The Sharks are still in the middle of their breakdown, as they have now missed three straight postseasons. San Jose has been a model franchise for its continued success and development of talent since the late 1990s. More recently, they were last seen in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016. Notable names such as Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture made the Sharks one of the scariest teams in the world. only the Pacific Division but also the Western Conference. But now, they’ve slowly realized their window has closed and have slowly been trying to figure out if a re-tool or rebuilding is what’s best for them. Their offseason moves might predicate what is to come.
The Sharks hired Mike Grier as their new general manager, who is now the first Black general manager in NHL history. To accompany him, former New York Rangers head coach David Quinn was hired as the new head coach. These hires show that the Sharks may potentially be in it for the long haul, but have the staff who are prepared to develop talent while also potentially hunting for success when the time comes. The Grier era is off to an interesting start. None of his moves in his tenure have made any major changes to the franchise as a whole. It’s too early to tell if Mike Grier will be a good general manager or not, but given what he has to work with in terms of the roster makeup and cap space, he’s making the most of the situation he was given. He’s been dealt a very bad hand with a disastrous cap situation that will take years to fix. But a clearer vision would definitely be helpful towards instilling confidence soon, as the current moves he has made feel like band-aids being applied to a broken leg.
Grier made the decision to trade veteran defenseman Brent Burns to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 13 for Steven Lorentz, goalie prospect Eetu Makiniemi and a conditional third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The former Norris Trophy winner in 2016-2017 has played in 679 consecutive games, the second-longest streak among active players behind Phil Kessel (982). This was a move that was a long time coming, as the franchise has slowly been falling out of their contention window and Burns has only been getting older. Moving him to a strong contender while also getting some decent assets back helps both sides.
But the Shark also looked to boost their forward depth by adding Luke Kunin, Oskar Lindblom, and Nico Sturm. Sturm signed a three-year contract with the Sharks on July 13. Sturm had 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 74 games with the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche last season, and helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup with two assists. 13 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Sturm isn’t anything special, but in fourth-line minutes, he is a useful two-way forward that can strengthen their bottom-six. Luke Kunin was acquired in a trade with the Nashville Predators on July 8 and signed a two-year contract on July 18. He is a physical scoring fourth-liner who tends to get caved in when he’s on the ice. In a more sheltered role with a bit more opportunity, Kunin might be able to make some small strides to boost himself for the Sharks. Oskar Lindblom signed a two-year contract on July 13 after having the final season of his three-year contract bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindblom had 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 79 games last season. He is a rock-solid two-way top six forward who is well worth the money. The Sharks also added Matt Benning and Markus Nutivaara to try and add some depth to the bottom pairing of their defensive core.
The main thing for the Sharks is that they have to see what they have to work with in terms of their prospect pool. They have some talented prospects at the top of their prospect pool and could look to make an impact as soon as next season. The Sharks system has good quality depth with a lot of prospects I think could play games or help the team in a meaningful manner. They lack a true top name though, especially after William Eklund’s so-so year in Sweden. Nevertheless, Eklund leads a solid prospect group with names like Thomas Bordeleau, Ryan Merkley, and Mattias Havelid. Depending on their development, could change the direction of the Sharks’ philosophy going forward.
Besides that, they need more true playmakers in their top-six forward group. They have some nice scorers but have been missing solid facilitators in their top-six group for a while now. The Sharks addressed their bottom-six forward depth with the additions of Sturm, Lorentz, Kunin, and Lindblom, but more is needed on the top two lines to go with Logan Couture, Timo Meier, and Tomas Hertl. San Jose missed the playoffs for the third straight season after averaging 2.57 goals per game, the third-fewest in the NHL behind the Arizona Coyotes (2.51) and Philadelphia Flyers (2.56). The Sharks still have a long way to go and a long season ahead of them. This year they will decide their fate and hopefully, give themselves some sort of direction for the future. The Sharks are going to need a lot of work but at least they know they have to take that first step forward.
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