for Karlsson was three first-round draft picks, was not “totally accurate.”

“It would have to be an offer that we feel makes us stronger in the future and gives us the ability to help kind of turn this thing around quicker,” Grier said.

“It’s got to be something that makes sense for us as an organization to move someone like him. I’m not out there dying to get rid of this (defenseman) who’s on pace for 100 points.”

Karlsson has said he remains committed to the Sharks but has also mentioned on multiple occasions in recent weeks that he also wants to win. The Sharks, with a 13-22-8 record before Friday, will likely miss the playoffs for a fourth-straight year.

Grier said he and Karlsson meet every few weeks.

“He’s kind of refreshingly honest about the good things and the bad things and his flaws and things he doesn’t like and like, so it’s been good,” Grier said of Karlsson. “I can see him being part of the team when we get this thing turned around.”

The Sharks entered Friday in 13th place in the Western Conference in terms of points percentage (.395), only ahead of Chicago (.325), Anaheim (.333), and Arizona (.378).

“Would you hope that we’re battling for a playoff spot next year? I think that’s the hope, but there’s a lot of points to make up and a lot of ground to make up, too,” Grier said. “So, the hope is to be there, but at the same time we’ll have to see how it goes.”

Meier, a pending restricted free agent, has had a career season so far with 24 goals and 43 points in 43 games before Friday. Grier said he and Meier’s agent, former Sharks forward Claude Lemieux, have had some preliminary discussions about an extension, although nothing substantial where offers and counteroffers have been made.

“We’ve had good open, honest, positive talks to this point,” Grier said.

Grier said Meier is another player other GMs have inquired about, with the March 3 trade deadline now seven weeks away.

“Timo’s a unique player,” Grier said. “I think if you’re starting a team from scratch and you’ve got a chance to grab someone like Timo, you’re going to take him and put them on your wing and forget about him for the next 10 years.

“That being said, he’s the type of player that teams want, especially teams planning to be in the playoffs. He’s big, he’s fast, and he can score, so there’s plenty of interest in him. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve had some good talks with him about this situation and the team’s situation. I’ll kind of keep those between me and him and me and his agent, but I’ve got all the respect in the world for him as a player and we’ll have to see how it all shakes out.”

Meier’s present deal, $24 million over four years, carries a $6 million AAV. But Meier is being paid $10 million in salary this season, meaning the Sharks would have to issue him a qualifying offer of at least that much in the offseason to retain his negotiation rights.

This season, Grier could either reach a long-term contract extension with Meier, keep him for next season at the $10 million figure, or perhaps do a sign-and-trade with another team, like the Calgary Flames did with Matthew Tkachuk last season.

Unlike the Sharks’ approach toward the trade deadline last season when then-interim GM Joe Will was focused on re-signing pending UFA Tomas Hertl to a long-term deal, Grier seems open to exploring other possibilities.

“It’s not too different than Erik, really,” Grier said. “It’s my job to do what I think is best for the organization, short term, and long term. When you have these kinds of high-end assets, it definitely does give you the possibility to kind of change things over more quickly.”

In the second half of last season, Gregor was in the lineup almost every night.

It’s been a vastly different experience so far this year for Gregor, who will be a healthy scratch for an eighth-straight game Friday when the Sharks host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers.

Last season, the speedy Gregor had 23 points in 63 games and was fifth on the team with 156 shots, as he looked like a player who was just starting to come into his own. This season, though, Gregor has just two goals, has only played in 19 of the Sharks’ first 44 games, and has been mainly in the bottom-six forward group.

Sharks coach David Quinn said earlier this week that he and Gregor, 24, have had “several conversations” about what the expectations are of him. But Gregor said he’d like to have more communication.

“It’s tough when you’ve missed this many in a row,” Gregor told Bay Area News Group on Friday morning. “To talk to (the coaches) as much as you want, I’d probably like a little more communication. It’s frustrating. I feel like I should be playing more than I have this year.

“I also believe that I could have played better in some of the games I’ve played in, but it’s frustrating when you play in less than half of the games.”

Gregor has averaged 11:58 of ice time per game so far this season, down from the 14:56 he averaged a year ago. He finished last season with 13 points in his last 26 games, finding some chemistry late in the year with then-linemates Rudolfs Balcers and Thomas Bordeleau.

But the Sharks bolstered their forward depth in the offseason with free-agent signings like Nico Sturm, Evgeny Svechnikov, and Oskar Lindblom, and acquired Steven Lorentz and Luke Kunin via trade. Last week, the Sharks claimed Michael Eyssimont off waivers, adding even more internal competition for ice time.

Quinn said earlier this week that he wants consistent competitiveness from Gregor, adding that “he’s working hard on trying to get to that and the next time he gets in there, hopefully, he takes advantage of the opportunity.”

“(Quinn’s) words to me have always just been consistency, so I’m trying to try to work on that, trying to keep a positive attitude in practice,” said Gregor, who has spent his share of time after morning skates working with assistant coaches Brian Wiseman and Ryan Warsofsky.

“Hopefully, when I get the call again, I’m ready to go because I’ve been practicing and working hard.”

Gregor hasn’t played since Dec. 27 and is eligible to be sent to the Barracuda, the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, for a conditioning assignment. Gregor would have to agree to the loan, which cannot last more than 14 days, during which time he would remain on the Sharks’ active roster. Both Gregor and Quinn said that particular conversation hasn’t taken place.

“I want to play and I want to play in the NHL first,” Gregor said. “So, I haven’t talked about that or looked into that, really.”

Gregor is one of several pending restricted free agents in the Sharks organization, a list that includes Timo Meier, Jonah Gadjovich, and Eyssimont, plus Scott Reedy and Jasper Weatherby in the AHL. As general manager Mike Grier continues to put his stamp on the franchise, it’s fair to wonder at this stage whether Gregor fits into the team’s long-term plans.

Gregor said he’s not concerned about that right now.

“Not at this point, no,” Gregor said. “It’s still only halfway through the season here. I like being a Shark. I love my time here. I love all the guys, so I haven’t really thought about it to be honest.”

If and when Gregor gets back into the lineup, he wants to show he belongs.

“Just using my speed, being competitive. and then just showing the coaching staff that I want to stay in the lineup, that I can help this team,” Gregor said. “I still believe I’m an NHL player and can help the team. So, just improving myself and making sure they can’t take me out of the lineup.”

HARRINGTON UPDATE: Sharks defenseman Scott Harrington is considered day-to-day after he was hurt in the first period of Wednesday’s game in Los Angeles. Harrington (upper-body injury) did not skate Friday morning, but the Sharks are hopeful he could play again by the end of the homestand, which ends with games against New Jersey on Monday and Dallas on Wednesday.

The Sharks (13-22-8) host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Friday at SAP Center as they begin a three-game homestand that also features games against playoff hopefuls New Jersey on Monday and Dallas next Wednesday.

With 79 points in 43 games, McDavid is on pace for the greatest individual offensive season the NHL has seen since Mario Lemieux had 161 points in just 70 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-1996. He is already believed to be a lock for the Hart Trophy as the NHL player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.

Since that season by Lemieux, only three players have had seasons of 125 points or more – Jaromir Jagr (127 in 1998-1999), Joe Thornton (125 in 2005-2006), and Nikita Kucherov (128 in 2018-2019).

McDavid has 12 goals and 30 points in 23 career regular-season games against the Sharks, who, before Thursday, were the third-worst team in the NHL in allowing 5-on-5 goals.

With their 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, the Sharks have now allowed an average of 2.60 goals per game during 5-on-5 play, a figure that ranks ahead of only Anaheim (2.83) and Columbus (2.68).

Against the Kings, all four goals the Sharks allowed came at even strength, including two in the third period. Nick Bonino and Tomas Hertl both scored in the loss, which marked the eighth time in the last 11 games that the Sharks have allowed four or more goals.

The Sharks are now 5-6-8 in one-goal games and 2-7-6 against Pacific Division opponents.

“We’re there every game, and just can’t get wins,” Bonino said. “It’s frustrating for everyone. We’re trying everything in practice and video, competing, and it’s just not going our way right now.”

NO KANE: Oilers winger and former Shark Evander Kane won’t play Friday but he is nearing a return from a frightening injury on Nov. 11, when he had his wrist accidentally cut by the skate blade of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Pat Maroon.

The laceration on Kane’s left wrist went to the bone and required surgery after he was rushed to a hospital in Tampa. Kane’s initial recovery time was listed at three-to-four months, but the Oilers are optimistic he could return at some point this month.

Edmonton has gone 14-11-3 in Kane’s absence and was in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with a 22-18-3 record prior to Thursday’s games.

In September, Kane reached a financial settlement with the Sharks, as the team made a one-time payment to the winger without having to incur a salary cap charge for this season or in the future.

The NHL Players’ Association filed a grievance on Kane’s behalf in Jan. 2022 after the Sharks, feeling the winger had breached his contract and violated AHL COVID-19 protocol, terminated what was left on the seven-year, $49 contract extension the two sides agreed upon in May 2018.

Kane had 166 points in 212 regular season games with the Sharks and helped them to three playoff series victories and an appearance in the 2019 Western Conference final. The Sharks have played 125 games without Kane since the start of last season and have gone 45-59-21.

“I played some of my best hockey in San Jose and gave everything I had on the ice,” Kane said in a statement after the settlement was announced. “I really enjoyed playing in front of the Sharks fans and appreciate my loyal fans who have supported me throughout.”

Kane signed a four-year, $20.5 million contract with the Oilers in the offseason. He joined Edmonton less than three weeks after he was officially released by the Sharks on Jan. 9, 2022. He has five goals and eight assists in 13 games this season.

HARRINGTON HURT: Sharks defenseman Scott Harrington left Wednesday’s game after the first period with what Sharks coach David Quinn described as an upper-body injury. The Sharks did not practice Thursday and it was not known if Harrington would be available to play the Oilers. If Harrington cannot play, Nick Cicek would likely draw into the lineup.

Reimer made 33 saves, including 28 in the first two periods, but Gabriel Vilardi and Drew Doughty both scored third-period goals as the Los Angeles Kings handed the Sharks a 4-3 loss on Wednesday in a closely fought game at Crypto.com Arena.

The Sharks tied the game 2-2 on a power play goal by Timo Meier with 9:49 left in regulation. But after Vilardi’s goal with 7:20 left, Doughty beat Reimer with a top-shelf wrist shot on an odd-man rush 53 seconds later, helping the Kings sweep the three-game season series with their Northern California rivals.

The Sharks also lost 5-2 to the Kings on Nov. 25 at SAP Center and 3-2 in a shootout in Los Angeles on Dec. 17.

Meier assisted on Alexander Barabanov’s seventh goal of the season with 2:06 left in the third period, but the Sharks couldn’t find the equalizer as their record this season against Pacific Division teams fell to a dismal 2-7-6. They host Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Friday.

The Sharks are also now 5-6-8 in one-goal games this season and enter Thursday 13 points back of a playoff spot.

“As a group here, it’s really disappointing, because you feel like you deserve a better fate,” Reimer said of the close losses the Sharks have endured.

“But this league, it doesn’t hand out wins to people or teams that don’t deserve it. It’s only the team that deserves to win (that) wins games. It’s only the teams that deserve to be in the playoffs that get into the playoffs.”

The Sharks had to play the final two periods without defenseman Scott Harrington, who left the game after the first period with an upper-body injury. Sharks coach David Quinn did not have an update on Harrington after the game.

Nick Bonino also scored for the Sharks (13-22-8) as his fifth of the season came just 1:20 into the second period after Kings goalie Pheonix Copley misplayed the puck in front of his own net.

The Kings took the lead back at the 6:58 mark of the second period as Quinton Byfield tipped a Mikey Anderson shot past Reimer for his first goal in 16 NHL games this season.

Wednesday’s game marked the ninth time this season that the Sharks have played on back-to-back nights. San Jose, which was coming off a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday, had a 3-5-0 record in those situations before the game against the Kings.

Reimer picked up his 199th NHL victory on Dec. 22 in the Sharks’ 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at SAP Center. In his three appearances since Reimer had gone 0-3-0 with a .833 save percentage to fall to 7-12-3 on the season before Wednesday.

Reimer’s career record, in 455 games, is 199-161-56.

In the first period against Los Angeles, Reimer had to make 21 saves as the Kings dominated the second half of the period and took a 1-0 lead.

“We stopped playing with the desire, with the enthusiasm and with the grit that we were playing with early on, and we just started watching people,” Quinn said. “The safest place in the building in the first period was in front of our net. I thought that changed in the second and third period and we did a much better job.”

Kings forward Quinton Byfield skated around Erik Karlsson inside the Sharks zone and went behind the net before he sent a pass out front to Adrian Kempe, who got his stick free and tapped it past Reimer for his 18th goal of the season. Sharks defenseman Jaycob Megna had lef the far-side post and was unable to get a stick on Byfield’s centering pass.

The Sharks had just eight shots in the first period, including just one in the final 10:24.

“Our first four or five minutes were good,” Quinn said, “and we give up that (Kempe) goal and you just feel that we get deflated and it looked like we felt sorry for ourselves and really lost our way.”