Sharks Slow and Steady Rebuild Could Win the Race

Sharks Slow and Steady Rebuild Could Win the Race

Welcome back. All right, so as free agents continue to sign and all that, I thought, you know, let’s just take an all too early look at what San Jose’s got done. Uh the San Jose Sharks, of course, are a team that is expected to be near the bottom of the standings, at the bottom of the standings, but there’s a lot of potential here. So, one of the things that helps with potential is having cap space. They have almost 23 million in cap space, even with the moves they made today. And some will argue whether they’ve got any better or if they’re any worse, but the reality is as long as you have that cast base and you have so many good young players both on the roster and coming up, there’s that potential you get better. So their top line is pretty darn good. You got Ecklund last this past season 77 games, 17 goals, 41 assists, 58 points. I think Ekkund has pointame potential and as everybody else grows, I think his points totals go up as well. Uh Mlin Celibbrini had an excellent rookie season. 70 games, 25 goals, 38 assists, 63 points, and looks like he’s going to be a superstar in the NHL for a long time to come. And he is that first line center that you need if you’re going to, you know, build your way up and and move up in the standings. Uh Tyler Tofoley, excellent season for Tofoley. 78 games, 30 goals, 24 assists, 54 points. Continues to be a good veteran presence for the San Jose Sharks. I would imagine that continues into this coming season. where things get a little more dodgy in terms of how things are going to end up looking. I think it’s as soon as you get to that second line. Wenberg last season 77 games, 10 goals, 25 assists, 35 points. And I’ll refer to 2024, 2025 is last season because we’re we’re into the part now where officially the next season starts on July the 1st. So technically it’s last season. Um I don’t want to confuse people too much though because we still think of that as being this season, don’t we? But is going to end up in the top six? I’m going to go out on a limb and say no. by the time we reach the the you know uh training camp in September, probably not. Will Smith will be uh 74 games, 18 goals, 27 assists, 45 points. As the season went along, Smith’s play got better. His points totals went up and I think there’s probably 60 point potential there. Now, I’ve got a dash on the right side here because I don’t know that they have anybody currently that I look at and say of the veterans, this guy is going to be top six. Uh, one chart I was looking at had Godette playing on that right side. He may very well end up getting more ice time in San Jose than he got in Ottawa, but I I don’t think he ends up getting into that top six. I think one of the younger players is going to get in there and we’ll discuss. Uh, Grundstrom 56 games, three goals, six assists, nine points as we get into the likely bottom six. Kurishv’s been added. Uh, they also added Godette. So, those are two new players added to that bottom six. Barkley Gudro 77 games, five goals, three assists, eight points this past season. A staff check played 13 games, did not record a point there. Uh, and Dandria, 68 games, one goal, seven assists, eight points. Um, I I was disappointed to see Dandre only get one goal. I’d kind of hoped when he left Dallas and went to San Jose that maybe some of that offense that he’d shown at times in his career uh might realize itself, but if you’re San Jose, you can afford some swings and misses with how many good young players are coming in. So getting into the players that are coming in, you’ve got Bistad, you’ve got Musty, you’ve got Chernishov could all end up pushing their way into a roster spot and and or you know maybe maybe one does out of all of them, right? Um not all one not all I I got to watch how I say this. Probably one gets in out of them and then Misa. So Misa of course at development camp and it has not been decided yet between the Sharks and Michael Misa what the best path is forward. Is the best path for him to maybe jump into that top six spot if that top six spot is available or is Misa’s best option to play bottom six or does Misa end up playing in the OL again next season? Uh it’s a conversation to be had whether it makes sense for him to play this season or just give him a year and bring him in next year. Uh Colin Graph played 33 games, five goals, six assists, 11 points. There’s some third line potential there with Graph. Sure. And if he realizes that, that does mean that there could be an extra forward for them. Uh then you’ve got Lond played 11 games towards the end of the season. Two goals, one assist, three points for him. And Gushin, 12 games, just the one assist. I like Gushin, too. He gives an honest effort every night, but I don’t know if his career is going to be realized as a regular in the National Hockey League or if he’s going to continue to be a player that fills in here and there. Now, I think this is a good forward group for a team that is trying to build its way out of um a rebuild. And I think that if Misa comes in and if they decide he’s ready and if he does play a prominent role on this team, as long as Celibbrini, Eklan, Smith continue their trajectory, this team could score some goals. We could see some offense from the San Jose Sharks. Sure, their bottom six won’t be able to compete with the top teams in the West, but they don’t really need to. The pressure is not on San Jose at this point in time. Then you look at the blue line. This is a veteran blue line. Um, I’ve already seen some people questioning, so Mario Ferraro, does he become uh the next one to get traded out? 78 games, five goals, 12 assist, 17 points. The reasoning being they’ve added Orlov, they’ve added Klingberg, they’ve added Letty. There’s a lot of veteran presence on the blue line. Does this mean that Ferrero maybe gets traded out? He has good value, right? Uh, Ljigrin, 67 games, six goals, 11 assists, 17 points after coming over from Toronto. Ljigrin had a stronger start I felt with San Jose than where things ended up and that is how he pronounces it. Ljigrin and it is weird. I agree that it’s weird but that’s how he pronounces it and I think he sticks around. Then you’ve got Thrron 60 games, two goals, 10 assists, 12 points for him on the blue line and Darren A had seven games with San Jose. Did not record a point. He is veteran depth on the blue line. But also on the blue line you have Mohamd Dulan. Mohammad Madulan 30 games, two goals, seven assists, nine points. Uh Carlson came in 13 games, one goal, three assists, four points. Keoni Canyon Canyone may end up being uh a defenseman that gives everybody a headache come training camp if if he’s ready ready like if if he’s too good to be down in the AHL kind of ready. Played six games with San Jose this past season, recorded two assists, and he looked good. So, what they’ve done here by adding Orlov, Clingberg, Lety, and I I I see this sometimes during uh free agent periods where people will ask, well, why do you bring in all these veterans? We want you to leave room for the kids. This does not mean San Jose is not going to have room for the kids. It means the kids don’t have to be ready come training camp. And there is that difference of opinion, right? the Calgary Flames stating, you know, Craig Conroy stating that they’re, you know, letting kids know there’s a roster spot that might be available. And some GMs do that and it works really well. Other GMs, what can work really well is making sure you have enough veterans uh to step in just in case the kids aren’t quite ready yet, right? So, different situations, obviously, very different teams, but it is it is that approach. And I appreciate that approach of bringing in veterans and making sure that the kids ha a have to earn that job and beat out a veteran to get there. they’re not just handed that job by being there. And and B, that pressure isn’t on those kids to succeed. Now, Sam Dickinson, I I think is going to end up on this roster, and I think he’s going to push his way into a top four role for this team pretty quickly. Uh Dickinson, of course, a number, I believe, number seven draft pick and seen as being a very good NHL defenseman of the very near future. And so if Dickinson does push his way onto the roster, that helps quite a bit. That should add some some offense to that blue line, some dynamic skating to that blue line, and that may very well be the plan. But as I said, if he’s not ready, you have enough veterans to cover for it. Even in the event that San Jose moves Ferraro, and I don’t know for sure if they’re going to or not going to, but if they do, there’s still enough depth here that they’re able to absorb that, right? Uh then you get to the goalending. You got a Scarov 46 and2 with an 8968 percentage. Nadulkovich has been added. I don’t think people realize that Georgie Romanov gone. Gorgv also gone. The depth in San Jose’s goalending uh is is in need. So, I feel like one thing San Jose needs to get, and who knows, maybe they’ll get it today after this video goes live. It wouldn’t be the first time something like that’s happened. Notice I don’t have anything about a coach on the board. I’m looking out looking out for the San Jose Sharks coach. uh don’t want to put him on the board and then find out he gets fired after. Uh but yeah, so they need a number three. They need an AHL veteran to to start for them. There are certainly some candidates for that. That is one addition that San Jose, I think, should should look at making u soon. I think adding uh a little bit of depth in that would be brilliant for them. Um and there are definitely going to be some some candidates for them. So, as I said, that 22.95 million in cap space, I I don’t know that they end up being much closer to the salary cap ceiling before the regular season. I’d be very surprised if they don’t have at least I’ll say 10 to 15 million in cap space. But one of the reasons I put this spot here in the top six is because they have the room to to make an addition, bring in a contract from another team. So keep an eye on where where Eers goes and which team picks up Eers and how everything falls. The dominoes fall after that because a team like San Jose could very well be a good landing spot for a top top six forward who a team doesn’t really have room for anymore because of their salary cap situation and San Jose would be very very happy to have because with Smith, Celibbrini, Eklan potentially Misa as well, you have to have those veterans. They have Tfoi. Tofolei’s done a good job for them, but you need, you know, if you can add another veteran, especially a veteran that can chip in 25 goals and say 55 60 points, uh, you’re doing a lot to help your team in the short term and potentially the long term as well. San Jose is playing the long game. I don’t expect them to be a lot better this coming season, but there’s that potential. And with all these young players like maybe Quinton Musty comes in, has a great camp and has a great start to the season and pushes his way up the lineup and maybe he gets a top six spot. Maybe Philip Bistad. So that’s the thing. There are a lot of young players in San Jose. I’ve always compared the the the entry draft to basically a lottery. Uh the more the more tickets you have, the better chance you have of winning something. And so with all of these good young players in the San Jose Sharks pipeline, there is a better chance that we’re going to see a star arise from this. It may very well be Misa, but if Misa is not ready, Musty could jump in. Obviously Dickinson on the blue line, I think they’re going to be fun to watch. I think the San Jose Sharks, who two years ago I still say had the worst blue line, um I think I’ve seen a national hockey team have outside of maybe an expansion team in the late 90s, early 2000s, um they’ve they’ve done a good job of not making it a playoff level blue line, but making it a veteran blue line. And these vets absolutely have some stuff they can teach to the younger players. So, I think it’s a good move. Uh, I I understand Mike Greer took a lot of criticism when he took over and especially that first year, but I think he’s shown that he does have the patience and I think he knows what he’s doing and it’s been impressive to watch thus far. So, we’ll see what else happens the rest of the summer. But, let me know your thoughts. Uh, do you think San Jose picks somebody up? Do you think they just keep that cap space and just don’t worry about it? Uh, who would you pick up if you were San Jose? Which team that’s currently in cap trouble do you think they should be calling and saying, “Hey, we know that you want to add more players. We’d be very glad to take this player off your hands. Um, no, not the Oilers or McDavid. Be realistic. But thank you guys so much for watching, for all your support. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below as always. No, this is not a season preview for for October because clearly things are going to change dramatically. But it’s still fun to look at these rosters when they’re in transition and see what a team’s done so far. So, I will definitely be doing these for other teams as well. Yes, I will do it for your team as well. So, thank you guys so much for all your support. Hit like and subscribe in the event you may not have done so already. That being said, I will talk to you again soon.

It is going to be awhile longer before they’re playoff caliber, but the Sharks’ patience could pay off down the road.

Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_AFyA9FqrZ57bb9QRH77wg/join

Join us on our discord to chat hockey, talk with others during the game, share pet pictures, and more.
https://discord.gg/thehockeyguy

Order jerseys from Ben H Sports while saving 10% off the listed eBay prices by sending him an email regarding jerseys you spot in his listings. ben.hoogenband@yahoo.ca Just tell him Shannon sent you.

Support The Hockey Guy via Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thehockeyguy

https://www.facebook.com/youtubehockeyguy/
Instagram: thgshannon and thg_cats
Spoutible: https://spoutible.com/TheHockeyGuy

TheHockeyGuy.yt@gmail.com

Contact me via snail mail at:
The Hockey Guy
PO Box 13063 RPO Highstreet
Abbotsford, BC
V2S 0C4
CANADA

In the USA: some times it takes us a few weeks to get items up to us
Shannon Skanes
1125 Fir Avenue
Suite 119
Blaine, WA 98230

Shop THG Store:
www.thgyt.ca