GM Wilson believes progress will be made in 2022

Using the term “reset” but stopping short of saying his team is in a rebuild, general manager Doug Wilson reaffirmed his commitment to giving younger players opportunities while keeping several of his core players together, and believes the Sharks can be in a better position in 2022.

“Are we in the window to win a Stanley Cup this year? That’s highly unlikely,” Wilson said. “Are we going to compete to try and make the playoffs? Yes we are. Are we going to commit to the reset and to younger players getting opportunities? Yes we are.”

“We don’t put a timeline on it. But we think that there’s no reason why we can’t be back in a very good position next season.”

Wilson said last season the expectation for the Sharks was to get back into the playoffs the following year, and owner Hasso Platter issued a statement in January 2020 saying he supported Wilson’s plan to get the team “back on track.”

However, the Sharks are on pace to miss the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time in Wilson’s 18-year tenure as general manager. They entered Friday in eighth and last place in the West Division, nine points back of the Colorado Avalanche for the fourth and final playoff spot.

“This team can get back to a very good level, but we need the young players to step up,” Wilson said. “That’s really the window that we’re in. Sometimes you take a step backward to take two steps forward.”

While Wilson said he is hopeful the Sharks can still make a playoff push this year, the larger focus is past this season.

“We know that this pandemic year is such a disjointed year,” said Wilson, who pointed to the Sharks having to hold training camp in Arizona and play their first 12 games of the season on the road.

“Those are challenging things that you just say, ‘You know what, let’s commit to this plan, let’s commit to the young players getting the opportunities that they deserve at the appropriate time.’ I guess if you’re going to go through this, this is probably the type of year that you do that.”

The Sharks have been getting contributions from rookie John Leonard and Nikolai Knyzhov, and second-year pro Mario Ferraro has evolved into a leader on defense. Logan Couture and Evander Kane have had terrific seasons so far, with 21 and 20 points, respectively.

Still, the Sharks could be a long way away from once again being Cup contenders without major changes to the roster.

Through 23 games, the Sharks have allowed an average of 3.78 goals per game and their team save percentage is .882, both of which rank next-to-last in the 31-team NHL. The Sharks also rank 21st with an average of 2.70 goals scored per game.

“The goaltenders have to get to the next level, they do, and that’s an area that we certainly have to explore internally to get to the next level,” Wilson said.

While Wilson likes the core of his team, the Sharks, per CapFriendly, as of now, have 13 players set to eat up close to $70 million of the projected $81.5 million salary cap for next season, perhaps limiting Wilson’s options if he wants to add to his team via free agency.

Asked if he had received a guarantee from Plattner that he will be back as the Sharks’ general manager next season, Wilson said he and Plattner have not had that conversation, adding that he is not concerned about his own job security.

“My job is to do what is right for this organization for the time that we’re in,” Wilson said.