SAN JOSE – The Sharks have placed forward Adam Gaudette on injured reserve but otherwise appear to have a healthy NHL roster as they prepare for Thursday’s season opener against the Florida Panthers.

The Sharks, who had to submit their salary-cap-compliant 23-man roster to the league office by Monday afternoon, will start the season with several players on IR, although Gaudette was the only one projected to be in the NHL. As of Saturday, Gaudette, who was injured early in training camp, was day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

With Gaudette injured, the Sharks kept Brett Leason on their roster. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound winger, who played in 226 NHL games from 2021-2026, signed a one-year deal with the Sharks in July and had a solid training camp after spending most of last season in the AHL.

“What really surprised me is the maturity of his game,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Leason on Saturday. “Obviously he’s big, he’s long, gets a stick on a lot of pucks, knows his identity; that’s a big thing. He’s been really consistent, so he’s earned the right to be here.”

The Sharks’ roster, which has 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies in Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic, includes three players who spent a majority of last season with the Barracuda of the AHL.

As expected, forward Igor Chernyshov, who had 19 points in 28 games with the Sharks last season, made the team and will likely start this week in the middle six forward group, potentially alongside center Michael Misa and fellow winger Tyler Toffoli.

Defensemen Luca Cagnoni and Nolan Allan, who combined to play 102 games with the Barracuda last season, might also play prominent roles with the Sharks.

Cagnoni played point on the Sharks’ top power-play unit during training camp, and Allan paired with veteran Jacob Trouba during the team’s 4-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday in the preseason finale.

In that game, Allan had 18:18 of ice time, including a team-leading 5:08 on the penalty kill, and he and Darnell Nurse blocked a team-high five shots each.

“I thought he was good,” Trouba said. “He moves the puck well, doesn’t really ever get himself into trouble, which I think is a bigger skill than people give credit for. Makes simple plays, was solid all game.

“Had a really good camp from the start until today. He’s played good hockey, and he’s a fun guy to play with.”

The Sharks’ forward group, as expected, also includes centers Macklin Celebrini, Alexander Wennberg, Michael Misa, Ty Dellandrea, and Zack Ostapchuk, and wingers Chernyshov, Will Smith, Mason Marchment, Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf, Kiefer Sherwood, Barclay Goodrow, and rookie Ivar Stenberg.

The Sharks’ revamped defense corps also features Michael Kesselring, Darnell Nurse, Sam Dickinson, Dmitry Orlov and Trouba. Only Orlov and Dickinson were with the Sharks all of last season.

As of Monday, the Sharks had just over $2.7 million in cap space, per PuckPedia.

After the game against the Panthers, the Sharks, who are hoping to snap a seven-year playoff drought this season, host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. That’s followed by a two-game road trip next week with stops in Dallas and St. Louis.

“You’d rather have expectations and want to win and be fighting for it every night instead of looking forward to the next couple of years,” Celebrini said at the start of training camp. “I think that’s where the focus has shifted for our group: taking the steps necessary to make the playoffs and have that experience.”

Other players on IR include forwards Alex Barre-Boulet and Logan Couture, who will not play again, but is entering the final year of his eight-year, $64 million contract that he signed on July 1, 2018.

Patrick Giles, Cam Lund and Quentin Musty, defenseman Mattias Havelid, and goalie Kyle Keyser are on the injured non-roster list, and will likely be sent to the Barracuda or placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment when they are healthy. Musty and Keyser are out long-term with upper-body injuries, general manager Mike Grier said on Sept. 17, and Lund will miss at least a few more weeks.

Both Musty and Lund were injured during the Rookie Faceoff event in San Jose earlier this month, and Keyser was injured before camp began, leading the Sharks to sign goalie Ilya Samsonov to a one-year, two-way contract three weeks ago.

Samsonov cleared waivers on Monday and was assigned to the Barracuda, who open the regular season on Oct. 3 at home against San Diego.

NIETO RETIRES

Former Sharks winger Matt Nieto announced his retirement on Monday on his Instagram account.

Nieto, a Long Beach native, played 705 NHL games over 12 seasons, including 364 in two stints with San Jose from 2013 to 2016, and 2021 to 2023. He also played 287 games with the Colorado Avalanche and 54 with Pittsburgh, finishing his last season as a pro with the Penguins in 2045-25.

“The last few years, I’ve battled injuries that made playing hockey at the highest level difficult,” Nieto, 33, wrote. “I took last season off and did everything I could to find my way back. I’m not stepping away because I stopped loving hockey. I’m stepping away because I loved it enough to give it everything I had.”

Nieto, known for his speed and reliability, also played in 62 playoff games, including 16 with San Jose during its run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

“Hockey will always be a part of who I am,” Nieto, a Sharks second-round pick in 2011, wrote. “It’s been a part of my life ever since I was a 3-year-old kid playing roller hockey in California. I’ll always be thankful for everything this game has given me. I’m not saying goodbye to hockey — just to being a player.”

Congrats to the Long Beach Native on a great career! https://t.co/E9oVVNp4AV pic.twitter.com/wzbMyNHSrq

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) September 28, 2026