Walman finds home in San Jose after sour ending to Red Wings tenure

SAN JOSE – With each passing game, it’s increasingly complex to believe that the San Jose Sharks picked up defenseman Jake Walman — and a 2024 second-round draft pick — from the Detroit Red Wings this summer for basically nothing.

Going into Thursday’s game against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, Walman, after 11 games, leads all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (22:41) while being second in assists (seven) and tied for third in points (eight).

“He was a good player in Detroit, and he was a great add for us,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Walman on Tuesday after the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2. “A puck-moving guy and those are hard to find.

“He’s big, he’s physical, he can skate. (Those guys) don’t just fall off trees. So it’s a good acquisition, for sure.”

Walman had a goal, two assists, and over 21 minutes in ice time on Tuesday as San Jose (2-7-2) earned its second straight win and its first at SAP Center this season. Walman’s goal at the 2:20 mark of the second period was the first by a Sharks defenseman this year.

Walman also had three assists in the Sharks’ dramatic comeback win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday. Now, he has more three-point games this week than in the first 211 games of his NHL career (one).

“There were some moments in that game where we bent, but I felt we didn’t break and stuck together the whole time,” Walman said after Tuesday’s game. “I think we have a pretty close group. Obviously, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity, but we know how to battle those tough times now.”

Walman’s increased responsibility speaks to how much more of an opportunity he’s getting now with the rebuilding Sharks.

His tenure in Detroit didn’t end well.

At the end of last season, Walman was listed as a healthy scratch for what would turn out to be his final six games in the Red Wings organization.

The only issue with that, Walman said during training camp, was that he wasn’t healthy.

Walman said he was dealing with a lower-body injury for roughly the season’s final two months when the Red Wings were trying to chase down a playoff spot. He missed time in March dealing with the ailment and returned for two games in April but was held out the rest of the way.

Detroit missed the playoffs on a tie-breaker.

When the Sharks acquired Walman and the draft pick on June 25 for future considerations, it was unofficially because the Red Wings needed to clear out cap space to try and get forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider under contract. Raymond would sign an eight-year, $64.6 million deal, and Seider inked a seven-year, $59.85 million contract.

Walman is in the second year of a three-year, $10.2 million contract with a not insignificant $3.4 million cap hit.

“I was hurt at the end of the year last year. There wasn’t any media stuff that kind of came out about that,” Walman told Bay Area News Group during training camp. “I think (the Red Wings) were keeping it quiet, but a lot of mixed kind of signals from coaches, trainers, type thing.

“So I guess I just want to let everybody know that I was actually dealing with something. That’s why I wasn’t in the lineup. Obviously, I was trying my best to get back in there, but when I got the call in the summer about that trade, it was cap reasons.

“But I had to get my body healthy in the summer, and I’m looking forward to being healthy and managing what I had going on. But at the same time, just proving to everybody why (the Red Wings) shouldn’t have gotten rid of me.”

Without question, the Sharks love having Walman right now.

Besides assisting on third-period goals by Fabian Zetterlund and Tyler Toffoli on Tuesday, Walman also took six shifts in the final nine minutes of regulation time as the Sharks protected a one-goal lead.

It clearly indicates that the Sharks’ coaching staff has enormous trust in him and his defense partner, Cody Ceci, as two of their lead horses in tight situations.

“They’ve been good,” Warsofsky said of Walman and Ceci. “Jake, he’s a big kid that can skate, and when he’s physical and engaged, he’s a difference maker out there. He’s one of the best defensemen on the ice when he’s engaged and he’s skating.

“He’s got a big, heavy shot; he can break out pucks. I think the sky’s the limit for him and his ability. It’s there. He’s going to continue to improve and get better. Obviously, he got a shot through tonight. He gets rewarded with the goal.”

Walman averaged 19:46 in ice time last season when he set a new career-high with 21 points in 63 games with the Wings. He is almost halfway to that total through 11 games in San Jose.

After Thursday, the Sharks continue their homestand with games against Vancouver on Saturday and Columbus and Minnesota next week.

“Maybe don’t turn the TV off when the Sharks are playing,” Walman said of Monday’s win. “I’m sure a lot of people did. Stick with us. For most of the games, we’re doing the right things, and it’s only a matter of time, and it’s going to come.

“We have confidence now, and it’s a lot more fun coming to the rink when we’re winning.”