- Editor's note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California's Sharks coverage for the 2021-22 season. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
It’s status quo between Tomas Hertl and the Sharks right now.
A week from the trade deadline, the impending unrestricted free agent smiled, knowing what was coming from us, when we started to interrogate him about his contract situation.
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“It’s probably the same as last week,” he said. “It’s just my agent talking to Joe Will. We will see.”
That’s roughly what he said two weeks ago in Las Vegas, when we last shook the tree.
Hertl declined to say if there was an internal deadline to make a decision – if he doesn’t want to stay in San Jose, it’s likely he’ll give the Sharks some time to entertain trade offers before the March 21 trade deadline – or if Will and his agent Craig Oster were close.
The usually talkative centerman was more forthcoming about his mental state over the last month.
