San Jose Sharks
Sharks Locker Room: What Type of Player Should San Jose Target This Off-Season?
When you’re the worst team in the NHL, there’s a lot wrong with you.
But if I were to start with one thing for the San Jose Sharks to focus on this off-season, after they ended their year with a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames?
Besides drafting Macklin Celebrini.
According to SPORTLOGiQ, the Sharks are both the league’s worst in both Offensive Zone Possession Time For and Against.
For the record, they averaged 5:17 OZ Possession Time For a game, well short of the 6:45 median and 7:55 NHL-best. They surrendered 8:56 OZ Possession Against a game, much worse than the 6:45 median and 5:09 league-best.
So San Jose had a significant problem with both sustaining and killing plays.
How do they take steps toward fixing that this off-season, getting harder to play against?
It’s not easy to find players who truly excel at sustaining or killing plays – but usually, improving defense is easier than improving offense.
So if I were to pick one thing to start to fix the Sharks? More players who can kill plays.
“That’s a big, big problem for us. We need to defend harder in our one-on-one situations. We need to end plays,” San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn conceded. “Right now, it’s a little too easy to get the puck away from us. And it’s very, very difficult for us to get the puck away from the other team.”
The hockey cliché is build from the goal out.
From there, perhaps San Jose can start to improve the rest of their game, one zone at a time?
In Mackenzie Blackwood, perhaps the Sharks have found their answer in goal, at least for now.
Next zone is defensive, where San Jose is hoping to kill more plays next season, lower their OZ possession time against, perhaps with some additions via trade or free agency.
“We’re anticipating a big summer and we’ll be better next year,” Quinn said.
One good play leads to another.
Kill a play, maybe you’re in a better place to initiate a clean breakout. A smoother breakout, you have a better chance of gaining the zone with clear possession or establishing a forecheck. Start with the puck in the offensive zone, have more OZ possession time.
It’s all connected.
Or at least it should be. Wait ‘til next year?
David Quinn
David Quinn reflects on the Sharks' season ⬇ pic.twitter.com/DeuVQNBmqk
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 19, 2024
Quinn, on the San Jose Sharks’ inability to kill plays:
Yeah, that’s a big, big problem for us. We need to defend harder in our one-on-one situations. We need to end plays. Right now, it’s a little too easy to get the puck away from us. And it’s very, very difficult for us to get the puck away from the other team.
We’re anticipating a big summer and we’ll be better next year.
Devin Cooley
"I hope we continue to see more guys from the Bay Area make the NHL."
Devin Cooley reflects on making NHL history with Flames goalie Dustin Wolf pic.twitter.com/VDAfxAzw1O
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 19, 2024
Cooley, on the significance, as a Los Gatos native, of playing Gilroy native Dustin Wolf tonight:
I don’t know him personally, but I’ve been following him for a while, obviously in the American League. He’s had a great career so far.
It’s really awesome to see how far youth hockey has come in Northern California and the Bay Area and it was really cool to be able to play against him tonight.
I hope we continue to see more more guys from the Bay Area make the NHL, and at some point in the future, it’s to be expected. It’s no longer surprising.
No longer a cool thing, but like I’m making the NHL from the Bay Area, it’s like no surprise there, it’s a hockey hotbed.
Cooley, on a tough last two games to close this season:
That Edmonton game definitely took a hit on my confidence. That showed tonight. I think I reverted back to a lot of old habits tonight. Wasn’t me out there. Trying to battle through and trying to stay positive and tell myself like it’s gonna be fine and I just couldn’t beat the mental side of things tonight.
I thought I played small. I played on my heels. I was sitting back. Old habits, that’s not my game anymore.
Fabian Zetterlund
"He's doing everything for our teammates, which is what a leader does."
Fabian Zetterlund praises Luke Kunin's leadership pic.twitter.com/ou72wQIhtg
— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 19, 2024
Zetterlund, on Luke Kunin showing his compete to the last minute, standing up for Romanov:
I think we need more of that. Especially beginning of the games, a game is a full 60 minutes. I don’t remember the last time we played a full 60.
Zetterlund, on being the only San Jose Sharks player to play 82 games this season:
It’s nice. I feel fresh every game, try to stay in shape. Ready to go every night. That was my goal before the season, and yeah, I made it.
Kyle Burroughs
Burroughs, on Georgi Romanov:
Georgi is great. He’s been good for us, he’s made big saves. He’s came in, in kind of a tough position. But he’s stood tall.
He’s a pretty mellow guy. He’s funny.
Burroughs, on Mikael Granlund reaching 60 points:
He was our MVP, our MVP for a reason. Heart-and-soul guy that’s got a lot of talent, got a lot of other skills that we need up front.
He’s meant a lot. I think he’s gonna build on this. I’m sure we’ll see a better version of him next year as well.
Sharks Head Coach Search: A Couple Juicy Tidbits, a Dark Horse Candidate? (+)
Sharks Want To Bring Back Full Barracuda Coaching Staff
SPECULATION: Friedman Names 4 Possible Sharks Head Coach Candidates
Blackwood Talks Grier’s Exit Message to Sharks, Speer’s Impact on His Rebound Year
SJHN Daily: 6 More Possible Sharks Head Coach Candidates, Case for Don Granato
NHL Scouts Talk Collin Graf’s Ceiling (+)
Grier on State of Sharks’ Rebuild, Free Agency Plans, Empty Seats at SAP Center & More (+)
Don’t Expect Will Smith To Sign With Sharks This Season
Sharks Locker Room: What’s the Organization’s Plan Besides Hoping To Draft Celebrini?
Penguins Miss Playoffs: Sharks Likely To Have Two 2024 Draft Lottery Picks
Blackwood Talks Grier’s Exit Message to Sharks, Speer’s Impact on His Rebound Year
Zetterlund Going to World Championships, Talks Friendship With Eklund
Vlasic Doesn’t Think He’ll Get Bought Out (It Doesn’t Make Sense Anyway)
REACTION: Quinn Fired!
Ferraro Teases Burns, Excited To Bring Sharks Back to Playoffs One Day
Thanks for another great year of coverage Sheng!! Would you happen to know if locker clean out and media availability is today/tomorrow or do you think they’ll give the guys the weekend and do that stuff on Monday? Thanks again 😃
It’s Saturday
Cooley is 100% correct. He was chasing the play last night again, just like he was pre-STL game, his recovery was also slow and his post recovery stance was too wide.
It has been a challenging season, but this off season should be interesting. Who stays, who goes, who comes in? Will Logan be back? And finally, my favorite team is whomever is playing FV over the next few months. Take care and GO SHARKS!
I’d like to see Mike be a bit more aggressive this summer and start picking away at the cap-strapped teams. Vancouver’s not going to get much relief, and they have some RFA Ds who’d be worth offer-sheeting; the Rangers aren’t getting much money off the books either, and I’d be down to take the last three years of Goodrow off their hands for a 1st or Perrault, and if they say no, offer sheet their RFAs as well.
The Sharks aren’t in a position to offer sheet someone unless the compensation is very low. They don’t own their 2025 3rd, so they’d either have to reacquire that from Anaheim or send an offer at a tier that doesn’t involve a 3rd. The numbers are likely going to change a little bit, but 2023’s numbers that leaves under 1.416M (no compensation), 2.145M-4.290M (2nd round pick), or 10.725M+ (4 1st round picks over the next 5 years). Even if the team reacquired their 3rd, it’s likely not worth giving up their unprotected 2025 1st for the majority of the players… Read more »
They do have their 2nd and could offer sheet a pretty strong RFA with that, but I had forgotten that you couldn’t use acquired 3rds (the one from Duclair) so yeah that’s off the table for the next few years
I don’t think reacquiring their 3rd would be that big of a deal if they wanted to (offer a 2nd for your 3rd back, no team’s going to decline unless they think you’re planning to offer sheet their RFA). It’s mostly that once you get past that 2nd round pick tier at 4.29M or so, they’re giving up their unprotected 1st and 3rd in the next tier, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the following one, and 2 out of your next 3 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd at the next one. Unless the player they’re getting is extremely good,… Read more »
Hronem was actually who I had in mind but not if he commands more than the 4.3 threshold.
His QO is 5.28M so it probably does. If they can’t afford his QO he’d be a UFA and we wouldn’t be worrying about offer sheet compensation, but I’m fairly sure they’ll find a way to sign him.
Grier’s done the house cleaning he can do. He can’t move either Logan or Vlasic and it makes no sense to buy out either of them. That’s $15mil. Next most pricey player is Granlund at $5mil, then Vanacek at $3.4mil. Players under contract for next season, including Vlasic and Couture, plus all the dead/retained cap still leaves about $35mil for free new additions. Can’t imagine anyone on the current roster is getting a meaningful raise, many won’t be kept. Tons of cap space. But how to use it? Personally, I think they blew it by not retaining much more. They… Read more »
How about the target signing Brenden Dillon and Dylan DeMelo. Give some good leadership and veteran presence to calm things down. Perhaps their return to SJ would ease the need for an overpay.
Both are on a playoff team and only earning $3.9M and $3.0M, respectively. I don’t see how they could be convinced to take a pay cut to come to a likely bottom-5 team for the last few years of their careers.
Easy. Jets are clearly not inclined to resign two 30+ year olds or they wouldn’t be heading to UFA. All depends on what they are looking for in their last contracts. They might not get stacked team offers. So then come home.
I mean, sure. Like both players. But it’d still leave a lot of cap space
#1 priority…
Turn over defensive core. Not big enough, skilled enough, tough enough. Period.
Get dmen that can handle the puck, NOT get it, panick, give it to the opposition.
Saw enough of that w the Mike rather era and the last couple years.
If told me before season Eklund gets 44 points and Zetterlund pots 24 goals and granlund gets 60 points: I would not have bet Sharks end up dead last, might have wondered if they had wild card shot. Course if told me LC would play 6 games and Hertl 54, I would have fully bet on last place. It is what the team needed! Just too bad it came at cost of LC missing the season and Hertl getting traded (regardless of how I felt about contract). As far as next year— I wonder if can have a rinse and… Read more »
I don’t think a rinse and repeat is healthy, if this Sturm quote means anything: “What type of culture are [young players] coming into, who are they going to learn from? Are they going to be coming into a losing culture where you get blown out every night and they see how guys react after games and it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose in this league? Or are they going to come into a group where it’s clear from day one that losing is not acceptable?”