1. Goaltending battle
Devan Dubnyk, who was acquired in a trade from the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 5, won 12 games last season after winning at least 31 in each of the four previous seasons and had a 3.35 goals-against average and .890 save percentage. He'll compete with Martin Jones for the No. 1 job, though the two could end up splitting starts. Jones was 17-21-2 and had the worst GAA (3.00) and tied the worst save percentage (.896) of his seven-season NHL career. San Jose ranked 27th in the NHL in goals allowed per game (3.21) last season.
2. More consistent offense
The Sharks were 27th in the NHL in goals per game last season (2.57) and had two players who scored at least 20 (Evander Kane, 26; Timo Meier, 22). Forwards Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, two of their top scorers, each missed significant time because of injury. The hope is Couture, a six-time 25-goal scorer, and Hertl, who scored an NHL career-high 35 goals in 2018-19, will be able to bounce back this season. Forwards Kevin Labanc (14 goals last season) and Ryan Donato (14 goals with the Wild last season) each could add to the offensive depth.
3. Moving on from Thornton
Center Joe Thornton, who played the past 15 seasons for the Sharks, signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 16. He ranks first in Sharks history in assists (804), second in games (1,104) and points (1,055), and fourth in goals (251). His loss on and off the ice will be difficult, though the return of Patrick Marleau should help; the 41-year-old forward signed a one-year contract Oct. 13 to return to San Jose, which traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 24, and has the most points (1,102), goals (518), power-play goals (161), game-winning goals (101) and games (1,551) in Sharks history.
