What does the San Jose Sharks’ identity need to be?
Alternate captain Barclay Goodrow, who reached six-straight Conference Finals or Stanley Cup Final from 2019 to 2024, shared his thoughts.
Goodrow also discussed how a long off-season has helped him and what ex-New York Rangers teammate Ryan Reaves brings to the Sharks.
On how this summer was different to last summer and what he worked on…
I had short summer the previous one. You’re just trying to get your body back in peak shape after playoffs. But obviously this summer is lots of time to get back healthy, work on a lot of things, get stronger, quicker and just feel confident where my body’s at, how I feel on the ice coming into this game.
I haven’t had a summer like that, essentially my whole career, where it gives you lots of time to work on things that you feel are slipping or that you need to get better at. So I do feel if not the best shape, [I’m] in really good shape [than] I’ve been in a long time. Feel confident on the ice.
On whether having a captain would make a difference…
I don’t really think so. There are benefits, but we also have a good group that we lean on each other a lot to make decisions, to convey messages, things like that. Even if there was a captain, it would still be a group mindset. Whatever decision is made it will be the right one.
On the moves general manager Mike Grier make this off season…
Brought in some good guys on the back end, some more veteran guys that they’re going to help out a lot. So it’s exciting to have those guys, and all the younger guys a year older. We don’t want to have a season like we did last year. There’s a lot of motivated guys individually, and as a group, to make sure it’s not like that.
On what the San Jose Sharks have to do to get out of last place…
The beginning of the season is the biggest thing. Last year we started 0-9, 0-10, whatever it was and right from the 10 games into the season, you’re fighting to just get back to .500 or get back to some sort of relevancy. So our start is going to be crucial to get out of the gate strong, and carry some momentum out of training camp, go to pre-season and make sure we’re ready to go for game one.
On renovations the Sharks Ice…
It’s something that every team goes through, maybe some teams more than others. I feel like our Sharks Ice, our practice facilities, wasn’t even bad in the first place. So, the fact that they did upgrade, it makes it seem like they want to put money into us, into the team, making sure it is a destination where guys want to come, and so far, it’s been great.
On the team’s identity this season…
Harder to play against. We’ve got to be more competitive. We’ve got to just be overall hungrier, competing harder, making sure that if you go into a corner with someone they know they’re going to be in a fight to get that puck. It’s going to be that way all over the ice. If we’re down, if we’re up, we’ve got to play the same way, we’ve got to be hungry, we’ve got to be feisty. We’ve got to make sure that no team comes into a game against us thinking it’s going to be an easy night.
On Ryan Reaves joining the San Jose Sharks…
We became pretty close when we were in New York together for a year and a half. So it’s great to have him back as a teammate. He’s a great guy in the locker room. Big, powerful voice. That’s something I think we lacked a little bit last year. So he’s going to bring a lot to the table. Personally, I’m excited.
On Michael Misa…
There’s a reason he put up 300 points last year, whatever he put up. He’s incredibly skilled. It’s gonna be special to watch him play.