San Jose Sharks Remaining Roster Cut Possibilities
By Sam Kelly
The San Jose Sharks trimmed their roster down to 26 on Monday morning, but they’ll need to cut an additional three players before they kick off the regular season on Oct. 7 against the rival Los Angeles Kings.
Who’s staying and who’s going? Let’s take a look at the players still on the bubble.
At the forward position, 23-year-old winger Joonas Donskoi is one of the team’s top scorers this preseason while skating on the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. Donskoi was seen as a long shot to make the team a few weeks ago but now appears to have the inside track on that left wing spot on the first unit.
Chris Tierney, Matt Nieto, Melker Karlsson and Mike Brown all remain on the roster and were with the team last season. Barring unforeseen circumstances, all four of them will be back this year.
That leaves winger Nikolay Goldobin, who the Sharks drafted in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, could be the odd man out up front. The talented Russian has massive offensive upside and showcased his high skill level during the preseason, but there’s no room for him in San Jose’s top six and his playing style makes him a poor fit for a checking-line role.
Goldobin will almost certainly see ice time with the Sharks as an injury fill-in at some point this season, but chances are low that he’ll make the squad out of camp.
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There’s also Barclay Goodrow, who is perhaps the biggest wildcard of all the players remaining on San Jose’s roster. He earned a spot in the lineup last year and was solid in a fourth-line role, contributing on the penalty kill as well. But the addition of veteran forward Joel Ward this summer, coupled with the emergence of Donskoi in the preseason, could squeeze Goodrow out of the picture.
Unless the Sharks are willing to put Karlsson or Brown through waivers, or send down a highly promising youngster in Tierney or Nieto, Goodrow will likely start the season in the AHL.
On the back end, Dylan DeMelo, Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson are competing for two roster spots. One of them will get the axe.
At 25 years of age, Tennyson is the oldest and most experienced of the group. He’d need to pass through waivers in order to be sent down, which might make the Sharks more hesitant to cut him. Tennyson is also a right-handed defenseman, making him a strong partner for left-shooting Brenden Dillon. Those are all factors that work in Tennyson’s favor and could help him secure one of those two open positions.
DeMelo, 22, has spent the last four seasons with San Jose’s affiliate in the AHL, so management knows him well. The former sixth-round pick has yet to suit up in an NHL game but has quietly had a strong preseason. DeMelo is a right-handed presence as well, so he’d also pair nicely with Dillon on the team’s third defensive unit.
That leaves Mueller, the former first-round pick who made the Sharks’ roster last season as a 19-year-old. Now 20, Mueller is in the second year of his entry-level contract after appearing in 39 games last year. He has the highest upside of the three, but an argument can be made that he’s not quite NHL-ready.
Mueller looked outmatched at times as a rookie and could benefit from some seasoning in the AHL. Like Dillon, he’s a left-handed shot, meaning one of the two would have to play on their off side if Mueller made the cut. As such, he probably won’t.
The Sharks are set to face the Vancouver Canucks tonight at 7:30 in their final home game of the preseason. How these players perform in that game, and in the club’s following two matches on the road, will play a factor in determining who makes the final cut.
Next: San Jose Sharks: What To Do With Nikolay Goldobin