The Sharks 2015 offseason can be characterized as much by who left as who signed. John Scott and Scott Hannan will, god willing, never play a single game for the San Jose Sharks ever again.
Our finned friends are still stuck with Mr. Sparky the Sparkplug (one Mike Brown) and the devourer of souls (Raffi Torres), but a huge addition to the blue line (hi Paul Martin!) and a new goalie (Martin Jones) should help San Jose get back to the playoffs.
So how will Peter DeBoer’s first San Jose team line up on opening night? Okay, let’s ask a better question. How should the Sharks look when they take the ice against the Kings for their season opener?
Our good friends at General Fanager have 14 forwards and seven defenseman under contract with the Sharks for the 2015-16 season. I’ll use this as the list to work from when devising the lines that will bring the Stanley Cup to San Jose. Of course, I expect y’all will hate what I suggest, so I welcome your suggestions in the comments below.
Oh, and this assumes we’re stuck with Brent Burns on defense for the rest of eternity.
Forwards
Tomas Hertl • Joe Thornton • Matt Nieto
Logan Couture • Patrick Marleau • Tommy Wingels
Melker Karlsson • Joe Pavelski • Joel Ward
Raffi Torres • Chris Tierney • Mike Brown
Defense
Marc Edouard-Vlasic • Justin Braun
Brent Burns • Paul Martin
Brenden Dillon • Mirco Mueller
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So that fourth line is certianly nothing to get excited about, but the defense is looking pretty good for the first time since Scott Hannan first graced us with his presence. How DeBoer plays Pavelski will have a domino effect on the rest of the team, so if he opts to not put him on the third line there’s a good chance what I have above will be nothing close to what we see on opening night.
But enough about predicting the future. How do you think the Sharks should line up against the Kings?
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