Does goalie Kahkonen need to earn coaches' trust back?
Kaapo Kahkonen entered training camp this fall with the goal of becoming the Sharks' No. 1 goaltender. He had been given job security with a new two-year contract and had done the necessary work in the offseason to take what he felt was the next logical step in his NHL career.
But the season hasn't gone as Kahkonen or the Sharks had hoped. Despite some terrific individual starts of late — to go with a couple of shaky ones — in place of the injured James Reimer, Kahkonen's individual statistics remain near the bottom of the league.
Kahkonen was on the bench Friday as rookie goalie Eetu Makiniemi stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Sharks' 6-1 road win over the Anaheim Ducks. It is the first NHL start and win for Makiniemi, who came on in relief of Kahkonen on Wednesday in the Sharks' 6-5 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks.
“It's never nice, obviously, but that's the coach's decision,” Kahkonen said Thursday of being pulled. “With what he sees, he's going to mix up lines, D pairs, and sometimes he's going to pull a goalie. It's not a great feeling, but you've just got to keep working.”
Does Kahkonen need to earn some trust back with the coaching staff?
“Every player is always earning more or less trust (with) a coach and he's no different, he's a goalie,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “I've made it clear how I feel about him. I think he's a legitimate goalie in this league and he wants to be better. We want him to be better and there are peaks and valleys when you're a young goalie in the National Hockey League.
“Asking him to make some additions to the way he plays sometimes takes a little longer for a goalie.” Anything specific?
“I'd rather keep that between he and I and the other coaches,” Quinn said.
Kahkonen, the owner of a .887 save percentage, said wasn't sure if he needed to earn some trust back with the Sharks coaching staff. For now, he just wants to control what he can with his work ethic and preparation.
“It's you doing your job and then trusting that the next guy is going do the same thing — and that other guys are going to do the same thing,” said Kahkonen, who had not talked to Quinn as of early Thursday afternoon about being pulled the night before. “Honestly, I don't really care who trusts me or not. I think I have to trust myself that I do the job and trust that the next guy does his job. That's the way a team works in my opinion.”
Kahkonen stopped 15 of 19 shots through two periods Wednesday, but Makiniemi was told during the second intermission that he was starting the third period. Makiniemi stopped six of eight shots through the final period and overtime, enough to warrant another look from the Sharks' coaching staff.
Asked Friday morning if part of the reason to start Makiniemi was to also give Kahkonen a chance to reset after Wednesday, Quinn said, “no, we've got a goalie we like a lot, too, and we like Kaapo a lot, but we lost the other night 6-5 and we want to give the kid a chance.”
After Wednesday's start, Kahkonen has a 3-6-2 record with a save percentage that ranks 42nd out of 45 goalies who have played at least 10 games. His goals saved above expected per 60 minutes, per moneypuck.com, is -1.019, which also ranks near the bottom of the league.
“Obviously it hasn't been great,” Kahkonen said of his game. “There are things that I need to improve on, so we're going to do that every day. Focus on those things you see on video and that's all you can do.
“I don't think there's another way around it. It's just hard work every day.”
This is the first time in Kahkonen NHL's career that his save percentage has dipped below .900 and his goals-against average has risen above 3.00.
Let's face facts, too. The Sharks are just not as good as the playoff-caliber Minnesota Wild teams that Kahkonen played for from 2019 to 2021. They were an exceptionally young team toward the end of last season and have been more prone to catastrophic mistakes early this season.
They are just not as structurally sound as the Wild.
Still, for Kahkonen, there have been bright spots. He made 37 saves in the Sharks' 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 21 and had a 28-save shutout of the Montreal Canadiens a week later. So he hasn't forgotten how to play the position.
But the system he had with the Wild is different from what he's experienced so far with the Sharks.
“I think I'd be lying if I said it was the same. It is different, and that's the facts,” Kahkonen said. “I don't know why. I'm not pointing fingers, but it is different. My experience playing for that team and this team, it's definitely different.”
It's important for the Sharks to help Kahkonen get his game in better shape. He's the only goalie signed past this season with extensive NHL experience, and it would be much more beneficial to have him round into form than to find another No. 1 goalie via trade or free agency next summer.