Four biggest Sharks storylines to watch during 2023-24 NHL season originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
There are more questions than answers for the Sharks as the 2023-24 NHL season begins Thursday night.
Here are the four storylines that San Jose Hockey Now is watching most closely ahead of the Sharks’ season-opener against the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center, with coverage on NBC Sports California beginning with “Sharks Pregame Live” at 7 p.m. PT, followed by puck drop at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Who’s No. 1?
For two decades, from 2000-01 to 2020-21, the Sharks enjoyed relative stability in goal, going from Evgeni Nabokov to Antti Niemi to Martin Jones without pause. In fact, just two NHL franchises, in those 20 years, had three goalies start over 290 games each for them, the Sharks and Anaheim Ducks (J.S. Giguere, Jonas Hiller, John Gibson).
So the recent upheaval in the Sharks’ net is not an organizational norm. But it’s becoming standard — over the last three years, general managers Doug Wilson, Joe Will and Mike Grier have brought in would-be starter after would-be starter: Devan Dubnyk in 2020-21, James Reimer, Adin Hill, Kaapo Kahkonen in 2021-22 and now, Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood, once regarded as the future between the pipes for both the New Jersey Devils and Team Canada, was acquired from the Devils for just a 2023 sixth-round draft pick.
RELATED: Sharks’ 2023-24 roster breakdown
Dubnyk, Hill and Reimer are gone. Can incumbent Kahkonen or newcomer Blackwood put the Sharks back on the right path in the crease?
Which Baby Sharks Will Mature?
For a rebuilding squad that has missed the Stanley Cup playoffs for four straight seasons, the Sharks don’t have a lot of certain 25-or-under building blocks.
We’re talking about proven, everyday NHL players. Right now, perhaps only Mario Ferraro and Luke Kunin, both 25, fit that bill.
The Sharks are hoping that 21-year-olds William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau, 22-year-olds Henry Thrun and Ty Emberson, 23-year-old Filip Zadina, 24-year-old Fabian Zetterlund or 25-year-old Nikolai Knyzhov will be the next to establish themselves.
Eklund, the No. 7 overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft, is the most likely potential star of this bunch. The faster all these youngsters can acclimate to the NHL, the quicker the Sharks can get themselves out of the cellar.
Who Stays, Who Goes?
We know who’s on the Sharks roster today. It’s anybody’s guess who’s on the roster tomorrow.
Up front, Alexander Barabanov, Anthony Duclair, Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc and Oskar Lindblom are pending Unrestricted Free Agents. On the back-end, Radim Simek and Jacob MacDonald’s contracts also are expiring. And in goal, Kahkonen is poised to test free agency.
Between Barabanov, Duclair, Hoffman and Labanc, that’s a lot of veteran scoring power, which could be attractive to a contender ahead of the March 8 trade deadline. What could the Sharks fetch in return?
On the other hand, the Sharks need leaders in the room and on the ice, so not too much is thrust upon the likes of Eklund and Bordeleau at too young of an age.
So re-signing a vet or two, like possibly Duclair, who already has taken Bordeleau under his wing, makes sense.
Where Will Sharks Pick in 2024 Draft?
It’s not just about the Sharks’ first-round draft pick, which most pundits expect to be around the top of the 2024 NHL Draft. Former Jr. Shark Macklin Celebrini is the current favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick.
Grier also is closely watching the fortunes of both the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils.
In the trade that sent Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Penguins, Grier took on Hoffman, Mikael Granlund and Jan Rutta’s unsavory contracts, but also received Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-round draft pick, top-10 protected, for his troubles.
So if the Penguins are bad, but not too bad, that’s good for the Sharks.
On the other hand, every Sharks fan should be adopting the Devils as their second team.
For 40-goal scorer Timo Meier, Grier got a boatload of assets, including Zetterlund, star prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin, the 2023 first-round draft pick that became Quentin Musty, and a 2024 conditional pick.
That conditional pick is New Jersey’s 2024 second-rounder … unless the Devils, who lost in the second round of the playoffs last year, take the next step and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, in which case the second-rounder becomes a first-rounder.
It’s a real possibility that the Sharks have three first-round picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, which would be a franchise first and could add even more key pieces to the rebuild.
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