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THW's Sharks News

THW's Sharks news for 03/20/2021

March 20, 2021

The latest Sharks stories from The Hockey Writers.

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03/20/2021 edition:

Prospects News & Rumors: Zegras, Drysdale, Krebs & Kotkov

By Greg Boysen on Mar 19, 2021 03:36 pm

Today’s “Prospects News & Rumors” column takes us on a trip through the National Hockey League’s West Division. An Anaheim Ducks top prospect made his NHL debut and fit right in last night. A high draft pick of the Vegas Golden Knights is back in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and performing well. Plus, a San Jose Sharks hopeful is tearing it up in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

Trevor Zegras & Jamie Drysdale Score First NHL Goals

The Ducks have two young stars that won’t be considered prospects for much longer in Zegras and Drysdale. After very successful and short stints with the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League (AHL), both young stars are playing in the NHL.

Drysdale, the sixth-overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, made his league debut on Thursday night. He sparked a comeback after the Ducks were down 2-0 to the Arizona Coyotes as his first NHL got them on the board.

The 18-year-old took the puck off the right wall and skated down the blue line until he got the room he wanted to fire off a shot. His wrister banked off defenseman Alex Goligoski and got in behind Adin Hill for his first NHL goal.

Just over two minutes later, Drysdale was credited with the secondary assist on Zegras’ first NHL goal to tie the game.

Those silky-smooth hands are going to cause NHL goaltenders to have nightmares for years to come. Zegras now has a goal and four points through his first 11 games with the Ducks.

“I was joking with [Zegras] on the way here, just saying, ‘You know, if I don’t fall on my solo lap, then it’s a win,’ so it was a lot of fun to get that [goal] under my belt,” Drysdale said after the game. “Coming out with the win on top of it made it that much better.”

Drysdale is the 13th player 18-years-old or younger to have multiple points in his NHL debut. He joined Ray Bourque and Petr Svoboda as the only defensemen to do so.

Peyton Krebs Keeps Streak Alive

Krebs is back in the WHL and captaining the Winnipeg Ice after starting the season in the AHL. The 17th overall pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft had a goal and five points in his five games with the Henderson Silver Knights.

After being held off the scoresheet in the Ice’s season-opener, Krebs has got his offensive game going. He had an assist on the eventual game-winning goal shortly after scoring this goal in Thursday night’s 5-2 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors.

Krebs has now scored goals in three straight games, including the game-winning goal in overtime against the Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday night. He has two assists to give him five points in his first four games in the WHL this season.

Vlad Kotkov is Red Hot

While Golden Knights currently one of the best teams out west and the Ducks seem to be on the rise, the Sharks appear to be heading in the opposite direction. They currently have just 25 points; only four teams in the entire NHL have fewer.

As the franchise looks to transition, they will need as many talented young players as they can get their hands on. They may have one in Kotkov, who is having a nice run with the Saint John Sea Dogs in the QMJHL.

He made his debut with the Sea Dogs on March 9 and put up a goal and three assists in a 5-3 win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He followed that up with two goals and an assist on March 13 during a 5-4 victory against the Moncton Wildcats. He has three goals and eight points in his first four games.

The Sharks signed Kotsov, an undrafted free agent, to an entry-level deal back in July of 2018. Before joining the Sea Dogs, he played with the Chicoutimi Saguenéens for three seasons, scoring 77 goals and 156 points in 177 games. He played in one AHL game for the San Jose Barracuda back in 2019 and scored a goal. At 21, he will likely be playing in the AHL full-time next season.

San Jose Sharks’ 2020-21 Midseason Awards

By Victor Nuño on Mar 19, 2021 10:17 am

After 27 games, the San Jose Sharks are 11-13-3 with the second-worst winning percentage in the division, just ahead of the Anaheim Ducks. At 28 games, they will hit the halfway point so this is a good opportunity to check-in on the mid-season awards for the team. I solicited feedback from fellow Sharks writer Josh Frojelin and this is what we came up with regarding the team awards.

Sharks’ Most Valuable Player

Josh Frojelin: Logan Couture

This season Couture has established himself as the top center in San Jose. He’s tied for 10th in goal scoring in the league, and his current points-per-page rate is on pace to set a career-high. He is a key contributor to both special teams units and centers a very effective top line for the Sharks.

Victor Nuño: Couture

I have to agree with Josh here, there has been no other Sharks’ player who has been both so productive and consistent. He has really grown into the captaincy after a bit of a rocky start last season. He is the only Shark with two game-winning goals. Considering they have 11 wins on the season, with only seven coming in regulation or overtime, that is an impressive feat. He’s a plus-3 on the team, the highest of any skater and very impressive considering the rest of the team’s plus/minus looks like they are trying to win the PGA Tour.

Sharks’ Best Defensive Forward

Victor Nuño: Kevin LaBanc

The Sharks have not been a particularly good defensive team this season. They have given up the second-most goals in the division, six fewer than the Ducks, though the Sharks have given up the ninth-most in the league overall. Despite the poor overall team defense, there are several forwards who have had a positive defensive impact on the team namely Patrick Marleau, Matt Nieto, Labanc, and Marcus Sorensen.

Sorenson might be the pick if he hasn’t missed the last 10 games due to a false positive Covid test. He would have been allowed to play per NHL rules but had to sit out that long due to county rules. According to Evolving Hockey, Sorenson has the best expected goals against per 60 minutes (xGA/60) on the team. I would suggest that expected goals against, corrected for time on ice, is about the best proxy for a defensive forward.

Impressive that 41-year-old Marleau is playing about the same time on the ice as 28-year-old Nieto and has about the same xGA/60. Both of them are above LaBanc, but in-line with how the NHL voting usually goes, it is often the best defensive forward who also scores a fair amount. With that in mind, LaBanc is clearly the most offensively capable of this bunch. In terms of points per game, LaBanc is at .67, whereas Nieto is .26, Marleau .19, and Sorenson .13. This is a big step forward for LaBanc as he has been criticized in the past for being a defensive liability. While he still is guilty of the way too frequent lazy stick work that leads to a slash or trip, in general, he has vastly improved his defensive game.

Sharks’ Best Defenseman

Victor Nuño: Brent Burns

It has been a tale of two seasons for who tops the list here. The obvious candidates are the two former Norris Trophy winners Erik Karlsson and Burns. No one else has really done enough to enter into this conversation. Early in the season, it was Burns who would dazzle us at times with game-winning goals, but also frustrate us with poor defensive play. He has cooled off significantly since Karlsson’s return from injury. He only has three points in his last eight games and eight in his last 16.

Karlsson hasn’t missed a significant amount of time this season, only four of the 27 games. However, since returning to action on February 27th, he has looked like a different player. He more often than not in a good position defensively now, something that was not the case earlier on in the season. He is also pushing the pace offensively, often starting the breakout himself, or making a nice stretch pass. In the past, those passes would miss the forwards or he wouldn’t even have the chance to make it.

As far as points go, Karlsson has the most recent mini-streak with six points in his last nine games. On the season, Burns has the higher rate at .56 points per game, while Karlsson is at .43. Burns also has the higher expected goals for per 60 minutes than Karlsson, by a wide margin. Though it seems like Karlsson is trending in the right direction, he still has the worst xGA/60 on the team as well as the worst expected goals differential and Corsi differential on the team for defenders. Yikes. All-in-all, the award goes to Burns for his mostly solid play throughout the year.

Sharks’ Rookie of the Year

Josh Frojelin: Nikolai Knyzhov

Knyzhov throughout this season has proven, after a small stint last season, that he is an NHL player. Not only that, but he has been more reliable and consistent than competitors such as Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Radim Simek for the same spot. With Simek on the third pairing he the duo was one of the best pairings in the league at controlling expected goals. Now with Karlsson, the pairing has had some growing pains but has looked solid recently.

Victor Nuño: Knyzhov

No question here it is Knyzhov. He wasn’t even supposed to make the team. His play has been so solid that other defenders who were hoping to get significant playing time like Fredrik Claesson, Christian Jaros, Nicolas Meloche, Brinson Pasichnuk, and Nick DeSimone have had little to none. Even Jacob Middleton who was expected to be the next best, relatively ready option, has only played in one game this season.

In my opinion, Knyzhov has been the Sharks’ best defender, in his role. If we treat this award as the NHL seems to with the Norris Trophy, Knyzhov would never get serious consideration as he only has two points in 27 games. Despite this, he has the best xGA/60 and Corsi against per 60 minutes on the team. He has certainly earned his ice time and cemented his role on the Sharks blue line for the foreseeable future. No other rookie has come close to having the impact that Knyzhov has had.

Sharks’ Best Goaltender

Victor Nuño: Devan Dubnyk

I really wanted to be flip and put Alexei Melnichuk here for saving all five shots he faced in his one relief stint of Martin Jones, but I didn’t. The truth is neither Jones or Dubnyk really deserve this award as both have been awful. In 856 minutes, Jones has a .884 save percentage (SV%) and a 3.64 goals-against average (GAA). While he has eight wins to Dubnyk’s three, that doesn’t really tell the whole story.

Sure, Dubnyk has a .904 SV% and a 3.12 GAA, which on the surface looks decent. Digging deeper, we see that at all strengths both goalies have negative goals saved above expected (GSAx), goals saved above average (GSAA), and delta Fenwick save percentage (dFSV%). GSAx being negative means they are giving up more goals than expected by those metrics. GSAA being negative means according to league averages, they are below what other goalies would do given a similar workload. dFSV% corrects for the protection offered them by their team, both of whom are doing terribly, even considering the poor defense in front of them.

Dubnyk has saved four more goals than Jones per GSAx and nine more per GSAA. However, it is Jones that outperforms Dubnyk at even strength, while Dubnyk is riding very unsustainable numbers on the penalty kill. Neither goalie is giving the Sharks a great chance to win when they start in general, though Dubnyk has certainly done that more often than Jones. Dubnyk is getting slightly more goal support at three goals per 60 minutes, while Jones is slightly under that at 2.45 goals per 60 minutes of support. It seems like at this point the Sharks are considering trading Dubnyk to a contender, which he might endorse by waiving his no-trade clause.

Sharks’ Best Addition

Victor Nuño: Ryan Donato

The Sharks didn’t make any large signings in the offseason with the additions of Dubnyk and Donato likely being their biggest. They also signed Nieto, Kurtis Gabriel, Claeson, and Fredrik Handemark, as well as claimed Rudolfs Balcers off waivers. They have seen prospects Sasha Chmelevski, Joachim Blichfeld, and John Leonard, either make their NHL debut or get more playing time.

Of all these players, this award clearly has to go to Donato. Over the course of the season, he has been one of the most consistent forwards on the team. Though he doesn’t get the most ice time, he tends to make the most of it. He is not a defensive liability and at times has matched up favorably against the other teams’ best lines.

Even though Donato’s point pace looks to be similar to his second full season in the league, he has two fewer goals than expected. His shooting percentage is five-point lower than his career average and his combined on-ice shooting and save percentage (SPSV% or PDO) is at 975 when it should be at 1000. If his luck regresses to the mean, he will have a much better point pace.

Sharks’ Biggest Disappointment

Victor Nuño: Coaching Staff

This was really hard because, in order to be disappointed in someone, you have to have somewhat high expectations. I did not have high expectations of anyone on this team as I expected them to be near the bottom of the standings so I don’t think any player really fits this bill. I did have some expectations that Bob Boughner and his new coaching staff could make the Sharks a better defensive club.

He did not. The Sharks are the second worse team in terms of goals against per game, just ahead of the Ottawa Senators. At least the Senators have a rich prospect pool and should be good in a couple of years. I don’t share the same optimism for the Sharks. It’s not like the Sharks are sacrificing defense for offense as they sit just 20th in the league in goals for per game.

Final Thoughts

It is hard to find bright spots in this otherwise woeful season, but there are some. Overall, the Sharks have failed to reach many of their own mid-season expectations. As reiterated by management recently, they are not interested in a true rebuild, which I think they need, but rather a reset. If they continue down this path, they might have some individuals worthy of team awards, but their record will not come close to playoff territory.

Sharks Currently Leading Nosedive of California Teams

By Lizz Child on Mar 19, 2021 09:15 am

NHL teams based in California seem to be on a collective nosedive, and the team it is hitting the worst appears to be the San Jose Sharks. A Western Conference finalist just two years ago, 2019 feels so far away. With the world being subject to the pandemic, the end of last season and the beginning of this one took place at such odd times of the year. It has felt both like we’ve missed out so much hockey and experienced a surprisingly long season.

How Quickly the Sharks Have Fallen

It can be easy to forget how quickly the Sharks seem to have descended into mediocrity. However, the Colorado Avalanche managed to turn their team around just between the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Why can’t the Sharks? On paper, the team in teal seems to be one of the strongest in the league. However, it has not translated onto the ice, and we all know that’s what counts. Especially with all play in the NHL taking place only within the divisions, it’s easy to get complacent. Less than two full seasons ago, the Sharks finished the regular season with a 46-27-9 record. They hit 101 points and were second in the league in goals scored (289).

Stopped just short of the Stanley Cup Final, the Sharks lost captain Joe Pavelski to the Dallas Stars and forward Joonas Donskoi to the Colorado Avalanche in the offseason. However, they then proceeded to add Erik Karlsson to their roster, signing him to an eight-year, $92 million contract, and returned in the fall of 2019 with some high expectations. Boy, did they fall short throughout the season.

While the 2019-20 season ended early, the Sharks found themself 29th in the standings and were one of seven teams left out of the bubble when play returned for the play-in rounds for playoffs. All three teams from the Western Conference were from California. There was a brief thought that the Sharks might use the failure to qualify for the playoff bubble as fuel to succeed this season. Yet, here we are. We’re 27 games into the season, and one can find the Sharks at the bottom of the division standings. Not only that, they are near the bottom of the overall league standings once again.

While the team can still turn this season around, the odds of it happening are slim. With a current record of 11-13-3, the Sharks are just barely holding it together against teams in the Honda West Division. If they don’t figure something out soon, another postseason will fly right past them.

Sharks Rookies and Veterans Have Both Teased Hope

Wednesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights provided a glimmer of hope that maybe things weren’t so bad. That glimmer was quickly stomped out in the third period. As we know, 3-1 leads are dangerous in this league.

Throughout both last and this season, there have been rookies who have piqued the interest of fans and team management alike. It just hasn’t been enough to convince the team to move away from more experienced veterans. Especially when those veterans have shown flashes of brilliance in the same period of time. This team is capable, but not performing. It is time to start considering making drastic changes, but those would be a massive risk that this organization does not seem prepared to take.

Prior to last season, the Sharks appeared to be on a positive track. Is it too impossible to believe the organization could get back to that soon? No, but it will take a bit of luck, strong leadership, and some notable changes. There is minimal hope springing forth from the younger players in the system, but it is not yet enough for fans to find excitement. In their own right, most of the players on San Jose’s roster are strong players. On the ice together as a team, however, they fall flat. This struggle to find a cohesive team feeling has left fans feeling disappointed and hoping for a fun game rather than a win night after night. Wouldn’t it be so much nicer to stay in the win column, though? San Jose fans will see the team get there again – it’s just a question of when.