{"id":890552,"date":"2026-10-22T08:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/890552\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:28:09","slug":"gaudette-waiting-for-opportunity-wants-to-stay-with-sharks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/890552\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaudette Waiting for Opportunity, Wants To Stay With Sharks (+)"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 Adam Gaudette<\/a> is still waiting for his first game of the season with the San Jose Sharks.<\/p>\n

The forward has been a healthy scratch since being activated from injured reserve on Oct. 10 after recovering from an upper-body injury. With San Jose adding several wingers over the summer, Gaudette is competing for a spot in the line-up, despite scoring 36 goals over the past two seasons. He believes his production shows he can contribute at the NHL level on a nightly basis.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old is in the final year of his contract and hopes to earn an extension with the Sharks. In Detroit last week, he discussed the frustration of watching from the sidelines, the coaching staff\u2019s message to be patient, and whether he has considered asking for a trade.<\/p>\n

Sharks tools<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on staying positive while waiting for another opportunity:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough. I haven\u2019t played since April, so I want to be out there with the guys, and I want to help them win. I feel like I can contribute to the group. It\u2019s not something that I haven\u2019t experienced before, so I know how to handle it. But when it happens over again, it\u2019s just tough, but nothing I can do other than keep a good attitude, work hard on the ice, and root for the boys, hang out with them on the road and keep a good attitude.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on being told to be patient and wait for his opportunity:<\/p>\n

Just patience. That\u2019s all I\u2019ve really been told, is just be patient. They want to see how the group does. So I\u2019m trying to be as patient as possible and wait for my opportunity. I know when I get that opportunity, I\u2019ll take full advantage of it, just like I always have. It\u2019s just a matter of keeping a good head on your shoulders and knowing that opportunity is going to come. Just make sure you\u2019re ready for it.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on competing for a spot after the San Jose Sharks\u2019 off-season additions:<\/p>\n

That\u2019s kind of been the case for me every year of my career. Always kind of fighting on the bubble there, competing for a spot. I\u2019m just doing all I can to earn a full-time spot. I just have to keep building off what I\u2019ve been doing the past couple years. 36 goals in the past two years is a pretty solid sign that I can play in this league every night. So, just try to do all I can to prove that I deserve to be in the lineup<\/a> and that I can help this team win. Just doing whatever I can, keeping a good attitude, having fun with the guys, and just showing up to the rink with a smile on my face every day.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on using limited opportunities to prove he deserves more playing time:<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s always been the case for me. I\u2019ve always felt like I had to prove myself, it\u2019s probably always going to be the case. Although it\u2019s a little more stressful, I wish it wasn\u2019t always like that, but I think that\u2019s when I perform at my best, when my back\u2019s up against the wall and there\u2019s some sort of pressure there. I just wait for that opportunity. I know I can do more than I\u2019ve done, and I\u2019m just trying to earn more minutes, more playing time, and I just want to be able to go out there and give it my all with the opportunities I\u2019m given. I don\u2019t want to look back and say I should have done this more or done that better. I want to be able to say at the end of my career, I gave it all I had. I did what I could with what I was given. There\u2019s no shame in that. Just being ready, any situation, I\u2019m ready to be used. Hopefully catch the eye of the coaches and the staff and earn a little more trust and be used in different situations.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on communication from coaches and watching team play:<\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s been good, I think. They said patience. I\u2019m trying to be patient, as best I can, but it sucks as a competitor being out and watching your team either lose or win. It\u2019s always good to watch them win, but when you\u2019re watching tough games that we\u2019re losing, it\u2019s tough to not be out there with them, be in the fight with them, and share the pain of a loss or the happiness of a win together with the guys. But, I\u2019m just trying my best to be patient. As soon as I get that green light to go get in the lineup, I\u2019m going to take full advantage of it.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on whether he would ask the San Jose Sharks for a trade:<\/p>\n

I want to play, but I don\u2019t want to do that. Truthfully, I don\u2019t. I\u2019ve been moved around enough. My family likes it here. I love it here. I love the staff, everything about it. I want to play here, but I\u2019ve got to do what\u2019s best for my career. Wherever that leads, the future will dictate that. Trade is not on my mind right now, anything like that. Lots of respect for [Mike] Grier and the coaching staff here, so I don\u2019t feel the need to even be bringing that up yet. But I just hope I get the opportunity here because it\u2019s an unbelievable spot. Great staff, great coaches, great guys in the locker room. So, I just have to be patient and when I get that opportunity, grab it.<\/p>\n

Gaudette, on his goal of earning a new contract with the Sharks:<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the ideal goal, to earn a new contract here and be here as long as I can, honestly. Like you said, contract year, so there\u2019s a lot on the line here. I\u2019m getting to the second half of my career, and I just want to put myself and my family in the best situation possible. There\u2019s nothing I can really control here. I\u2019m just going out and working, and I believe by being a good person, showing up, having a smile on your face every day, and working hard, good things are going to happen. That\u2019s a recipe for success, regardless of your situation. That\u2019s the only thing I can do right now, just be a good teammate to the guys in the locker room. Cheer them on, hang out with them outside of the rink, have fun on the road, collect cards, create memories with the guys. That\u2019s all I\u2019m focused on right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 Adam Gaudette is still waiting for his first game of the season with the San Jose…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":890553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[1317,4273,385,4276,835,128592,6531,99,447,204832],"class_list":["post-890552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-adam-gaudette","tag-mike-grier","tag-nhl","tag-ryan-warsofsky","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-scratch","tag-sjhn","tag-sports","tag-trade","tag-ufa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}