SAN JOSE – There was perhaps a time last year when new Lucas Carlsson doubted whether he could get back to the NHL.

San Jose Sharks defenseman

Carlsson sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in February of last year while playing for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. With Carlsson faced an uncertain future.

it being a contract year,

“That was pretty much the first thing I thought of,” Carlsson said Friday. “Like, what am I going to do now? Because, obviously, it’s a serious injury. So I was just happy a couple of teams called.”

One of those teams was the Sharks, who gave Carlsson a on the first day of free agency in July. After a grueling rehab that forced him to miss training camp and the season’s first several weeks, Carlsson, 27, started the year with the Barracuda and played his first game with the team in November.

two-year, two-way contract

On Friday, Carlsson was recalled to the Sharks. In his first NHL game since Nov. 1, 2022, when he was with the Florida Panthers, he scored the game-winning goal and made a game-saving block to help San Jose over the Boston Bruins before a raucous sold-out SAP Center crowd on Saturday night.

earn a 3-1 victory