2023 Sharks defense lacks offensive firepower

Looking at the options for the San Jose Sharks on defense this season, one thing is for sure: it will not be exciting. The best thing you can say about the Sharks’ defense is that it will be defensively sound. There will be no more of those coast-to-coast effortless glides through the opposition to score a goal or those thread the needle passes to find the breaking forward. Those left with Erik Karlsson.

But we must move on and if there’s a silver lining to this season, it’s that sooner or later we’re going to see the young prospects take over the Sharks’ blueline. Until then, it will be a steady helping of veteran players.

What will be interesting to see with this Sharks’ defensive corps is who moves and when. It’s clear that San Jose has a lot of young players that management wants to work into the NHL; it’s just a matter of when. Picking Ty Emberson up off of waivers and adding Leon Gawanke and Valtteri Pulli have put San Jose in a tough position.

There will reach a point when these young players will force their way onto the lineup. Decisions will have to be made and trades will have to happen. San Jose has too many defensemen with NHL contracts and so something will have to move soon.

Matt Benning

Current Age: 29
Position: RD
Last season: 77 GP, 1 G, 23 A
Contract: 4 years, $1.25 million AAV (expires after 2025-26 season)

Benning was brought in to do a job and he has done that job well. Last season, Benning was one of the better Sharks players on defense as we outlined in our player review. He drew more penalties than he took and was better than the league average in expected goals against.

He set career highs both in games played and points last season.

What’s next?

For Benning, he will be asked to do more offensively. After trading Karlsson, the Sharks are without a puck moving defenseman. Benning has been used on the second unit power play to fill that role. He will need to find a new aspect of his game if he’s going to succeed.

Season outlook

There is nothing to suggest that Benning will regress defensively this season. He will play the defensive role expected of him and make the offensive plays when they’re available. Benning will once again be that reliably reliable defenseman.

By taking on a power play role, Benning may be able to inflate his offensive numbers. That could make him good trade bait midseason or at the trade deadline. With a very easy to swallow $1.25 AAV over the next three seasons, Benning can be a solid sixth/seventh defenseman on a contending team if the Sharks are willing to part with him.

Kyle Burroughs

Current Age: 28
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 48 GP, 2 G, 3 A (Vancouver Canucks)
Contract: 3 years, $1.1 million AAV (expires after 2025-26 season)

The free-agent signing of Burroughs was an interesting one for Sharks fans. It was a clear indication that San Jose knew it would be trading one or more defensemen and the team was not sure if it would have the depth to make up for that trade. Burroughs was a good option for a rebuilding team.

Burroughs was a healthy scratch midseason for the Vancouver Canucks and only ended up playing 48 games for a team that finished sixth in the Pacific Division. He’s a clear sixth or seventh defenseman, something that the Sharks have plenty of.

What’s next?

Burroughs is on the opening night roster, though whether he watches from the press box or skates out of the Shark head is yet to be seen. For Burroughs, he will need to differentiate himself from the other defensemen if he wants to play.

That means being defensively responsible in his own end and adding to the offense. He will need to have strong passes out of his own zone and good control of the puck when leaving the Sharks’ end of the ice.

Season outlook

Burroughs’ playing time will depend a lot on how much pressure the Sharks want to put on younger defensemen like Emberson, Nikita Okhotiuk and Nikolai Knyzhov. Burroughs may spend a good amount of time filling in as those players sit for a game or two to gain more experience from the press box.

When he is playing, expect Burroughs to fall into a similar role as Benning. The Sharks could place Burroughs in situations to show the rest of the league he is a serviceable sixth or seventh defenseman. His $1.1 million cap hit gets more and more appealing to teams destined for the playoffs as the season progresses. Defensive depth is something contending teams are always looking for.

Burroughs is a trade chip that buys the Sharks a little more time for its young defensemen to develop. His role expands if a player like Benning or Jan Rutta is traded midseason.

Ty Emberson

Current Age: 23
Position: RD
Last season: 69 GP, 7 G, 20 A (Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL)
Contract: 1 year, $775,000 AAV (RFA at the end of the season)

When the Sharks picked Emberson up off the waiver wire late last month, it was a confusing move. San Jose already had good competition from the team’s young core for the open spots on defense. Emberson seemed to make things less clear.

However, Emberson fits a role that General Manager Mike Grier seems to like in defensemen. He’s a defense-first player who has the hockey smarts to know when to contribute on offense. Emberson has grown his offensive game, scoring 27 points in 69 games in the AHL last season.

What’s next?

Picking Emberson off of waivers has made the decision even tougher for the coaching staff. San Jose will have to keep him with the NHL club or risk losing him by placing him on back waivers. You don’t go through all the hassle of annoying the management of another team unless you mean to keep a player, so expect Emberson to start on defense for the Sharks.

Season outlook

It’s really hard to say what happens to Emberson this season. We presume that the Sharks scouts did their homework and had a reason for choosing him over some of the other prime waiver options.

For now, pencil him in as a happy surprise. He’ll play good defense once he learns the Sharks’ system and will be good for approximately 20 points.

Mario Ferraro

Current Age: 25
Position: LD
Last season: 72 GP, 4 G, 7 A
Contract: 4 years, $3.25 million AAV (expires after 2025-26 season)

Ferraro said at the end of last season that he wanted to get a better handle on his emotions. He believed that if he managed that, his game would improve. Now, we get to see if he was successful.

Last season was a bit of a disappointment for the 25-year-old. He scored just 11 points in 72 games. His defense was okay. He blocked shots and logged 20-25 minutes per game, but like most of the team, he was not exceptional.

What’s next?

He’ll look to get back on track this season. One of the things that will help will be players like Rutta and Marc-Edouard Vlasic in the lineup. With two veteran defensemen capable of playing alongside young prospects, Ferraro may finally get a defensive partner he can build some chemistry with.

That should go a long way to improving his defensive numbers and potentially translating into some offense.

Season outlook

Look to Ferraro to put up better numbers than last year. He should be in the 15-20 point range, though that number could go higher if he ends up with time on the power play. As mentioned, the Sharks are lacking an offensive-minded defensemen this season and if Benning doesn’t pan out, Ferraro may be the next candidate to play the point on the second unit. If he does, his numbers could jump a bit higher.

He will likely continue to lead the team in blocked shots and play 20-25 minutes per game.

Nikolai Knyzhov

Current Age: 25
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 12 GP, 1 G, 0 A
Contract: 2 years, $1.25 million AAV (expires after 2024-25 season)

The big story for Knyzhov is that he is finally healthy. The 25-year-old missed nearly two years of play and development because of injuries. He finally made it onto the ice for the Sharks in March and played 12 games leading into the end of the season.

His play earned him a new contract in the summer.

What’s next?

This is really an extension of Knyzhov’s reintroduction to the NHL. He looked like he would be a good mid- or bottom-pairing defenseman before the injuries, but it’s been a long time since then. Knyzhov’s goal this year is to establish his game and show that he is capable of being a full-time NHL player. A full season in good health is what we’re looking for this year.

Season outlook

The landscape of the Sharks’ defense has changed in the two years since Knyzhov was supposed to start his path to the NHL. Now, there are several different young defensemen also looking to establish their games.

Knyzhov will fight for ice time, but trades midseason and at the deadline will clear the way for him to get more playing time and possibly secure his spot for next season.

Jacob MacDonald

Current Age: 30
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 58 GP, 1 G, 7 A
Contract: 2 years, $762,500 AAV (expires after 2023-24 season)

MacDonald arrived with the Sharks via a trade with the Colorado Avalanche last season. He played 25 games for San Jose, some on defense and some in the forward position. He was a utility player for a team that didn’t have a lot of forward depth.

What’s next?

MacDonald will start the season on the injured reserve, and there are no details on when he’ll be back in the lineup. His first step will be to get healthy. After that, it’s a question of whether or not the Sharks have a place for him in the lineup.

Season outlook

San Jose now has plenty of forwards, so playing him upfront is not an option. On defense, he appears to be the odd man out. So, when he gets healthy, MacDonald will likely end up on waivers and move down to the Barracuda.

He’ll be one of the call ups if someone gets hurt, but it’s hard to envision MacDonald playing more than a handful of games for the Sharks this season.

Nikita Okhotiuk

Current Age: 22
Position: LD
Last season: 58 GP, 1 G, 7 A
Contract: 3 years, $905,000 AAV (entry-level contract expires after 2023-24 season)

One of the key pieces of the Timo Meier trade with New Jersey last season, Okhotiuk isn’t a high-scoring defenseman. However, he does have a higher defensive ceiling than some of the other players on the Sharks.

Okhotiuk is a physical defenseman with a defensive mindset. He has more than 100 games played in the AHL and might have made the Sharks team after the trade if he hadn’t had season-ending surgery in February.

What’s next?

Okhotiuk is injured to start the season, and so, like others on this list, his first step is getting healthy. After that, the Sharks will have to be very careful how they handle him. Okhotiuk is not waivers exempt, so once he joins the team, he’s likely there for good. The last thing the Sharks want to do is lose him to another team for nothing.

That said, Okhotiuk will have to prove that he’s ready to make the jump to the NHL. At just 22, he’ll need to show the maturity to make good decisions with the puck in high-pressure situations.

Season outlook

The Sharks will choose the right time to send Okhotiuk down and he’ll clear waivers (knock on wood). By midseason, he’ll get called up and spend the remainder of the season with the team.

He will impress Sharks fans with his skill and reliability on the blueline. By next season, fans will be very excited about him.

Jan Rutta

Current Age: 33
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 56 GP, 3 G, 6 A
Contract: 3 years, $2.75 million AAV (expires after 2024-25 season)

Rutta was brought to the team as part of the Karlsson trade. While the Sharks probably didn’t need another defenseman to add to the mix, he adds some value to a weak blueline.

Like most of the players on this list, Rutta isn’t going to score a lot. He had fewer than ten points on a Pittsburgh Penguins team that barely missed the playoffs. However, he was also a plus-3 with an average of 17:07 minutes of ice time per game.

Fans can rely on Rutta to take on his share of the workload and not be a defensive liability.

What’s next?

Rutta will offer a veteran presence as San Jose starts introducing a younger crop of defensemen to the league. As he did with Victor Hedman when the pair played together with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Rutta will be asked to be a steadying presence for a more mobile defenseman.

Season outlook

Rutta will play closer to 20 minutes per game, something he has not done since his first season in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017-18. He will be relied upon to play with a variety of defensive partners, often finding himself alongside the latest call up from the Barracuda.

Radim Simek

Current Age: 31
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 44 GP, 1 G, 2 A
Contract: 4 years, $2.25 million AAV (expires after 2023-24 season)

Simek is in the final year of a four-year deal that paid him $2.25 million per season. Unfortunately, he has never played a full season since signing that deal. Simek has battled injuries throughout his five-year career in the NHL, playing just 44 games last season.

What’s next?

This season, health is an issue again. He hasn’t played since he went down awkwardly during the preseason game on Sept. 27 and while he’s not on the injured reserve, he is considered injured and was not part of the Sharks’ practice group completing drills in preparation for opening night. Getting healthy will be the first step for Simek.

Once he is back, Simek will need to be one of the more consistently reliable defensemen on the ice if he wants to get playing time. There are a lot of players in the same boat and Simek will need to find a way to make himself stand out.

Season outlook

Simek is a difficult case in that you want to cheer for him as a player and a person, but the writing seems to be on the wall. His lack of health during his entire NHL career has consistently pushed him further and further down the Sharks’ depth chart.

In the interim, the Sharks have added younger prospects and a slew of veterans that have sadly pushed Simek out of the top six and probably even the top eight defensemen in the Sharks’ organization. When Simek is healthy, his first stop may very well be the waiver wire.

Henry Thrun

Current Age: 22
Position: LD
Last season: 8 GP, 0 G, 2 A
Contract: 2 years, $1,031,250 AAV (entry-level contract expires after 2023-24 season)

Thrun arrived with the Sharks via trade. The young defenseman decided he would not play for the Anaheim Ducks once his college career was finished and the Ducks traded him to try and recoup some of the loss.

Thrun signed a two-year deal with San Jose and immediately found himself on the ice for the Sharks. In eight games last season, he had two assists.

What’s next?

Thrun is a defenseman with an offensive upside, something the Sharks are sorely lacking at this current juncture in the rebuild. For him, proving that he can consistently contribute offensively will be key in keeping his spot in the lineup.

As the only waivers eligible player of the bunch, Thrun can easily be sent down to the AHL. By adding to the offense without taking away any of the defense, Thrun can make it impossible for the coaches to send him back to the Barracuda.

Season outlook

As much as we would like to see Thrun stick with the Sharks all season, he will unfortunately be a victim of the Sharks’ circumstances. He will eventually be sent down to the Barracuda until the Sharks can clear out the log jam on defense.

Once that’s done, expect Thrun to be back with the team and contributing offensively. Pencil him in for 5-10 goals and 15-20 points.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Current Age: 36
Position: LD/RD
Last season: 78 GP, 1 G, 17 A
Contract: 8 years, $7 million AAV (expires after 2025-26 season)

Vlasic saw a statistical resurgence last season, taking a step back toward the defensive stalwart that he once was on the blueline. He was better than league average in possession and expected goals against, a stat most of last season’s Sharks’ defensemen could not claim.

What’s next?

Vlasic will need to maintain that level of play if he’s going to make himself a valuable asset to the Sharks. His $7 million a year contract makes it difficult to sit the defenseman, so he will likely play no matter what the on-ice product is.

Last season, Vlasic was pushing to play alongside Karlsson and add to the Sharks’ offense. Karlsson’s gone, but Vlasic could be asked to put his money where his mouth is, so to speak. If the Sharks are in need of another option, he may find himself playing point on the second power play unit sometime this season.

Season outlook

Expect to see more of the same from Vlasic this season. It will not be a regression, but it will not be a step forward either. For a 36-year-old defenseman, that’s not a bad position to be in.