SAN JOSE -- The San Jose Sharks are still looking for their first win of the season, but general manager Mike Grier and coach Ryan Warsofsky are encouraged by the team’s play.
"I'm sure it weighs on some of those guys [who have been here], but I think we've got to let it breathe a little bit," Grier said Monday.
This is the second straight season the Sharks have struggled out of the gate, beginning 0-4-2 after starting last season 0-10-1.
But Grier said this is a new team with new players and they need time to come together.
"The last two years definitely have been tough, but there's a lot of new guys in the room,” Grier said. “There's a new coaching staff, so to expect guys to come out and gel right away, chemistry-wise, learn the system, what the coaches want, the expectations, and everything, it's going to take some time."
This is not only Warsofsky’s first season as Sharks coach, but his first as an NHL head coach. He said he’s liked parts of the Sharks’ game, especially how they responded, in a 4-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday after an 8-3 defeat at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday.
"At times, we've done a really good job with that identity," Warsofsky said Monday. "We just have to be more consistent with it so we can get on teams shift after shift and get more momentum for 15 minutes, or really dominate a second period or a third period. Then we'll start seeing the success of goals going in the back of the net and wins being achieved.
“I thought last night we had a pretty solid game in some really good areas, but again, it just wasn't consistent enough, so we can get momentum and get on teams a little bit more."
It doesn’t help that the Sharks have had to play their past five games without forward Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 18-year-old had a goal and an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues in their season opener but hasn’t played since because of a lower-body injury. Grier said earlier Monday the rookie will be out at least another two weeks.
They also added free agent forwards Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg in the offseason, and Warsofsky, who replaced David Quinn as coach, is implementing a new system and identity.
"It wasn't pretty [last season], and I think everyone saw it wasn't pretty. Like I said, I think the play has been better. The compete’s been better. We just haven't found a way to win a game yet," Grier said. "The guys that have been here the last couple years, there's still definitely some scar tissue from not only the start to this season but [past] seasons also. It's a little bit of a mental battle for guys, but it's moving in the right direction."
San Jose has had chances to win games, especially its first three of the season.
In the season opener against the Blues on Oct. 10, the Sharks held a 4-1 lead in the third period. Two nights later against the Anaheim Ducks, they gave up just one goal and an empty-netter in a 2-0 loss. On Oct. 15 against the Dallas Stars, a team considered a favorite to win the Western Conference, they reached a shootout before losing 3-2.
The past three games have been rougher, being outscored 16-6, including a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, when they fell behind 3-0.
"I think the games have been better, more competitive. I think if you look at the first three games, there's a chance we're starting the year 3-0. Little things here, little moments here and there, that kind of cost us," Grier said. "The Chicago game, we let ourselves down with the penalties early. It's not an excuse, [but] every team has games in the League throughout the season that are going to be difficult.”
Against Winnipeg on Friday, the Sharks fell behind 5-1 after two periods. They allowed four in the first.
“It's difficult when you look at the schedule, and I think Winnipeg was one of them. We just started the game poorly and we never gave ourselves a chance to get into it,” Grier said. “You know, in games like that, you got to try and get through the first 10 minutes of the first period and be even or maybe down one at the most. We just didn't give ourselves a chance to win that game, and then it spiraled."
San Jose has another chance at its first win at Anaheim on Tuesday (10:15 p.m. ET; Victory+, NBCSCA, KCOP-13), the start a four-game road trip.
"I think this group is working to figure it out and find it. It's kind of a work in progress. I think it's been better, like I said, outside the Winnipeg game,” Grier said. “Overall, I think it's been better. We’ve just got to find a way to win a game now so these guys can feel good about what they're doing and that things are going to be OK."
