San Jose Sharks 2015-16 Season Primer

Looking at the San Jose Sharks heading into this season – outlook, potential lines, roster, top prospects, draft history, stats and season schedule.

2014-15 Record: 40-33-9, 89 points (5th place in Pacific Division, 12th in the West, 22nd overall)
2014-15 Outcome: Missed Playoffs

Total Cap Hit: $70,394,996
Total Salary: $72,486,666
Cap Space: $1,005,004

Source: General Fanager

In: Frazer McLaren, LW (FA – Tor), Joel Ward, RW (FA – Wsh), Mark Cundari, D (FA – Cgy), John McCarthy, LW/C (FA – StL), Paul Martin, D (FA – Pit), Martin Jones, G (T – Bos), Jeremy Langlois, RW (FA-Minors), Patrick McNally, D (T – Van), Peter DeBoer, Head Coach (Named), Joonas Donskoi, RW/LW (FA-Europe)

Out: John Scott, LW (FA – Ari), Matt Irwin, D (FA – Bos), Taylor Fedun, D (FA – Van), Sean Kuraly, C (T – Bos), Konrad Abeltshauser, D (T – StL), Antti Niemi, G (T – Dal), Todd McLellan, Head Coach (mutual parting)

Source: Sports Forecaster

The San Jose Sharks had a disastrous off-season in 2014, which pretty much amounted to nearly zero changes to an ill-fitting lineup while changing the one thing that didn’t really matter – the captaincy, which they didn’t even really change anyway.

That was mostly remedied by the 2015 off-season, though. General Manager Doug Wilson went out and addressed three major needs that the team had; reinforcements on the blue line, veteran presence to balance out the wings on offense, and goaltending.

In came Paul Martin from Pittsburgh via free agency. Out went Matt Irwin via free agency – a kind of tough loss with Irwin heading out, but good in the form of a tenured NHLer coming in to help solidify a group that looked somewhat disorganized last year. The team also got added stability on offense in the form of pure power forward Joel Ward, who’s currently in the best years of his career and was a picture of consistency for the Capitals during the 2014-2015 campaign. They rounded out the team’s biggest off-season needs by adding netminder Martin Jones, which may have the biggest risk. Antti Niemi wasn’t re-signed as he was one of the prior season’s biggest depreciating assets. If all that cost was a first round pick, the Sharks did something right.

There are still plenty of question marks heading into next year, but it’s generally agreed upon that the Sharks will be better than they were last year. It would take simultaneous regression from both the team’s top performers and the newest adds to the lineup to see things take a backslide. Even a lateral move from last year to this one could be considered a relative improvement in the wake of divisional rivals from Vancouver. Coaching may be the biggest question mark – Peter DeBoer is a controversial choice for bench boss to some – but overall, this was one of Doug Wilson’s more successful off-seasons in recent years.

Trending Up

Mirco Mueller (LD) – Mueller was probably the second most mismanaged asset held by an NHL team in the 2014-2015 season, behind only Jonathan Drouin (and maybe on par with Alex Galchenyuk in Montreal). Any improvement in his usage will almost certainly result in an improvement in his play. Already a rising star on the blue line, Mueller – who’s only 20 – had a frustrating rookie campaign. He’s likely  rebound  with better minutes and increased games played in the upcoming year.

Billed as a powerful, big-bodied defenseman with high upside, Mueller spent a lot of time as a healthy scratch instead of on the ice in San Jose’s regular season campaign last year. He has the potential to play a two-way game and does an effective job of moving the puck from in front of his own net. A lack of high offensive upside seemed to have got him benched in favor of more high-scoring talent last year. Whatever the reasoning was, the Swiss blue liner became somewhat stagnant as a result of the way he was deployed. There’s a lot of potential to shape the former first rounder into something great, and it’s possible that this is the year that will happen. Whether he becomes a Niklas Hjalmarsson, Drew Doughty, or Michael Stone, there’s plenty we can expect to love from this prospect.

Matt Nieto (LW) – The former Boston University standout struggled last year, as did a number of the Sharks in 2014-2015. The biggest issue for Nieto was his shooting accuracy. In his first full season as an NHLer, the Long Beach native had a disappointingly lateral transition from his first year on NHL ice. With the revitalized Sharks roster, he too should reap the benefits.

It’s a question, of course, of whether Nieto will be utilized in a way that best puts him a position to score, or if he’ll get to play a role where he provides more supplementary scoring through assists and zone entries. Given the added help on offense of Joel Ward, though, it’s hard to imagine that something won’t shift and see his numbers go up. He’s has the speed and on-ice vision that suggests the team won’t see him only putting up 27 points per year for long.

Trending Down

Paul Martin (LD) – It’s funny to think that Paul Martin can be both a beneficial add to the Sharks and a depreciating asset, but he’s certainly a good example of both – the 34 year old blue liner will be providing supplementary support on the defensive corps, while still looking less effective than he did last year.

Drafted in the second round of the 2000 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils, Martin is one of an ever-shrinking number of players from his draft year that is still in the league. He’ll start to cost more than he’s producing, and that could hurt the Sharks in the long run. For now, it’s simply going to mean that whatever potential upside Irwin may have had in the form of an improved game, it is going to head in the opposite direction with the addition of an aging Martin. It doesn’t mean he’ll be *bad*, just worse than he was in years prior.

Alex Stalock (G) Despite always being a pretty big fan of Alex Stalock, there’s a chance that he’ll be a declining value player for the Sharks next year.

It’s hard to evaluate San Jose’s goaltending depth with so little in the way of prior games to evaluate new starter Martin Jones, but it’s clear that having Stalock as a backup again could hurt the Sharks if he doesn’t find a way to play a similar style to Jones. He was an active goaltender behind Niemi, making it easy for the Sharks to play the same game in front of both of them from game to game. Jones is less aggressive than either of San Jose’s goaltenders were in 2014-2015, meaning that the team’s style of play will need to shift to support him well. That could quickly leave Stalock high and dry if he doesn’t find a way to subtly shift his game; it’s certainly possible, but that’s a risk that the Sharks will need to be aware of from day one.

Trade Deadline Outlook:

Assuming that the Sharks are a playoff team next year, they’ll want to be buyers – but like last year, they should likely be fairly quiet on the trade front. The club already sacrificed next year’s first round selection to bring Jones on board, and they’ve got very little in the way of cap space to work with. Unless a club is willing to take on one of the team’s pricier players, it may be best to leave things be.

One very key thing to consider, though, is that the Sharks only have around $1 million in cap space heading into the off-season – and very few players who are due to contract extensions at the end of the year. One of those, though, is forward Tomas Hertl; the Sharks will need to make sure he’s a player they can hold on to without going over the cap, which may mean getting creative with a few cheaper contracts. Having at least $6M AAV tied up in each Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau, means that if Hertl has a stellar year, they’ll have to pray for a bridge deal to suit his fancy until more cap space is cleared up. No one costs an exorbitant amount, but too many players fall in the ‘not cheap’ category as well.

If the team does need to move around some salary, a few names to consider are Tommy Wingels or Melker Karlsson on offense, and Justin Braun on defense. Remaining quiet and simply re-signing players from within the organization, though, is almost certainly the preferable option for this club yet again.

Written by Catherine Silverman, who can be found on twitter @CataCarryOn

Sharks: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects and Draft History | Stats | Schedule

Potential line combinations, defensive pairings, and goalies.

Melker Karlsson – Joe Pavelski – Joe Thornton
Patrick Marleau – Logan Couture – Tomas Hertl
Matt Nieto – Chris Tierney – Joel Ward
Barclay Goodrow – Ben Smith – Tom Wingels
Mike Brown – Joonas Donskoi

Paul Martin – Brent Burns
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Justin Braun
Brenden Dillon – Mirco Mueller
Matt Tennyson

Martin Jones
Alex Stalock

Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%
Joe Pavelski 82 37 33 70 12 29 19 0 5 261 14.2
Logan Couture 82 27 40 67 -6 12 6 2 4 263 10.3
Joe Thornton 78 16 49 65 -4 30 4 0 0 131 12.2
Brent Burns 82 17 43 60 -9 65 7 0 2 245 6.9
Patrick Marleau 82 19 38 57 -17 12 7 0 4 233 8.2
Tommy Wingels 75 15 21 36 -7 40 4 1 1 158 9.5
Tomas Hertl 82 13 18 31 -5 16 3 0 4 145 9
Matt Nieto 72 10 17 27 -12 20 1 0 1 135 7.4
Melker Karlsson 53 13 11 24 -3 20 1 0 2 100 13
Marc-Edouard Vlasic 70 9 14 23 12 23 0 0 3 98 9.2
Justin Braun 70 1 22 23 8 48 0 0 0 94 1.1
Chris Tierney 43 6 15 21 3 6 1 0 1 48 12.5
Matt Irwin 53 8 11 19 3 18 1 0 1 93 8.6
James Sheppard 57 5 11 16 -3 28 0 0 0 68 7.4
Barclay Goodrow 60 4 8 12 -1 35 0 0 2 68 5.9
Tyler Kennedy 25 4 5 9 1 8 0 0 2 48 8.3
Brenden Dillon 60 2 7 9 -11 54 0 1 1 75 2.7
Andrew Desjardins 56 5 3 8 -2 50 0 0 1 43 11.6
Matt Tennyson 27 2 6 8 0 16 1 0 0 37 5.4
Scott Hannan 58 2 5 7 0 26 0 0 0 53 3.8
Ben Smith 19 2 3 5 3 0 0 0 1 15 13.3
Tye Mcginn 33 1 4 5 1 11 0 0 0 35 2.9
John Scott 38 3 1 4 0 87 0 0 0 19 15.8
Taylor Fedun 7 0 4 4 0 4 0 0 0 12 0
Mirco Mueller 39 1 3 4 -8 10 0 0 0 31 3.2
Adam Burish 20 1 2 3 -6 33 0 0 0 22 4.5
Jason Demers 20 0 3 3 -6 8 0 0 0 20 0
Bryan Lerg 2 1 0 1 -1 0 0 0 1 8 12.5
Daniil Tarasov 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 0
Mike Brown 12 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 11 0
Micheal Haley 4 0 0 0 -1 11 0 0 0 1 0
Freddie Hamilton 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Karl Stollery 5 0 0 0 -4 4 0 0 0 6 0
Eriah Hayes 4 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 0 10 0
Goalie GPI GS MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV%
Antti Niemi 61 61 3588 2.59 31 23 7 5 1811 155 0.914
Alex Stalock 22 19 1237 2.62 8 9 2 2 553 54 0.902
Troy Grosenick 2 2 118 1.53 1 1 0 1 58 3 0.948

Sharks: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects and Draft History | Stats | Schedule

Some top San Jose Sharks prospect lists heading into the season.

Rk The Hockey News Corey Pronman ESPN Hockey’s Future NHL.com
1 Timo Meier Jeremy Roy Timo Meier Timo Meier
2 Nikolay Goldobin Nikolay Goldobin Chris Tierney Mirco Mueller
3 Jeremy Roy Timo Meier Nikolay Goldobin Nikolay Goldobin
4 Noah Rod Rourke Chartier Mirco Mueller Jeremy Roy
5 Julius Bergman Dylan Sadowy Jeremy Roy Rourke Chartier
6 Mike Robinson Julius Bergman Joonas Donskoi
7 Fredrik Bergvik Joonas Donskoi Dan O’Regan
8 Dylan Sadowy Dan O’Regan Rourke Chartier
9 Adam Helewka Kevin Labanc Barclay Goodrow
10 Joonas Donskoi Noah Rod Dylan DeMelo

* Different sites have different guidelines for who is a ‘prospect.’ Dobber Prospects bases their rankings on future fantasy value.

A look at the San Jose Sharks drafting from 2010 to 2015.

2015 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
1 9 Timo Meier R Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
2 31 Jeremy Roy D Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
3 86 Mike Robinson G Lawrence Academy (Mass H.S.)
4 106 Adam Helewka L Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
5 130 Karlis Cukste D Riga Jrs. (Russia)
5 142 Rudolfs Balcers L Stavanger Oilers (Norway)
6 160 Adam Parsells D Wausau West (Wisc. H.S.)
7 190 Marcus Vela C Langley Rivermen (BCHL)
7 193 Jake Kupsky G Lone Star Brahmas (NAHL)
2014 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
1 27 Nikolay Goldobin R Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2 46 Julius Bergman D Frolunda (Sweden Jrs.)
2 53 Noah Rod F Geneve Servette (Swiss-A)
3 72 Alex Schoenborn R Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
3 81 Dylan Sadowy L Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
4 102 Alexis Vanier D Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
5 149 Rourke Chartier C Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
6 171 Kevin Labanc F Barrie Colts (OHL)
2013 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
1 18 Mirco Mueller D Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2 49 Gabryel Boudreau L Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL)
4 117 Fredrik Bergvik G Frolunda Jrs. (Sweden)
5 141 Michael Brodzinski D Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
5 151 Gage Ausmus D U.S. National Development Team (USHL)
7 201 Jake Jackson C Tartan H.S. (Minn.)
7 207 Emil Galimov L Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL)
2012 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
1 17 Tomas Hertl L Slavia Praha HC (Czech)
2 55 Chris Tierney C London Knights (OHL)
4 109 Christophe Lalancette R Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
5 138 Daniel O’Regan F St. Sebastian School (Mass. H.S.)
6 168 Cliff Watson D Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)
7 198 Joakim Ryan D Cornell University (ECAC)
2011 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
2 47 Matthew Nieto L Boston University (H-East)
3 89 Justin Sefton D Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
5 133 Sean Kuraly F Indiana Ice (USHL)
6 166 Daniil Sobchenko F Yaroslavl Lokomotiv (KHL)
6 179 Dylan DeMelo D Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors (OHL)
7 194 Colin Blackwell C St. John’s Prep (Mass H.S.)
2010 Draft
Round # Player Pos Drafted From
1 28 Charlie Coyle R South Shore Kings (EJHL)
3 88 Max Gaede F Woodbury H.S. (Minn.)
5 127 Cody Ferriero R Governor’s Academy (Mass.)
5 129 Freddie Hamilton C Niagara IceDogs (OHL)
5 136 Isaac Macleod D Penticton Vees (BCHL)
6 163 Konrad Abeltshauser D Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)
7 188 Lee Moffie D U. of Michigan (CCHA)
7 200 Chris Crane F Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)

Sharks: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects and Draft History | Stats | Schedule

San Jose Sharks 2014-15 player stats.

Player GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S%
Joe Pavelski 82 37 33 70 12 29 19 0 5 261 14.2
Logan Couture 82 27 40 67 -6 12 6 2 4 263 10.3
Joe Thornton 78 16 49 65 -4 30 4 0 0 131 12.2
Brent Burns 82 17 43 60 -9 65 7 0 2 245 6.9
Patrick Marleau 82 19 38 57 -17 12 7 0 4 233 8.2
Tommy Wingels 75 15 21 36 -7 40 4 1 1 158 9.5
Tomas Hertl 82 13 18 31 -5 16 3 0 4 145 9
Matt Nieto 72 10 17 27 -12 20 1 0 1 135 7.4
Melker Karlsson 53 13 11 24 -3 20 1 0 2 100 13
Marc-Edouard Vlasic 70 9 14 23 12 23 0 0 3 98 9.2
Justin Braun 70 1 22 23 8 48 0 0 0 94 1.1
Chris Tierney 43 6 15 21 3 6 1 0 1 48 12.5
Matt Irwin 53 8 11 19 3 18 1 0 1 93 8.6
James Sheppard 57 5 11 16 -3 28 0 0 0 68 7.4
Barclay Goodrow 60 4 8 12 -1 35 0 0 2 68 5.9
Tyler Kennedy 25 4 5 9 1 8 0 0 2 48 8.3
Brenden Dillon 60 2 7 9 -11 54 0 1 1 75 2.7
Andrew Desjardins 56 5 3 8 -2 50 0 0 1 43 11.6
Matt Tennyson 27 2 6 8 0 16 1 0 0 37 5.4
Scott Hannan 58 2 5 7 0 26 0 0 0 53 3.8
Ben Smith 19 2 3 5 3 0 0 0 1 15 13.3
Tye Mcginn 33 1 4 5 1 11 0 0 0 35 2.9
John Scott 38 3 1 4 0 87 0 0 0 19 15.8
Taylor Fedun 7 0 4 4 0 4 0 0 0 12 0
Mirco Mueller 39 1 3 4 -8 10 0 0 0 31 3.2
Adam Burish 20 1 2 3 -6 33 0 0 0 22 4.5
Jason Demers 20 0 3 3 -6 8 0 0 0 20 0
Bryan Lerg 2 1 0 1 -1 0 0 0 1 8 12.5
Daniil Tarasov 5 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 5 0
Mike Brown 12 0 0 0 0 22 0 0 0 11 0
Micheal Haley 4 0 0 0 -1 11 0 0 0 1 0
Freddie Hamilton 1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Karl Stollery 5 0 0 0 -4 4 0 0 0 6 0
Eriah Hayes 4 0 0 0 -2 2 0 0 0 10 0
Goalie GPI GS MIN GAA W L OT SO SA GA SV%
Antti Niemi 61 61 3588 2.59 31 23 7 5 1811 155 0.914
Alex Stalock 22 19 1237 2.62 8 9 2 2 553 54 0.902
Troy Grosenick 2 2 118 1.53 1 1 0 1 58 3 0.948

Sharks: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects and Draft History | Stats | Schedule

A look at the San Jose Sharks 2015-16 schedule.

DATE Opp. RESULT
Wed, Oct 7 @ LA 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Oct 10 vs. Ana 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Oct 13 @ Wsh 7:00 PM ET
Fri, Oct 16 @ NJ 7:00 PM ET
Sat, Oct 17 @ NYI 7:30 PM ET
Mon, Oct 19 @ NYR 7:00 PM ET
Thu, Oct 22 vs. LA 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Oct 24 vs. Car 10:30 PM ET
Wed, Oct 28 vs. Nas 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Oct 31 @ Dal 3:00 PM ET
Sun, Nov 1 @ Col 3:00 PM ET
Tue, Nov 3 vs. CBJ 10:30 PM ET
Thu, Nov 5 vs. Fla 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Nov 7 vs. Ana 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Nov 10 vs. NYI 10:30 PM ET
Fri, Nov 13 @ Det 7:30 PM ET
Sat, Nov 14 @ Buf 7:00 PM ET
Tue, Nov 17 @ Bos 7:00 PM ET
Thu, Nov 19 @ Phi 7:00 PM ET
Sat, Nov 21 @ Pit 7:00 PM ET
Sun, Nov 22 @ CBJ 5:00 PM ET
Wed, Nov 25 vs. Chi 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Nov 28 vs. Cgy 10:00 PM ET
Tue, Dec 1 vs. Pit 10:30 PM ET
Fri, Dec 4 @ Ana 10:00 PM ET
Sat, Dec 5 vs. TB 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Dec 8 @ Cgy 9:00 PM ET
Wed, Dec 9 @ Edm 9:30 PM ET
Sat, Dec 12 vs. Min 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Dec 15 @ Mtl 7:30 PM ET
Thu, Dec 17 @ Tor 7:30 PM ET
Fri, Dec 18 @ Ott 7:30 PM ET
Sun, Dec 20 @ Chi 7:00 PM ET
Tue, Dec 22 @ LA 10:30 PM ET
Mon, Dec 28 vs. Col 10:30 PM ET
Wed, Dec 30 vs. Phi 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Jan 2 vs. Wpg 10:00 PM ET
Thu, Jan 7 vs. Det 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Jan 9 vs. Tor 7:00 PM ET
Mon, Jan 11 @ Cgy 9:00 PM ET
Tue, Jan 12 @ Wpg 8:00 PM ET
Thu, Jan 14 vs. Edm 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Jan 16 vs. Dal 10:30 PM ET
Mon, Jan 18 vs. Ott 10:30 PM ET
Thu, Jan 21 @ Ari 9:00 PM ET
Sat, Jan 23 vs. Min 4:00 PM ET
Sun, Jan 24 vs. LA 10:00 PM ET
Tue, Jan 26 vs. Col 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Feb 2 @ Ana 10:00 PM ET
Thu, Feb 4 @ StL 8:00 PM ET
Sat, Feb 6 @ Nas 8:00 PM ET
Tue, Feb 9 @ Chi 8:30 PM ET
Thu, Feb 11 vs. Cgy 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Feb 13 vs. Ari 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Feb 16 @ TB 7:30 PM ET
Thu, Feb 18 @ Fla 7:30 PM ET
Fri, Feb 19 @ Car 7:00 PM ET
Mon, Feb 22 @ StL 8:00 PM ET
Wed, Feb 24 @ Col 10:00 PM ET
Fri, Feb 26 vs. Buf 10:30 PM ET
Sun, Feb 28 @ Van 7:00 PM ET
Mon, Feb 29 vs. Mtl 10:30 PM ET
Thu, Mar 3 @ Van 10:00 PM ET
Sat, Mar 5 vs. Van 10:00 PM ET
Mon, Mar 7 @ Cgy 9:00 PM ET
Tue, Mar 8 @ Edm 9:00 PM ET
Thu, Mar 10 vs. NJ 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Mar 12 vs. Wsh 10:30 PM ET
Tue, Mar 15 vs. Bos 10:30 PM ET
Thu, Mar 17 @ Ari 10:00 PM ET
Sat, Mar 19 vs. NYR 4:00 PM ET
Sun, Mar 20 vs. Ari 10:00 PM ET
Tue, Mar 22 vs. StL 10:30 PM ET
Thu, Mar 24 vs. Edm 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Mar 26 vs. Dal 4:00 PM ET
Mon, Mar 28 vs. LA 10:00 PM ET
Tue, Mar 29 @ Van 10:00 PM ET
Thu, Mar 31 vs. Van 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Apr 2 @ Nas 8:00 PM ET
Tue, Apr 5 @ Min 8:00 PM ET
Thu, Apr 7 vs. Wpg 10:30 PM ET
Sat, Apr 9 vs. Ari 10:30 PM ET

Sharks: Outlook | Lines and Roster | Top Prospects and Draft History | Stats | Schedule