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San Jose Sharks: Five Thoughts, Welcome Back To Blades Of Teal

By Tim Chiasson

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28: Vancouver Canucks' mascot Chance and San Jose Sharks' mascot Sharkie drag Los Angeles Kings' mascot Bailey off the ice under the careful watch of Columbus Blue Jackets' mascot Stinger during the mascot game prior to the NHL All-Star Game on January 28, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 28: Vancouver Canucks' mascot Chance and San Jose Sharks' mascot Sharkie drag Los Angeles Kings' mascot Bailey off the ice under the careful watch of Columbus Blue Jackets' mascot Stinger during the mascot game prior to the NHL All-Star Game on January 28, 2018, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Welcome back to San Jose Sharks hockey on FanSided, here are some quick thoughts while I get things going again.

1. I wrote about the San Jose Sharks on Hockeybuzz for a little over a year and my favorite thing to do was fire Todd McLellan and Doug Wilson. Since Todd isn’t around I’m left with only one option:

Doug, you’re fired. That felt good.

2. This year is an interesting one for the Sharks. They lost Patrick Marleau to the Leafs in the off-season and didn’t do too much tinkering with the lineup yet they’re still in a great position. I find that fascinating, and if you come back later today I’ll spin through this topic more.

San Jose Sharks
San Jose Sharks /

San Jose Sharks

3. Joonas Donskoi finally found the scoring touch that the Sharks were hoping for when they brought him over and he’s been the Sharks best forward at 5v5 this season.

He leads the teams forward group (min 100 TOI 5v5) in points per 60, primary points per 60 and possession. I don’t think many people – or any – saw this coming.

4. Aaron Dell should officially be the starter, not Martin Jones. It’s funny how things work out, but the Sharks acquired Jones to be their guy based on a small sample from LA.

Dell, in a similarly small sample, could be a better option from within as he’s routinely outperformed Jones at 5v5 each of the last two seasons. He also sports a 23-10-4 record in 42 NHL games.

5. Joel Ward should be traded by the deadline. Ward is not having a good season – his final under his current contract – and could be pawned off under the ruse of some veteranism speak for some sort of future asset to help stock the cupboards.

He’s a negative impact player who sports a poor production at evens. I’d wager you wouldn’t even notice him missing if he got dealt.

*statistics from PuckOn.net and Corsica.Hockey

Leave your thoughts in the comment section, follow Blades Of Teal on Twitter and keep coming back for more Sharks talk. If you’re interested in writing about Team Teal, head over to FanSided’s Openings and put your contributor application in.

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