Sharks 32 in 32: [Season preview | Top prospects | Fantasy breakdown]
1. Will the Sharks be able to produce more offense?
San Jose has not made the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2018 largely because it has struggled to score goals.
The Sharks are 30th in the NHL in goals per game the past three seasons (2.58) and tied for 25th on the power play (17.1 percent). Compounding the problem is they have allowed 3.28 goals per game (ninth most in the NHL) since the start of the 2019-20 season.
David Quinn, San Jose's new coach, is well aware of those offensive struggles, saying the key will be finding multiple ways to score because the Sharks did not acquire a game-changing forward in the offseason that can ignite their offense.
In fact, San Jose traded the top point-producing defenseman of the past decade, Brent Burns (594 points since 2011-12), to the Carolina Hurricanes on July 13.
"I think we can be a more productive team and that can happen in a lot of different ways," Quinn said. "I'm still familiarizing myself with the team and the way I feel about a player today, a few weeks into training camp I may feel completely different. That's the beauty of change."
2. Can they replace Brent Burns?
No, especially considering the entire package Burns provided for the the Sharks. He was their top defenseman who got the most ice time in the NHL last season (2,144:02, 26:09 per game), played all 82 games, had 54 points (10 goals, 44 assists) and was a leader on and off the ice.
"We're going to miss 'Burnsy,' " San Jose captain Logan Couture said. "There's no way around that. It's tough to replace him. I don't know how else to say it."
Erik Karlsson is expected to make up for some of the loss of Burns. Quinn said the two-time winner of the Norris Trophy, given the to the best defenseman in the NHL, is healthy going into training camp and hungry to be a No. 1 defenseman again.
The 32-year-old had 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists) in 50 games last season.
The Sharks will lean heavily on defenseman Mario Ferraro, who had 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) and averaged 23:00 of ice time in 63 games last season.
It hurts that
Nikolai Knyzhov
likely will be out through February, if not longer, after he tore the Achilles tendon in his right leg training in August. San Jose was hoping the 24-year-old defenseman was going to be an impact player on the blue line this season.
3. Do they have a No. 1 goalie?
"Statistically it is
[James] Reimer
, right?" Quinn said.
That doesn't mean Reimer is the Sharks' No. 1 goalie after going 19-17-10 with a 2.90 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and one shutout in 48 games (46 starts) last season.
The 34-year-old will compete with 26-year-old Kaapo Kahkonen for playing time. Adin Hill was also in the mix until the Sharks traded the goalie to the Vegas Golden Knights for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft on Monday.
Kahkonen was 2-6-1 with a 2.86 GAA and .916 save percentage in 11 games (10 starts) after the Sharks acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on March 21.
Aaron Dell also is an option. The 33-year-old is expected to start the season with San Jose of the American Hockey League.
"We love our goaltending depth," Quinn said.
