Why the San Jose Sharks Lacking a True Powerplay Quarterback Is Extreme Irony

In the long history of the San Jose Sharks, a successful powerplay quarterback has almost always taken up the role of an offensive defenseman. For many years, it was Brent Burns and the beard to be feared. For the last few seasons, it was Erik Karlsson, and the three-time Norris trophy winner was the staple of the Sharks blueline, latching more than 100 points in a season as a Shark to collect his third Norris.

With such a long history of successful offensive defensemen, it's ironic that the lack of an offensive defenseman on the back end is so prevalent for the Sharks. We're in a situation where the Sharks need to address the lack of scoring from the back end. While there are scoring defensemen in the system, like Luca Cagnoni and Sam Dickinson, Jake Walman is currently playing as the PPQB, but he's not the most gifted offensively.

This is not to say Walman is not a good defenseman. He's been the Sharks' best defenseman this season, undisputably at this point. It's been a tough season for the Sharks defensemen, who only scored four goals. Yes, the defense is primarily there to keep the puck out of its net, but that hasn't exactly been the case either, frequently leaving Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood isolated alone at the back. It's been a lackluster season overall.

San Jose's need for a PPQB isn't urgent, and it'll come with time, but when you consider the tremendous offensive defensemen this organization has had on the backend in its history, you see the ironic lack of it now. Yes, the Burns and Karlsson trades have given the Sharks critical pieces to the organization's future, but they haven't replaced that dynamo on the blueline yet. Hopefully, that will be done soon, but it's a significant miss for the organization.