SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks announced Friday that they have agreed to release forward Andrew Poturalski, who wishes to pursue playing opportunities outside of North America, possibly in Russia with the Kontinental Hockey League.
Poturalski, the AHL’s leading scorer and Most Valuable Player this past season, had one year left on the two-year, $1.6 million deal he signed with the Sharks last July.
Poturalski’s agent, Stephen Bartlett, said overseas teams had pursued the 32-year-old center in recent years as he became one of the AHL’s best players. He said Poturalski wanted to explore those opportunities before it became too late.
“It was nothing negative about the Sharks. He enjoyed his time there, and they treated him great,” Bartlett told this news organization. “It isn’t anything to do with the Sharks. All these years, he’s always had overseas teams chasing him, and at this stage of his career, he said, ‘Hey, maybe I should give it a try for a year and see if I like it.’”
Poturalski led the AHL with 73 points and was named the league’s most valuable player this season as he helped lead the Barracuda, the Sharks’ top minor league affiliate, to its first Calder Cup playoff appearance in six years.
Still, Poturalski only played three games with the rebuilding Sharks, all from Feb. 4 to 8, as the NHL team was hit with a rash of injuries to its forward group and had just traded center Mikael Granlund to the Dallas Stars.
Poturalski was reassigned to the Barracuda on Feb. 9 and did not return to the Sharks. He suffered a torn left MCL in a Barracuda game against Abbotsford on March 28. He was nearing a return earlier this month when San Jose was eliminated from the playoffs in the second round.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who has known Poturalski for several years, said the organization was discussing bringing the Western New York native back to the NHL for the final few games of the season before he was injured.
“So there was some bad luck in between,” Warsofsky said. “But he’s going to make a decision that’s best for him and his family, and that’s what he did.”
“This isn’t a move out of bitterness or unhappiness or a disgruntled player,” Bartlett said. “This is just something about some of the possibilities in the KHL. You could make two years’ worth of money in one year, compared to what it could be here.
“(Poturalski) just felt he owed it to himself and his family to give it a try.”
Bartlett said if Poturalski decides he wants to return to North America in 2026, ”I could see him coming back and even re-signing with the Sharks after next season.”
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Bartlett said a KHL team is the “leading candidate” to sign Poturalski, “just because the money’s so good there. We’ve talked to teams in other leagues as well, and we appreciate the Sharks being understanding since they had initially committed to a two-year deal, and obviously, he was a big part of the Barracuda. So we can’t say enough good things about their cooperation, kind of letting Andrew have this kick at the can one more time before he winds his career down at some point.
“But again, he’s not necessarily thinking it’s anything beyond a one-year test drive and seeing how it goes.”
Reports in Russia earlier this spring suggested that Poturalski has already agreed to join Avangard Omsk. But Bartlett said the Poturalski’s release from the Sharks still has to become official and once that happens, a new deal could be in place by early or mid-June.
“We know the parameters of what’s over there and who’s interested,” Bartlett said. “The offers on the table were strong enough to feel comfortable moving forward with the request for the Sharks to accommodate us. And they were great about it. We talked back and forth, and they tried to convince him to stay, but they respected his wish to give it a try. And again, we can’t thank him enough for that.”