SAN JOSE – A San Jose Sharks team that is next-to-last in the NHL in goals allowed per game and is still looking for its first win of the season is now dealing with a fluctuating defense corps.

The Sharks on Thursday placed Timothy Liljegren on injured reserve and claimed Vincent Iorio off waivers from the Washington Capitals, and could also be without John Klingberg for their game Friday against the Utah Mammoth.

Liljegren sustained an upper-body injury in the Sharks’ 5-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and will miss at least the next three games, starting with the team’s date with the Mammoth in Salt Lake City.

It’s unclear how much time Liljegren, a puck-moving defenseman in his second season with the Sharks, will have to miss, as San Jose hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday and begins a four-game road trip against the New York Islanders on Tuesday.

Klingberg was also injured against the Hurricanes, but remained on the active roster. Klingberg (lower body) briefly skated on Thursday, but was unable to practice. He did travel with the Sharks to Utah, but coach Ryan Warsofsky said the 33-year-old defenseman was “doubtful” to play.

Klingberg missed a few days of training camp last month after he experienced concussion-like symptoms following the Sharks’ first preseason game on Sept. 21. But he also mentioned during camp that his body remained a “work in progress” after having double hip resurfacing surgery in December 2023.

“We’re banged up,” Warsofsky said. “We’ve kind of been dealing with this since training camp with some of our guys on the back end, so we have to manage it the best we can. But right now we’ve got a couple of injuries.”

The 22-year-old Iorio, a native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, is expected to join the Sharks in Salt Lake City, but it was unclear if he would play Friday. If he doesn’t, and Klingberg is unavailable, Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin would both enter the lineup. Mukhamadullin has been scratched for the last two games, and Desharnais still hasn’t played this season.

Iorio, listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, was a 2021 second-round draft pick by Washington and played in nine games with the Capitals, three in 2022-23 and six in 2023-24.

The Sharks have plenty of talented young forwards in their organization and have a promising goalie in 23-year-old Yaroslav Askarov. But they want to add more young defensemen to the system, leading them to claim Iorio, a pending restricted free agent, rather than promote someone from the Barracuda.

“(He’s) 22, right-shot, big, he’s got some size,” Warsofsky said of Iorio. “We talked about him a little bit here, and I think there’s some intangibles that we like and he fits the profile of the player that we’re looking (for).”

Iorio made the Capitals’ roster out of training camp earlier this month but was a healthy scratch for the team’s first four games and was placed on waivers on Wednesday. The Sharks, after having the NHL’s worst record last season, currently have priority to claim any player placed on waivers.

Iorio has primarily played with the AHL’s Hershey Bears in each of the past three seasons, most recently finishing third among team blue-liners with 20 points in 67 games in 2024-25, setting AHL career highs in goals, game-winning goals, and games played.

“I don’t think we would have claimed him if we didn’t think he was going to be an NHL player,” said Warsofsky, who said his good friend and Capitals coach Spencer Carbery had positive things to say about Iorio. “I think there’s potential there. There are still some areas in his game that he’ll have to improve at.”

The Sharks will take whatever improvements they can get on defense.

The Sharks have allowed 16 goals in three games, a 5.33-per-game average that, entering Thursday, was only better than the 5.50 goal average the Ottawa Senators had allowed. Nine of the goals the Sharks have allowed have come during 5-on-5 play, a particular problem area for the team over the last several years.

The Sharks have spoken this week about the lack of connectivity on the ice at even strength, saying that with so many new bodies and constant changes to the lines and defense pairs, it’s been a challenge to develop chemistry and cohesion.

“You look at Carolina, they’re a team that looks connected out there,” Sharks winger Collin Graf said. “They know what they’re going to do when it gets up to the point, the puck’s going to the net.

“In terms of our game, if all five guys know what’s happening, like what the play is off a breakout, or the neutral zone spit out off a rim, then it looks connected. But it’s really just us all thinking on the same page, and it makes things go smoother, and it should lead to us getting the puck back and playing the offensive zone more.”

The Sharks entering Thursday were one of just two winless teams left in the NHL.

“Desperation, urgency. You can use both those words, and we obviously want to see more of it.” Warsofsky said. “That’s kind of been the message.”

Originally Published: October 16, 2025 at 10:59 AM PDT