Can the Sharks get along?
It was in December of last year when members of the Sharks began to filter into their new accommodations in Scottsdale, Arizona. Kicked out of San Jose because of Santa Clara County's then-ban on contact sports, the Sharks had to conduct training camp in the desert more than 700 miles from home.
So, at the very least, the Sharks aren't going through the same thing this month, as they get set to begin training camp at their own practice facility in San Jose on Thursday.
That's one thing going for them, anyway.
Otherwise, there figures to be no shortage of storylines over the next few weeks. From the offseason drama involving winger Evander Kane to the questions about their goaltending and forward depth, the Sharks will have some issues to resolve before their Oct. 16 season opener against the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center.
Here are the five most pressing questions facing the Sharks entering training camp.
Can these guys coexist? Reports surfaced this summer that friction had built up between Kane and his teammates throughout last season, to the point where some Sharks players expressed to management that they no longer wanted Kane on the team.
Their frustration stemmed from Kane's perceived overall lax attitude toward team rules, including being late for practices and games and the players' dress code.
Kane, who is entering the fourth year of a seven-year contract he signed with the Sharks in 2018, he didn't “necessarily know or believe that that's true.” Kane's contract contains a clause that asks him to submit a list of three teams he can be traded to. So far, Kane said, he has not been asked by Sharks management for that list.
So here we are. Can some increased level of communication, a different attitude from Kane, perhaps a more disciplinarian style from the coaching staff, or even just a few more wins Can free-agent veteran additions Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano, and James Reimer in the room? We'll see.
The Sharks need Kane, and others, to be at their best if they have any hope of making the play
offs. Now it's a matter of whether everyone can get on the same page.
Who emerges as the No. 1 goalie? The Sharks have a completely new goaltending tandem after they bought out the final three years of Martin Jones' contract and traded Josef Korenar to the Arizona Coyotes. Now Adin Hill and Reimer, , will lead the way.
The Sharks have six preseason games, starting with split-squad games on Sunday in which they might give younger goalies like Alexei Melnichuk and Zach Sawchenko a look. After that, expect Hill and Reimer to get the bulk of the action to see if one goalie can stake a claim to be the No. 1 guy.
Regardless, Hill and Reimer will both need to be spectacular if the Sharks have any chance for improvement this season.
What will the forward lines end up looking like? The Sharks' top line of Kane, Tomas Hertl, and Alexander Barabanov really found a groove toward the end of the regular season. Does that line stay together? If so, does that put Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc on the same line with Logan Couture?
That might be the way things start out for the Sharks unless someone like Rudolfs Balcers or John Leonard can barge their way into the top six.
The Sharks just aren't as skilled upfront as most other teams and don't have many other viable options.
If Balcers isn't in the top six, he'll likely find himself alongside center Nick Bonino on the third line. Who the other winger will be on that line, in that case, is anyone's guess. Leonard? Noah Gregor? Nick Merkley? William Eklund? The next three weeks will decide who belongs in that spot.
What happens with Eklund? The Sharks will have to decide what to do with Eklund, the seventh overall pick in this summer's draft, by the end of training camp. They can keep him on the NHL roster, assign him to the AHL or return him to Djurgardens of the Swedish Hockey League for another season.
It seems like keeping Eklund on the NHL roster for the start of the season is the least likely outcome, but it can't be completely ruled out. The Sharks , one day before the deadline NHL teams have to sign European players who already have existing deals with their overseas club teams. That way, they gave themselves every available option with a player now considered their top prospect.
“It depends on (Eklund) and what he does in the camp,” assistant general manager Joe Will told the Sharks Audio Network last week. “Not only production-wise and everything else — he's got such a great mind and skill ... but it's really, is he physically ready? It's one thing to be out here amongst the rookies, but to be in the National Hockey League with bigger bodies for 82 games, that's really what we look at the most.”
Can any rookies crack the roster? The Sharks have had rookies like Lean Bergmann, Nikolai Knyzhov and Leonard make the team out of training camp the last couple of seasons. But even though this year's crop of first-year pros may be a tad more Nhl-ready than those of previous seasons, their chances of being on the opening night roster seem small.
The goaltending looks set and assuming Knyzhov doesn't take a step back after a breakthrough season and Radim Simek is healthy, the defense corps will look the same as it did last season. Who will be the seventh defenseman? Our feeling is that role should go to a more experienced player like Nicolas Meloche or Jaycob Megna, thereby letting younger players get needed seasoning with the Barracuda.
Perhaps the best chance for a rookie to crack the lineup will come , with Jasper Weatherby and Scott Reedy among the candidates to win the job. Time in the AHL, or in Reedy's case, more time in the AHL, wouldn't hurt either player.