Are these Sharks a Cup contender?
LAS VEGAS >> The Sharks opened their season Wednesday night with a game against the Las Vegas Golden Knights with the knowledge that most observers consider them a playoff team.
Whether they’re a Stanley Cup contender as currently constructed might be another matter.
The Sharks do have arguably the two most offensively dynamic defensemen in the league right now in Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson. They have proven point producers in Logan Couture, Evander Kane and Tomas Hertl, and budding stars in Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc.
What’s of greater concern is the Sharks’ overall depth, particularly on the wings. That depth figures to be tested early in the season with Kane beginning a threegame suspension, and rookies Lean Bergmann and Danil Yurtaykin getting a shot to play significant minutes.
Goaltending is also an issue, perhaps the biggest issue. Whether Martin Jones and Aaron Dell rebound from mediocre 201819 regular seasons could help determine whether the Sharks can contend for the Pacific Division title.
Monday, NHL on NBC analysts Eddie Olczyk, Mike Milbury and Patrick Sharp participated in a conference call with the national media and talked about what they
see in the Sharks.
Here are a few samplings.
On the Sharks’ depth
Olczyk: “I mean, look, you’re right, you lose — between (Joonas) Donskoi and (Joe) Pavelski what did you lose, some 55, 60 goals? (52). You’ve got an all-around leader and winner and a guy that really does everything for you in Pavelski and your captain, and a guy like Donskoi who seemed to be up and down the lineup but certainly has that ability, that breakaway speed. But now you’re asking for other guys to take that next step.
“Timo Meier played at times last year, at times he was a beast. He was absolutely all over the place. Labanc had a couple of incredible playoff games. So, yeah, that will be tested for sure. They lose Justin Braun, another experienced guy on the back end. So, yeah, I think it’s a very fair question is — the guys that were the depth guys, are they able to take that next step with the ice time that’s open with the players that have gone?
“So exhibition is one thing. And Mike and Sharpy can tell you, you get to the regular season and that’s where you get your indication. And I think that you can get a pretty quick read on it the first five to ten games and go from there. But, yeah, I think that there are some questions there with the guys that they’ve lost.”
Sharp: “Whenever you trot out a Karlsson, Burns, Vlasic on the back end each and every shift, they’ll be in a good spot. You talk about the forwards that they lost in Donskoi and Pavelski, yeah, that might hurt a little bit, but you still retain Hertl. Logan Couture is coming back. Timo Meier, with a 30-goal season, looks to improve. And he’s, to me, a playoff-built type hockey player.
“Kevin Labanc will get better and his production will go up. You mentioned Evander Kane off the top. There’s still a lot of production in the San Jose Sharks team, and they’ll be top of the Pacific or near it all season long.”
On Sharks’ offseason
Milbury: “I think you’re around the league, you see teams that hang around to veteran players. San Jose has been a very consistent competitive team in the league but they haven’t been able to reach the top. And I think it was maybe time for a change.
“They stuck with Joe Thornton. They put him in a limited role with a limited salary. Maybe it was just time in Doug Wilson’s (mind) to move on and give the next wave a chance. It’s a tough thing to manage a team at that level for as long as he has. I think you have to give him the nod for being able to do that. This may be another move towards the transition to some of those younger players.”
On Martin Jones
Olczyk: “Look, can their goaltending — I’m trying to think of the right word — can their goaltending get back to that consistent play that we’ve seen in the past?
“I mean, it was all over the place last year. And Jones has to — if he’s indeed the guy and going to be the guy, he’s got to find that consistent part that he had prior to maybe the last year plus. And Mike (Milbury) touched on it earlier, the goaltending — and Doc (Emrick) and I say it all the time — if you don’t have it, you’ve got no shot to win. I don’t care what type of team you have in front of you or who is standing behind the bench.”
Milbury: “I do have that question about Jones. There’s a major question mark. They have some pretty outstanding defensemen back there, but they still have to get the odd great save, and Jones is a question mark for me. That has to be answered positively for the Sharks to be moving on to the next round.”
Sharp: “For me, San Jose, consistency in the net is the key. Marty Jones doesn’t have to stand on his head every night like he did in Game 6 against Vegas in the playoffs last year to force that Game 7. He just has to be a solid goaltender, give the guys in front of him a chance to compete every night.”