Speculation: 2022-23 Sharks Roster Discussion Part II

[Sendhelplease]

Labanc basically doesn't fit - he doesn't have the coach's trust. Lots of stupid minor penalties.

Gregor is nothing special - fourth-line filler playing higher because we have no choice. He's fast but has zero offensive creativity at all and no shot.

Benning is a 7th defenseman playing everyday because we're that bad. He's slow and unsteady.

Nuttivara is done for - missed the entire season to injury.

The goalie situation is worse than you can imagine.

I agree on most of this but I disagree on Benning. I think he is a solid defenceman who put up good point totals and is a great 3rd pairing d-man but is being overplayed on the Sharks as a 2nd pair defender. Solid role player IMO and a good pick up for the Sharks who has a bargain contract.

 

[TheBeard]

I agree on most of this but I disagree on Benning. I think he is a solid defenceman who put up good point totals and is a great 3rd pairing d-man but is being overplayed on the Sharks as a 2nd pair defender. Solid role player IMO and a good pick up for the Sharks who has a bargain contract.

I agree. It's hard to complain about a guy on a 1.25 million dollar contract unless he's literally forgetting who he plays for and is just taking slappers on his own net.

 

[dzubrus8]

I've really enjoyed reading all of this, thank you for sharing! So hear me out but it sounds like this is a lot of the Sharks' roster next year:

Top-6: Couture, Hertl, Barabanov
Middle-6: Labanc (hit or miss),
Bottom-6: Sturm, Lorentz, Gregor, Lindblom, Zetterlund (if he makes the team)

Top-4: EK65, Ferraro
Bottom-4: Benning, Thrun, Knyzhov, Vlasic

Goalies: Kahkonen, ?

Looks like they have ~$14MM to throw around and more if they trade EK65. any FAs that the board is high on rn, especially for the top-6?

 

[STL Shark]

I agree on most of this but I disagree on Benning. I think he is a solid defenceman who put up good point totals and is a great 3rd pairing d-man but is being overplayed on the Sharks as a 2nd pair defender. Solid role player IMO and a good pick up for the Sharks who has a bargain contract.

Curious if Grier attaches him to someone this offseason in a deal. I know 3 more years is a lot for a purely bottom pairing guy, but for $1.25M locked in and the fact that he's righ-handed, I feel like he could be a nice sweetener to upgrade the return for someone like Karlsson or Barabanov. Don't think he holds a ton of value on his own, but could be the difference between a good and great return while not having much effect on the org moving forward given where we're at in our rebuild.

 

[Pavelski2112]

I've really enjoyed reading all of this, thank you for sharing! So hear me out but it sounds like this is a lot of the Sharks' roster next year:

Top-6: Couture, Hertl, Barabanov
Middle-6: Labanc (hit or miss),
Bottom-6: Sturm, Lorentz, Gregor, Lindblom, Zetterlund (if he makes the team)

Top-4: EK65, Ferraro
Bottom-4: Benning, Thrun, Knyzhov, Vlasic

Goalies: Kahkonen, ?

Looks like they have ~$14MM to throw around and more if they trade EK65. any FAs that the board is high on rn, especially for the top-6?

Makiniemi seems to be the next guy in line for the #2G spot but Grier might sign a vet to shelter him in the A since he didn't play much last year due to injury.

Any FAs we should be interested in are character guys and/or players that make us worse. Preferably both.

 

[TheBeard]

I've really enjoyed reading all of this, thank you for sharing! So hear me out but it sounds like this is a lot of the Sharks' roster next year:

Top-6: Couture, Hertl, Barabanov
Middle-6: Labanc (hit or miss),
Bottom-6: Sturm, Lorentz, Gregor, Lindblom, Zetterlund (if he makes the team)

Top-4: EK65, Ferraro
Bottom-4: Benning, Thrun, Knyzhov, Vlasic

Goalies: Kahkonen, ?

Looks like they have ~$14MM to throw around and more if they trade EK65. any FAs that the board is high on rn, especially for the top-6?

I think Bar gets traded at the draft personally. I also think EK is gone before the season. No sense in going all in on FA, but if we do it's gonna be the same style of buy-low blue collar guys like Connor Brown (who's still recovering from an ACL), or, hell, even a Garnett Hathaway.

 

[Bizz]

Benning is quite literally the worst Defenseman to put on a Sharks jersey since Colin White. He was absolute trash the entire season. 99 Goals Against with him on the ice and he was directly responsible for virtually all of them. To think we're stuck with his albatross of a contract for another 3 seasons gives me little hope the Mike Grier is going to turn this franchise around any time soon.

 

[TheBeard]

Makiniemi seems to be the next guy in line for the #2G spot but Grier might sign a vet to shelter him in the A since he didn't play much last year due to injury.

Any FAs we should be interested in are character guys and/or players that make us worse. Preferably both.

I can see us bringing back Dell and giving Niemi the lion's share of the work with the 'Cuda.

 

[Hodge]

Benning is quite literally the worst Defenseman to put on a Sharks jersey since Colin White. He was absolute trash the entire season. To think we're stuck with his albatross of a contract for another 3 seasons gives me little hope the Mike Grier is going to turn this franchise around any time soon.

Hate those albatross contracts that can be fully buried in the minors if necessary.

 

[Pavelski2112]

Benning is quite literally the worst Defenseman to put on a Sharks jersey since Colin White. He was absolute trash the entire season. To think we're stuck with his albatross of a contract for another 3 seasons gives me little hope the Mike Grier is going to turn this franchise around any time soon.

Benning is awful but let's not get carried away

Colin White is probably the worst defenseman I've ever seen in a Sharks uniform, and there have been a lot of bad ones

 

[STL Shark]

Benning is awful but let's not get carried away

Colin White is probably the worst defenseman I've ever seen in a Sharks uniform, and there have been a lot of bad ones

There were 3 D-Men worse than Benning off that 2011-12 team along (White, Vandermeer, and Murray). Add in the second time around Brad Stuart and Scott Hannan as well from the D-Men of the last 10 years worse than Benning train.

He's not great, but he shoots right handed and can PK and play on a 3rd pairing for really cheap for a really long time. Not good when he's playing 20 minutes a night like this year, but in the right role he's a fine 3rd pairing NHL D-Man making $500k more than league minimum but locked in for 3 more years (value in cost certainty for a veteran guy in a defined role like that).

 

[Jargon]

I've really enjoyed reading all of this, thank you for sharing! So hear me out but it sounds like this is a lot of the Sharks' roster next year:

Top-6: Couture, Hertl, Barabanov
Middle-6: Labanc (hit or miss),
Bottom-6: Sturm, Lorentz, Gregor, Lindblom, Zetterlund (if he makes the team)

Top-4: EK65, Ferraro
Bottom-4: Benning, Thrun, Knyzhov, Vlasic

Goalies: Kahkonen, ?

Looks like they have ~$14MM to throw around and more if they trade EK65. any FAs that the board is high on rn, especially for the top-6?

Eklund is definitely going to be in the top 6. I think unless we get a 1st rounder for him, Barabanov stays.

This is my guess at next year:

Eklund-Hertl-UFA/Trade
UFA/Trade/Labanc-Couture-Barabanov
Zetterlund-Sturm-Peterson
Lindblom-Lorentz-Kunin

With Guschin taking a top 6 role mid-year if not earlier.

Defense… I think we’re almost certainly trading Karlsson, so you can just insert a photo of a dumpster on fire.

 

[TheBeard]

Eklund is definitely going to be in the top 6. I think unless we get a 1st rounder for him, Barabanov stays.

This is my guess at next year:

Eklund-Hertl-UFA/Trade
UFA/Trade/Labanc-Couture-Barabanov
Zetterlund-Sturm-Peterson
Lindblom-Lorentz-Kunin

With Guschin taking a top 6 role mid-year if not earlier.

Defense… I think we’re almost certainly trading Karlsson, so you can just insert a photo of a dumpster on fire.

Playing Ek on the first line of a dumpster fire lineup doesn't really do much except put a target on his back.

 

[Hodge]

Playing Ek on the first line of a dumpster fire lineup doesn't really do much except put a target on his back.

Detroit did this with Raymond and it seems to have worked out fine. It’s time to let Eklund sink or swim IMO.

 

[Pavelski2112]

Playing Ek on the first line of a dumpster fire lineup doesn't really do much except put a target on his back.

I don't really see a better place to play him. I'd rather him be in a position to be able to use his skill than being stuck with guys like Sturm or Kunin

 

[Barrie22]

Playing Ek on the first line of a dumpster fire lineup doesn't really do much except put a target on his back.

So he won't be reaching or giving him the opportunity to reach his potential until he is 27 and a UFA? Seems like a waste.

 

[TheBeard]

Detroit did this with Raymond and it seems to have worked out fine. It’s time to let Eklund sink or swim IMO.

There's far more talent on that Wings team then we're gonna have this year. I don't mind playing him, but I'd feel more comfortable with him playing less minutes in a second line role.

So he won't be reaching or giving him the opportunity to reach his potential until he is 27 and a UFA? Seems like a waste.

Next year's team is gonna make this year's team look like an all-star squad. No Timo, potentially no EK, a year older Couture and potentially no Barabanov either.

 

[The Nemesis]

Null perspiration. I was cracking wise. Welcome aboard.

Hit up @The Nemesis for your Sharks Kleenex voucher, draft day is coming...

There is no kleenex. In keeping with the Shark policy of maximum sadistic pain, all you get is a dollar store pack of sandpaper.

 

[Hodge]

There's far more talent on that Wings team then we're gonna have this year. I don't mind playing him, but I'd feel more comfortable with him playing less minutes in a second line role.


Next year's team is gonna make this year's team look like an all-star squad. No Timo, potentially no EK, a year older Couture and potentially no Barabanov either.

Talking about the 2021-22 Wings when Raymond was a rookie. Larkin and Bertuzzi aren’t much better than Hertl and Couture. Raymond was their next highest scoring forward followed by Sam Gagner, Pius Suter and Robby Fabbri. You think Barabanov, Labanc and Kunin/Zetterlund isn’t comparable to that? Not to mention Karlsson could easily still be here too.

 

[TheBeard]

Talking about the 2021-22 Wings when Raymond was a rookie. Larkin and Bertuzzi aren’t much better than Hertl and Couture. Raymond was their next highest scoring forward followed by Sam Gagner, Pius Suter and Robby Fabbri. You think Barabanov, Labanc and Kunin/Zetterlund isn’t comparable to that? Not to mention Karlsson could easily still be here too.

I think next year Barb and Labanc aren't on the team nor will Karlsson be (IMO). I also think Detroit having Seider and Hronek to help take some of the load off from the backend made a huge difference as well. I fully expect next year to be the worst season in the history of the Sharks.

 

[Hodge]

I think next year Barb and Labanc aren't on the team nor will Karlsson be (IMO). I also think Detroit having Seider and Hronek to help take some of the load off from the backend made a huge difference as well. I fully expect next year to be the worst season in the history of the Sharks.

Okay so Eklund is supposed to spend another year on the Barracuda? Or on the third line with Nico Sturm? I don’t understand what the superior option is here.

 

[Barrie22]

There's far more talent on that Wings team then we're gonna have this year. I don't mind playing him, but I'd feel more comfortable with him playing less minutes in a second line role.


Next year's team is gonna make this year's team look like an all-star squad. No Timo, potentially no EK, a year older Couture and potentially no Barabanov either.

Still does not mean you hinder your best prospects development by playing him with even more garbage then what would be on the first line. I would rather Eklund playing with couture/hertl then whatever crap is going to be on a 3rd line.

 

[TheBeard]

Still does not mean you hinder your best prospects development by playing him with even more garbage then what would be on the first line. I would rather Eklund playing with couture/hertl then whatever crap is going to be on a 3rd line.

As I mentioned above, I'd prefer he play on the second line with Couture.

 

[Barrie22]

As I mentioned above, I'd prefer he play on the second line with Couture.

I know he is good with the puck on his stick, but is Eklund a possession player and forechecker? Someone that can control play for Couture

 

[TheBeard]

Okay so Eklund is supposed to spend another year on the Barracuda? Or on the third line with Nico Sturm? I don’t understand what the superior option is here.

I'd give him a mid-season call-up tbh. It's not like he's the only guy from his draft class being slowly brought up. Guenther's played 33 games, Edvinsson 9, Hughes 2, Clarke 9, Boucher 0, Coronato 1. Hell, there are plenty of guys from the 20 draft who've played sparingly.

I know he is good with the puck on his stick, but is Eklund a possession player and forechecker? Someone that can control play for Couture

I think he can be. Frankly, we don't have any pure goal scoring options on this team. I'd still like to see him pack on more muscle.