Known for his booming hits and ability to move the puck, Dmitry Orlov was an exciting addition to the San Jose Sharks’ roster last offseason. On a defense corps that was the worst in the NHL in the 2024-25 season, Orlov was expected to help the team take the next step in its development. Not only was the Russian defenseman expected to help the Sharks lock things down on defense, but he was also expected to move the puck up to the young, dynamic forwards and help fuel the offense.
Orlov’s 2025-26 production
And when all was said and done, Orlov did just that, finishing the year off with a career season offensively at the age of 34.
| Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | +/- | Shooting % | TOI/Game |
| 82 | 3 | 34 | 37 | -28 | 3.3% | 21:12 |
Orlov’s 37 points were a career best, topping the 35 points he scored with the Washington Capitals in the 2021-22 season. The defenseman also had 34 assists, 7 better than he had in his 2016-17 season with the Capitals.
Orlov was healthy. He played all 82 games for the Sharks, no small feat considering that the blueline dealt with injuries throughout the season. Mario Ferraro was the only other defenseman to play all 82 games, while others like John Klingberg, Vincent Desharnais and Shakir Mukhamadullin spent time on the injured reserve list.
Forcing a square peg into a round hole
What’s interesting about Orlov’s game is that his Evolving-Hockey regularized-adjusted plus-minus (RAPM) chart, as shown below, shows that he was incredibly impactful on the power play and defensively sound, two things that should have made him one of the Sharks’ best defensemen.
However, when you look at the goals above replacement chart for all the defensemen who played 100 minutes or more for the Sharks this season, you see that Orlov was one of the least useful defensemen on the ice for the Sharks.
While Orlov’s power play impact was the best out of all of the defensemen by a country mile and even-strength defense was good, his even-strength offense was actually so bad that his defense could not make up for it.
Looking at the Sharks’ defensive pairings from Evolving-Hockey can help explain why Orlov’s numbers turned out so poorly.
| Defense Partner | TOI | GF% |
| John Klingberg | 526.9 | 42.37% |
| Timothy Liljegren | 340.6 | 32% |
| Vincent Desharnais | 176.6 | 46.15% |
| Shakir Mukhamadullin | 109.6 | 50% |
| Mario Ferraro | 102.8 | 40% |
| Sam Dickinson | 70.5 | 33.33% |
| Nick Leddy | 55.9 | 100% |
Orlov spent more than a third of last season paired with John Klingberg; approximately 38% of his even-strength time on ice was paired with the offensive defenseman. It turned out that putting two puck-moving defensemen together didn’t increase the team’s chances of creating offensive plays. In fact, the duo’s GF% (goals for percentage) was below 50, meaning they were outscored more than they scored.
Orlov had only positive or neutral GF% with two defensive partners: Shakir Mukhamadullin and Nick Leddy.
Looking at his Evolving-Hockey CF% (Corsi for percentage), Orlov was creating offense with virtually every defenseman he was paired with.
| Defense Partner | CF% |
| Nick Leddy | 54.17% |
| Shakir Mukhamadullin | 52.88% |
| Sam Dickinson | 51.94% |
| Vincent Desharnais | 51.74% |
| John Klingberg | 51.31% |
| Mario Ferraro | 50.72% |
| Timothy Liljegren | 46.37% |
The only defenseman he wasn’t creating positive offensive output with was Timothy Liljegren. Other than that, Orlov and his defensive partners at even-strength generated more offensive stats like goals as well as shots (saved, missed and blocked) than the opponents they were matched against.
And when it comes to xG/60 (expected goals per 60 minutes), Orlov’s best partners were again Mukhamadullin and Leddy. In fact, Mukhamadullin, Leddy, and Desharnais were the only partners with whom Orlov had a positive xG/60 stat this season.
| Defense Partner | xG/60 |
| Shakir Mukhamadullin | 0.62 |
| Nick Leddy | 0.48 |
| Vincent Desharnais | 0.01 |
| John Klingberg | -0.09 |
| Mario Ferraro | -0.19 |
| Timothy Liljegren | -0.19 |
| Sam Dickinson | -1.93 |
It might show that if the Sharks plan to deploy Orlov offensively, and it would seem like this is what the team is looking to do at least for next season, then the best plan would be to pair him with a less offensively minded defenseman, i.e., a stay-at-home defenseman. He was at his best when paired with Mukhamadullin and worse off when paired with players like Liljegren and Dickinson.
Next season, a return to the Orlov-Mukhamadullin pairing might be in the best interest of the Sharks.
Physical play
Finally, we’d be remiss if we didn’t spend at least a moment on the breath of fresh air that Orlov brings to the Sharks in the form of his physical play. There were times this season when the Sharks’ defense was a bit too soft, but Orlov was not one of the suspects.
In the modern NHL, where fighting is a less common occurrence, Orlov delivers something that can still turn the tide of the game, legal hits that swing momentum and stir up emotion. His booming hip checks created turnovers and put players on notice. They also added a little fire to the players on the Sharks’ bench.
Dmitry Orlov takes out Sean Kuraly with a textbook hip check 💥
— BarDown (@BarDown) November 24, 2025
(via @SnipeCity420, @NBCSSharks) pic.twitter.com/hp4VtiMPj7
Orlov’s physical play will be important next season, especially as the Sharks try to integrate Eric Pohlkamp into the NHL. Though not as large as Orlov, Pohlkamp is also known for delivering booming hits. Teaching the defenseman how to pick the right moments, line up speedy NHL players and stay in the play could be invaluable this season.
Orlov’s mentorship could usher in the next generation and help teach the physical blueliner how to play an effective game with the Sharks.
Orlov’s future with the Sharks
Orlov is entering the second year of a two-year deal that pays him $6.5 million. He has a modified no-trade list that includes 15 teams, but given how barren the Sharks’ defense is, there’s really no situation in which we could see San Jose move Orlov this summer.
Odds are that Orlov, who turns 35 on July 23, won’t be moved at the trade deadline either. We envision that barring a steep regression, the Sharks will be contending for a playoff spot and will want the defenseman for that effort. What happens after that, however, is anyone’s guess.
Look for Orlov to play on the top pairing unless General Manager Mike Grier pulls off a surprise trade this summer to land a true number one defenseman. If not, Orlov looks like the best option, though he’s better suited for the second pairing on a contending team.
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out the player reviews for the San Jose Sharks. We realize there were a lot of guys rotating into and out of the lineup and some of the key depth players were traded. As a result, Fear the Fin plans to focus on the players who are 1) still with the Sharks and 2) played 20 or more games for San Jose this season.
