Sharks Are Better Than Last Year…But Why Aren’t They Winning More? (+)

Are the San Jose Sharks better than last year?

They had appeared to turn the page on last season’s disaster in early December — on Dec. 7, they were 10-15-5, a .417 Points % with a -22 Goal Differential.

This was a far cry from 2023-24’s 19-54-9, a .287 Points % with a -146 Goal Differential.

But on Dec. 9, the Sharks traded Mackenzie Blackwood, and it’s been all downhill since then — they’ve gone 5-20-2 with a -42 Goal Differential.

At the 4 Nations Face-Off break, their 15-35-7 record is nearly identical to their mark through 57 games last year, 15-37-5, a difference of two points.

Of course, the Goal Differential is a real improvement, -99 at this point last season, -64 now.

A lot of that is more scoring, led by newcomers Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini and Jake Walman, among others.

But looking deeper, here are some key areas where the San Jose Sharks are better than in 2023-24 — and some categories where they’re not.

Are the Sharks better this year? Micro-stats from Stathletes give an idea.