San Jose Sharks: How Do The Sharks Compare With Chicago?
The Chicago Blackhawks have the gold standard in the NHL for the past several seasons, winning three Stanley Cup titles in the last six seasons. The San Jose Sharks have had some good teams during that time frame, but have yet to break through and bring the cup to San Jose.
With the 2015-16 regular season beginning in more than a month, Craig Custance of ESPN compared each Pacific Division team to the reigning champs. Custance graded the Sharks and the rest of the division in five categories: franchise center, strong top four defense (anchored by a number one), playoff-tested goalie, playoff-proven coach and entry-level contributors.
So, how did the San Jose Sharks grade out in Custance rankings? Well, let’s start with the positives.
San Jose checks out in the franchise center category as Joe Thornton continues to be a highly effective player. As Custance points out, Thornton had a Corsi For percentage of 58.6, meaning the Sharks were controlling the puck with him on the ice.
Even as Thornton ages, he is still a franchise center, and San Jose has an up-and-coming center in Logan Couture who might be ready to step into Thornton’s shoes at some point in the near future.
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Next, Custance gave the Sharks positive marks for their defensive corps, anchored by Marc-Edouard Vlasic who has developed into one of the top shutdown defensemen throughout the league. It’s amazing that Vlasic will be entering his 10th season in the NHL, and expect another quality year from Vlasic who is under-rated for all he does for the San Jose Sharks.
Assisting Vlasic on the back end, is Brent Burns who is an offensive force from the blue line, leading San Jose with 60 points from the back end. With another year of experience under his belt, Burns should be much better defensively next season, and being paired with veteran Paul Martin can only be a benefit.
Finally, the last category where Custance grades the Sharks out well is with entry-level contributors. San Jose hasn’t had a wealth of young talent in recent seasons, but general manager Doug Wilson’s “refresh” has infused the Sharks organization with a dearth of youth.
Talented youngsters such as Tomas Hertl, Chris Tierney, Mirco Mueller, Barclay Goodrow and Nikolay Goldobin will all be looking to make an impact with next year’s version of the San Jose Sharks.
The two areas where San Jose did not meet Custance’s criteria were in the playoff-proven coach and goaltender. New head coach Peter DeBoer led the New Jersey Devils to the Stanley Cup, but has never made the playoffs in any other year while he’s been a head coach. While DeBoer has coached at many different levels, it’s unknown whether he will be able to replicate the kind of success that Todd McLellan had during his highly productive tenure.
In Martin Jones, the Sharks have a talented, young goaltender who will be shouldering the load for the first time between the pipes. While nobody denies the skills Jones possesses, including seven shutouts in his 34 NHL appearances, he’s unproven over the course of an 82-game season and come playoff time.
San Jose has fallen short on multiple occasions and there’s an uncertainty about whether Jones can handle the added pressure.
In many ways, the Sharks have the framework in place to make a Stanley Cup run if all the pieces come together. For now, San Jose needs to focus on providing the support for Jones and trying to reclaim their standing within the Pacific before being considered cup contenders once more.
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