2023–24 NHL team preview: San Jose Sharks

LAST SEASON

The San Jose Sharks finished last season 22-44-16 with a .366-point percentage, which slotted them in the bottom five of the league. That was the franchise’s lowest points percentage since 1995-96. The Sharks are currently in their tear-down and rebuild mode. They traded away Brent Burns last summer, which merely kicked it off. Around the 2023 trade deadline, Sharks’ general manager Mike Grier traded star sniper Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils and made it known that the club was willing to part ways with its top veteran talent. After a fluttered-out finish, Grier and the scouting table went into the highly anticipated 2023 NHL Draft with the fourth overall pick where they took Will Smith. Next came the summer blockbuster that sent reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With the rebuild rolling, the Sharks’ previous core is down to captain Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Kevin Labanc and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, the four holdovers from the last team to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now the question remains: do they stick it out with the Sharks, or will one of them be on the move next?

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Anthony Duclair, RW
Givani Smith, RW
Ryan Carpenter, C
Kyle Burroughs, D
Mackenzie Blackwood, G
Andrej Sustr, D
Scott Sabourin, RW
Mike Hoffman, LW
Filip Zadina, LW
Mikael Granlund, C
Jan Rutta, D
Justin Bailey, C

Departures

Erik Karlsson, D (Pit)
Jonah Gadjovich, LW (AHL)
Steven Lorentz, C (Fla)
James Reimer, G (Det)
Derrick Pouliot, D (Dal)
Andreas Johnsson, LW (Pit)
Evgeny Svechnikov, LW (KHL)
Aaron Dell, G (CBJ)
Noah Gregor, C (Tor)

OFFENSE

The Sharks could have had a better season offensively; they were 25th in scoring with 2.84 goals per game and 25th on the power play at 18.4%. However, Karlsson’s season is one for the record books. The Norris winner had 25 goals, 76 assists, and 101 points in 82 games, all three being career highs for the 33-year-old defenseman. He led NHL defensemen in all three stats, was 11th in points among all players, and tied for third in assists. It was the first time a defenseman had registered 100-plus points since 1991-1992 and the 15th time in NHL history. With Karlsson now gone, the Sharks have to look elsewhere for points. There’s no player in the lineup who can come close to replacing his offensive impact.

Guys like Couture and Hertl will try. Last season, Couture notched 67 points in 82 games, while Hertl tallied 63 points. Russian forward Alexander Barabanov had a career-high 15 goals and 32 assists for 47 points in 68 games. 

With Grier executing the three-team Karlsson trade, he acquired forwards Mike Hoffman and Mikael Granlund. Hoffman registered 34 points in 67 games with the Montreal Canadiens last season. Hoffman might get a look in the top six on such a depleted roster.

While Granlund had a combined 41-point split between the Penguins and Nashville Predators, the addition of Anthony Duclair will also add an offensive flair to the top six. Duclair suffered from a torn Achilles before last season and didn’t make his season debut until Feb. 24; he tallied nine points in 20 games and added 11 points in 20 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. After several roster additions, the Sharks’ offense will look a lot different this season.

DEFENSE

There will be few changes to the Sharks’ defensive pairings; while Karlsson will no longer be the first-pairing quarterback and power-play merchant, the Sharks will have to look elsewhere for points. Karlsson wasn’t a major help on the defensive side of the puck, but he did bring defense by offense. It could be tough sledding now for a team that, even with Karlsson, ranked 24th in 5-on-5 expected goals against per 60 last season. The Sharks added two-time Stanley Cup champion Jan Rutta to their defense corps and veteran Andrej Sustr. Minute muncher Vlasic will be called upon once again. Vlasic is entering his 19th season, all played in San Jose. Other defensemen that will be relied upon are Mario Ferraro, Matt Benning and Radim Simek. Ferraro notched 11 points in 72 games last season; he led the Sharks with 145 blocked shots, while Benning had 125 and Vlasic with 116. 

GOALTENDING

With James Reimer and Aaron Dell departing the franchise, the Sharks now look toward a tandem of Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood. Kahkonen is entering his second full season with the Sharks after being acquired via trade in 2022. Last season, the Finnish netminder put together a 9-20-7 record with 3.85 goals against average and -21.58 Goals Saved Above Expected. The Sharks have acquired goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick. Blackwood signed a two-year, $4.7M contract with the Sharks, with a cap hit of $2,350,000. Over five years with the Devils, Blackwood put together a 65-57-18 record, eight shutouts, and a .906 save percentage in 152 appearances. The 26-year-old was looking for fresh air after a struggling year in New Jersey, where he dealt with MCL and groin injuries during the 2022–23 season and played two games in the AHL with the Utica Comets. The Sharks are trying to get by with two reclamation projects in their crease. Will the experiment work?

COACHING

David Quinn enters his second season as bench boss. He led the Sharks to a seventh-place Pacific Division finish in his first season, essentially filling a caretaker role for a team very much in transition. Quinn joined the Sharks organization last year after Bob Boughner was fired. Quinn was the head coach at Boston University between 2013 and 2018 before he joined the New York Rangers as their head coach — a role he held for three seasons. He coached the Rangers to a 96-87-23 record while there, only making the playoffs once.

ROOKIES

With Will Smith headed to the NCAA and blueliner Shakir Mukhamadullin probably needing some development time on the farm, the Sharks’ focus will be on Swedish sensation William Eklund. The 20-year-old looked comfortable in the AHL last season while playing for the San Jose Barracuda and tallied 17 goals and 24 assists for 41 points in 54 games. Another youngster who could see some more NHL action is Thomas Bordeleau, who is no longer technically a rookie, having played six-plus NHL games in consecutive seasons. The 2020 second-round selection has appeared in 16 NHL games in total, registering seven assists. During the 2022-23 campaign, Bordeleau tallied 22 goals and 19 assists for 41 points in the AHL.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Can Filip Zadina finally find his game? Zadina will have a lot of eyes on him this season as he is a reclamation project. The 23-year-old had just seven points in 31 games last season and has yet to live up to the hype of being a top-10 draft pick. With Zadina out of Detroit and no longer sliding down their depth chart, he gets a new home in San Jose and will play for a club that will utilize him more on the ice. In 190 regular season appearances with the Red Wings, Zadina tallied 68 points.

2. Do the Sharks trade more veterans? As the dismantling continues, one must wonder what the Sharks will do with guys like Vlasic, Couture and Hertl. Vlasic could be seeking a Stanley Cup opportunity, but he also carries a $7M cap hit for the next three years, which is a lot of money, and many teams are unwilling to take that on. Hertl would have plenty of appeal to a contender but has seven years left on his contract at more than $8M per season, so he’s far less likely to go anywhere. We should have clarification on what the Sharks’ intentions are with their vets come the new year.

3. Can the Sharks bottom out and obtain the 2024 No. 1 pick? A proper rebuild means sacrificing the team for the future, and that’s just what the Sharks need to do this year. Getting a bonafide No. 1 overall pick would change the Sharks franchise. The Sharks have never selected No. 1, so why not this year? Boston University’s Macklin Celebrini and USA Hockey National Team Development prospect Cole Eiserman are considered the top prospects for next year’s draft. Adding one of them to the prospect pipeline could drastically alter San Jose’s trajectory.

PREDICTION

Buckle up, folks. It is going to be a lousy year in San Jose. The best-case scenario is the Sharks find themselves in the bottom of the league and win the lottery to obtain the No. 1 pick. The worst-case scenario right now would be to have guys like Hertl, Couture and other long-term players put up career numbers, ultimately landing the Sharks outside the bottom five and once again missing out on superstar-changing potential. Anything else will only elongate what’s already been a painful process. I predict the Sharks will finish dead last in the Pacific and walk away with a top-three draft selection.