Fear the Fin has started running through the player reviews, but we thought we would take a brief pause to take a deeper look at defenseman John Klingberg and who could replace him as many San Jose Sharks fans have called for at the end of this season. Klingberg was good for the Sharks … at times. At other times … well … fans had concerns. Many have hoped that they don’t see him back in teal again.
However, that doesn’t solve the Sharks’ defensive problem. As of this writing (and I’ll admit that this article was penned in mid-May before I headed out on vacation), the Sharks have exactly two defensemen under contract who are expected to play in the NHL next season, and neither of them shoots from the right side.
Dmitry Orlov can play on the right side. Sam Dickinson cannot. We think that Luca Cagnoni will play with the Sharks next season, but he’s not a right-shot. Eric Pohlkamp shoots from the right. We hope he’s ready to make the jump, but odds are he’ll need a bit of seasoning in the AHL first. At best, the Sharks have 1.5 right-shot defensemen in the mix at the moment.
So, the team needs to find NHL players to fill the gap, and that means looking to free agency, where the pool is extremely shallow.
As I was writing up the Klingberg player review, I glanced at the defensive free agency pool to see who the Sharks could replace the 33-year-old with on the right side this offseason. Let me tell you, the pickings are slim.
Klingberg was the 8th highest scorer among free agent defensemen
Let’s start with this harsh truth: among the defensemen who are expected to become free agents this offseason, only seven other players scored more than Klingberg. Since the Sharks are looking for a player who can help the team score, it seems that if the team is going to move on from Klingberg, it would need to find a player who can score more.
Okay, so who scored more?
- Darren Raddysh (30) – 70 points
- John Carlson (36) – 60 points
- Rasmus Andersson (29) – 47 points
- Brent Burns (41) – 35 points
- Jacob Trouba (32) – 35 points
- Tony DeAngelo (30) – 35 points
- Ryan Shea (29) – 35 points
If you sort the list by points per game, the list gets even shorter. Only Andersson, Carlson and Raddysh have a better points per game stat than Klingberg.
But we’ll look at all seven defensive free agents ahead of Klingberg in scoring.
Darren Raddysh
The big game on the free agent list is 30-year-old Raddysh, who is getting interest from everyone, including his own team. The trouble with Raddysh is that this season was a huge jump in production for the defenseman. This was just his third full season in the NHL. In his previous two, he had 37 and 33 points, respectively. In 2022-23, he played 17 games and had three points. He’s not that far removed from that.
Yes, Raddysh might be a late bloomer. Or he may just be a guy who had an anomyly season at the right time.
If you look at his regularized-adjusted plus-minus (RAPM) from Evolving-Hockey for this past season, you can see just how good Raddysh was for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
However, when you look at how he performed in the three seasons prior, from 2022-25, when he played almost 2,800 minutes at even-strength, you can see a much different story.
Raddysh might just be a good, shutdown right-side defenseman. And that may not necessarily be a bad thing. If that’s his basement, the Sharks have plenty of puck-moving left-side defensemen who Raddysh can be paired with to create a productive top unit.
John Carlson and Jacob Trouba
One has to believe that the Anaheim Ducks are going to want to bring the band back together after a trip to the second round of the playoffs, so it’s hard to see either 36-year-old John Carlson or 32-year-old Jacob Trouba hitting the open market. Both Carlson and Trouba shoot from the right side, but of the two, Carlson is the one the Sharks should be targeting. He’s the only one of the two who has had more points per game this season than Klingberg.
Even at 36, Carlson is still a gamebreaker on offense, as you can see by his Evolving-Hockey RAPM chart.
The defenseman possesses the puck well and creates scoring chances. His WAR (wins above replacement) in the regular season since joining the Ducks was 1.1, according to Evolving-Hockey, and his GAR (goals above replacement) in the regular season was 6.5.
Rasmus Andersson
As fun and exciting as it would be to see the Sharks steal Andersson from the Vegas Golden Knights, Andersson was pretty adamant that he wanted to be traded to the Golden Knights and only the Golden Knights. It’s hard to see that desire changing in the offseason. This discussion is really a non-starter as a result.
However, what’s interesting about Andersson is that he came from the disaster that was the Calgary Flames and joined the Vegas Golden Knights, but his numbers didn’t change immensely. Looking at his Evolving-Hockey RAPM, you can see that Andersson’s game impact isn’t as impressive as you would have hoped it would be.
Andersson played 1,163.2 minutes with the Flames, according to Evolving-Hockey, and 716 minutes with the Vegas Golden Knights, so the difference between ice time on the two teams isn’t as big as you would like to think. Yet his numbers are just, meh, even playing about two-fifths of the season with a much better team.
What’s more, when you look at Andersson’s game impact, his GAR on the Flames was 9.6, while his GAR on the Golden Knights was 0.1. Meantime, his WAR on the Flames was 1.6, while his WAR on the Golden Knights was 0.1.
The 29-year-old (he’ll be 30 in October) Andersson would be an upgrade on the right-side over Klingberg, but he might not be as much of an upgrade as people think.
Brent Burns
I love me some Brent Burns, but let’s be honest, if Burnsie goes for another season, he’s not doing it in San Jose. Well, maybe he does if we’re the only ones to take him, or if he’s just doing it for nostalgia. If that’s the case, then welcome the big guy home; he’s still got some game.
Tony DeAngelo
This one is tough because do you want a guy like DeAngelo on your team and in your locker room? Has he done enough to redeem his image? Has he changed or simply gotten smart enough to shut his mouth? For DeAngelo, his play hasn’t been a problem as much as his personality. There are just some players that don’t fit with a city’s culture and DeAngelo is one of them. I’m not sure it matters how many points DeAngelo scores; he won’t find many fans in San Jose.
Ryan Shea
It’s hard to see the Pittsburgh Penguins allowing Shea to walk, considering that the team likely won’t have to pay the defenseman much to stick around and the team has cap space to work with, but if Shea makes it to the market, he’s someone the Sharks might consider. The 29-year-old’s one downside is that he plays on the left side, which, as we’ve already discussed, is overloaded for the Sharks.
That said, Shea came by his points in the NHL honestly last season. While Erik Karlsson was scoring most of the points on defense for the Penguins, Shea was playing alongside Kris Letang and Connor Clifton.
Conclusion
As much as Sharks fans like to complain about Klingberg and all of his flaws, the landscape of the free agent market isn’t exactly rich with options. Sometimes you have to pick the best of the bunch and whether Sharks fans like it or not, Klingberg might be it. Everyone will be gunning for Raddysh, and you’re going to be just as mad if General Manager Mike Grier overpays for the defenseman as you would be if he misses out.
It’s hard to see Carlson or Andersson leaving their current teams. Burnsie is likely retiring. As for Trouba, DeAngelo or Shea, do we really want them?
