Worried about the forward group even more now. Even though most of the forwards they've added so far are fodder, most are a major improvement over last years forwards. Yes the defense will be bad, but if these guys play up to being worth previous value, there's a good chance Sharks win a considerable amount more than last year, especially if Blackwood can play at a .900 avg. This is even after considering the possible deals already (Labanc ex.). Grier really needs to force 39(preferably)/48 out.
Speculation: 2022-23 Sharks Roster Discussion Part II
- Thread starter WTFetus
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Jargon
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I honestly don’t hate having them as the vets that help transition the new guys in. I see no reason Couture can’t switch to wing and have a Pavelski-like career. He’d do great getting passes from Will Smith.
Luckily our defense is so bad they won’t be able to get the puck to our offense.
Freaky Styley
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Where is Mario Ferraro in these lineups. Am I wrong thinking he is one of the Sharks better Dmen?
tiburon12
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- Jul 18, 2009
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Matt Benning set a career high for assists last year. They will allow many goals, but think we should really stop with the "defense is so bad it'll sink the team completely" narrative that apparently is the new thing.
Levie
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- Mar 15, 2011
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Yes he is below replacement level. Which ironically might be one of the Sharks better Defensemen.
Jargon
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Yes, and we were AWFUL defensively last year.. but at least Karlsson could get the puck out of our zone. The narrative is pretty apt, the defense is composed of almost entirety bottom pairing defensemen, with only Thrun, Rutta and possibly Knyzhov capable of more… and none of them are puck movers.
It’s easily one of the worst D in the league.
I do agree with you that our offense should in theory be better than last years, though there are a ton of question marks (can Zadina find his game? Can Granlund? Is Hoffman totally done? Can Eklund keep developing? Can Duclair regain his form? Etc).
hohosaregood
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- Sep 1, 2011
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Puck movement from the defense is a force multiplier in the NHL. You have competent puck movement, then your offense works. You get great puck movement, and your offense is 2x better than normal. But when it's bad, everything falls apart and your offense goes nowhere.
The forwards might look okay on paper but this defense can only defend and that's gonna grind their offense to a halt.
- Jun 23, 2020
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Especially as the forwards are forced to do more, reducing their overall effectiveness and opening them up to more chances for mistakes or just losing one-on-one battles, even potentially greater risk for injury.
Im curious if Quinn will adjust the system or keep it knowing it is not optimal for this group.
It will be telling how they view Quinn and the future of the team. If Quinn developed the system for EK or if that was his preferred system and they will continue it and draft/develop players that will thrive in the system.
What's odd to accept is that Vlasic is the highest paid defenseman on the Sharks roster right now.
STL Shark
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- Mar 6, 2013
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Yes, but the bone cancer was in 2019 and he's played 3 full NHL seasons since then and has not been good at all (22 points per 82 pace in 202 games since the diagnosis). I think it was a good no-risk signing after being bought out by Philly, but I don't see a path where he magically goes back to being a legitimate top 9 option like he was prior to his cancer diagnosis.
Hate it for the person, but don't think the recovery issue can be used as a crutch to hope for a turnaround since he's played 202 of 220 possible games the last 3 seasons. Sort of is what he is as a player now.
How exactly are the forwards going to consistently get the puck though? There isn't a single puck mover on the back end right now.
Hodge
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- Apr 27, 2021
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Hoffman and Granlund make Labanc look like a Selke winner. All the forwards we brought in except for Duclair are awful.
Bro it’s a tank. High scoring games are exciting for fans. Here’s to hoping we lose every game 7-6!
Hodge
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- Apr 27, 2021
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100%. Just responding to the idea that the forward group is somehow improved.
Gecklund
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Hey we agree on something! I am interested to see if Zadina or Granlund can find their offensive game at all. If Zadina can find his offensive game while keeping the defensive game he got last year, we could have a nice player on our hands. With that said, I’m not getting my hopes up.
PacificOceanPotion
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- Jun 19, 2009
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In all fairness, Granlund and Hoffman have both shown they can be valuable players in their respective careers. A fresh start with a rebuilding org could possibly reignite that fire to be the players they have both been.
Gecklund
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Hoffman is done. He only ever had a shot but now his already questionable skating has gotten worse with age and he can’t get to spots to use his shot.
Granlund possibly but he’s not going to be the player he was in NSH.
PacificOceanPotion
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- Jun 19, 2009
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Yeah, I agree to a point. I haven’t watched a lot of Hoffman or Granlund, unless we’re playing them. Recent quotes from Granlund suggest he knows his performance in Pitt was not up to par and I think he in particular will have a better year with us.
Jargon
Registered User
I think there’s a world where this team of misfits comes together to prove people wrong - there’s some skill there and maybe they can click. But I think our back end and goalie situation is just brutal. Even if Blackwood manages to regain form, the defense — while may be okay at regular defense — is going to kill our transition. Forget the long passes that send our guys on breakaways, it’s gonna be Duclair swinging back to help take the puck out of the zone.
Hoffman, I am not expecting any sort of return on. I think we're just eating that and letting it expire. The only guys I expect to get anything out of that expires after this season is Barabanov and Duclair. I'll happily take anything for anyone else expiring but I'm not expecting it. Granlund is an interesting situation. If he plays as he did in Pittsburgh here, he's a buyout candidate in the offseason. Going from 5 mil to a couple years at 1.6 mil at worst wouldn't be too bad if we can't recoup anything with him.
Leafs are gonna win the cup.
Apparently the route to the cup is through the San Jose crease.
PacificOceanPotion
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- Jun 19, 2009
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It’s kinda been like that for us since Nabby left..I mean, even before him, Kipper goes to Calgary and elevates. Greiss left and played good hockey for NYI I think it was. Niemi wins a cup in Chi and underwhelmed for the most part. Who else? Umm, Jones had a nice run that included a cup appearance but injuries and downright beer league play at the end of his tenure was unfortunate. Hill was injured his entire tenure with us and when he wasn’t injured, he was not good. Feels like Reimer has been the most consistent goalie we’ve had in years.
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