SAN JOSEIn case you hadnt heard, Daniel Winnik and TJ Galiardi, the newest members of the Sharks, are pretty tight pals. Just a day after being acquired from the Colorado Avalanche, the pair of forwards will debut on Tuesday night at HP Pavilion against the Flyers.
They were each informed of the trade on Monday afternoon, and Galiardi explained on Tuesday just how it went down. Winnik was actually the first to find out about the deal, and told his good friend Galiardi during a pregame meal, as they were getting ready to play later that night against the Anaheim Ducks.
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I told him take me with you, and five minutes later I found out I actually was going with him, so I was pretty happy, Galiardi said. Were great friends and we get along really well, so it just makes the transition a lot easier.
Sharks captain Joe Thornton noticed the chemistry between the pair, too, joking a bit about the duo this morning.
When I met them this morning they were pretty much holding hands, said Thornton, with a smirk on his face.
Of course, the Sharks play of late is no laughing matter. San Jose is coming off of one of its worst road trips in franchise history, with just two wins in nine games, and Winnik and Galiardi will be counted on to help get the team back in the win column right away.
San Jose Sharks
Should Logan Couture miss the game, which seems likely after he missed the morning skate with a lower body injury, look for Winnik to skate on the wing with Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski, while Galiardi sees third line duty with Michal Handzus and Torrey Mitchell. Dominic Moore (lower body) remains doubtful, too.
Thornton and the Sharks know Winnik and Galiardi well, and the captain harkened back to a tough first round series against Colorado in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs.
From playing against them, just two competitive guys that work hard and compete hard every night, Thornton said. Definitely going to add a lot of depth to this team, and just really excited to play with them, and a good addition for us.
As for what Thornton remembers about the pair?
We definitely remember that Colorado series, and we didnt like them very much and Im sure they didnt like us, he said. Now, were all under the same colors and looking forward to winning some games with them.
Galiardi particularly seemed to irk Thornton during that postseason series in which the Sharks won, four games to two.
I just remember TJ running around in that series pretty good, and I think everybody wanted to kill him, not just me.