In an earlier post, we took an early look at the San Jose Sharks’ forward lines if the season were to start today. Now, with Jack Thompson receiving a one-year, two-way contract and the trade of Henry Thrun, the Sharks’ defensive pairings and goaltending duo appear to be hashed out for at least the time being. The Sharks signed several NHL-caliber defensemen during the free agency period, adding veteran blueliners to the group. It gives fans a good idea of who will start the season, but now the Sharks are in a similar situation as the team was a few seasons ago, when there were a few too many veterans and not enough room for the youngsters to grow.
As of this morning, the Sharks have eight NHL-level defensemen under contract and that’s before determining if Sam Dickinson will play with the Sharks this season or be returned to his OHL team.
Under contract, the Sharks have Dmitry Orlov, Nick Leddy, John Klingberg, Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, Vincent Desharnais, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Thompson.
We’re going to assume that Dickinson will make his way onto the roster, even if it’s in a sheltered and limited capacity. Dickinson isn’t slated to make the jump to any NCAA team and the OHL feels like it’s on easy mode for him. He’s too young for the AHL, given the current rules, so the NHL appears to be his only option at the moment. The Sharks will want to get him to be in the best position for his development, which feels like it is learning from Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky and his crew.
So, with all that in mind, here’s what the pairings are likely to look like as we head into the season.
Top pairing
Mario Ferraro – Timothy Lilljegren
We’ll kick things off with Mario Ferraro and Timothy Liljegren. I have my reservations about this pairing and there are ways that I would rather things go, but I think this is the way that the coaching staff is going to play this.
If I’m targeting a player for trade before the start of the season, it might be Ferraro. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and the fact that we’ve been talking about a Ferraro trade for so long, coupled with the fact that there’s been little talk of a Ferraro extension, has me believing that Ferraro and a prospect could be on the way out sooner rather than later.
That said, if Ferraro isn’t moved out to make room for Dickinson to get more of a shot on the roster, the season will likely start with Ferraro and Liljegren as the team’s top pairing.
Second pairing
Dmitry Orlov – John Klingberg
The two additions at free agency will likely combine as the second pairing for the Sharks this season. Klingberg will also fill the role that Jake Walman did last season and play the point on the Sharks’ top power play unit. If Klingberg does not fit into the role for some reason, Orlov may take over.
Orlov and Klingberg are a legitimate second-unit pairing that will be able to eat up minutes and move the puck. Both are upgrades over players like Cody Ceci, Henry Thrun and Jan Rutta, all of whom played on the second pairing at one point in time or another last season. This is the Sharks’ best NHL fit in terms of defense.
Third pairing
Shakir Mukhamadullin – Nick Leddy/Jack Thompson
Mukhamadullin is ready to play a full season in the NHL and it would be a disservice to the young defenseman if the Sharks didn’t give him every opportunity in the world to do it and make mistakes in the process, even if it comes at the expense of keeping another player, say Dickinson out of the lineup. Should the Sharks have to choose between Mukhamadullin and Dickinson? In an ideal world, no. But, sinc that’s where we’re at, we’re giving Mukhamadullin the shot first.
On the right side, it’s Leddy and Thompson because we understand that Leddy probably isn’t going to play the full season, given his age and injury history. What’s more, Leddy didn’t approve of a trade to San Jose; he was a waiver-wire pick-up. While he’s likely to be a pro about the move and do his job as a pro would, there have to be feelings there, especially for a player nearing the end of his career, dealing with injuries, and likely wishing he could win a Cup. General Manager Mike Grier and Leddy will both have to walk that fine line of letting Leddy play enough to show the league he still has enough to be a serviceable bottom pairing defenseman on a cup contending team without risking injury. That’s the best way to get the most out of Leddy this season.
Luckily, the Sharks have Thompson as a serviceable third-pairing right-side defenseman. While it seems like this might be Thompson’s peak as a defenseman in the NHL, it’s possible he takes one more step if given a bit more responsibility than the sheltered minutes he took on last season.
Alternate defensemen
Vincent Desharnais is a good seventh defenseman for the team. He’ll offer size when the team needs it and will prevent the Sharks from rushing up younger players like Mattias Havelid, Luca Cagnoni and Leo Sahlin Wallenius from the Barracuda. This will give the Sharks the chance to let the younger players develop together in the AHL.
Thompson will also spend time in the press box when he’s not playing on that third pairing. He’s not waivers eligible, which means he’s going to have to clear waivers every time the Sharks want to send him down to the Barracuda. That might work the first time when teams are solidifying rosters, but once rosters are set, every time the Sharks shift Thompson back and forth will be a gamble. A young right-shot defenseman is something teams are looking for, so the Sharks won’t want to risk moving Thompson back and forth; he’ll sit rather than play the waivers game this season.
Then there’s Dickinson, who has forced the Sharks’ hand with his play in the OHL. As we explained before, his post-draft season was so good that he can’t be returned to his OHL team and he’s too young to play in the AHL. That leaves the NHL as the only option. But the Sharks don’t need to make the decision right away. The young defenseman can get nine games with the Sharks before the team has to make an official decision about whether Dickinson has to be returned to his OHL team. That means the Sharks can draf things out a bit. And, while we don’t “hope” for injuries per se, we can see how the roster plays out after that. The Sharks might be able to stretch things out until the World Juniors in December when they let the young defender go play there. After that, the Sharks can see where things are with the trade deadline looming and players like Klingberg, Liljegren and Ferraro all likely on the move and Thompson and Leddy potentially moving, a lot of space could open up for Dickinson.
All of this is to say that there is a potential path for Dickinson to stay with the Sharks the whole season and get NHL games in. It seems unlikely that he gets a “full” season, given the current construction of the roster, barring any significant injury of the core six/seven players mentioned above. However, if his play is so overwhelmingly good at the beginning of the season, he could force Grier to make a trade sooner in the season than the GM was possibly planning to, which may be the best outcome for Sharks fans.
Finally, lest we forget young Luca Cagnoni. As much as we’d like to hope that the 20-year-old defenseman is ready to show he’s earned a shot at a full-time NHL role, the truth is that the Sharks aren’t currently set up for the young man to take the step into the NHL. The team must accommodate Dickinson’s development, as explained above, and already has too many NHL defensemen on the roster. Cagnoni will need to play another season in the AHL, like it or not.
That said, we need to trust that Grier will do right by Cagnoni at the end of this season or at the very least next season and clear a path for him. Cagnoni will play a role as the top defenseman with the Barracuda this season and could be the first call up if the injuries on the Sharks pile up.
Sharks goaltending pairing
Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic
To the net, where the Sharks management promised young netminder Yaroslav Askarov it had a plan, and now it appears to be carrying out that plan. The team moved out top goaltender, Mackenzie Blackwood, last season and Vitek Vanecek at the trade deadline. It allowed Alexander Gerogiev to walk during free agency, clearing the path to the 1A spot. Askarov will now have the chance to prove that he has what it takes to be a starting goaltender in the NHL, an opportunity that he was not allowed behind Juuse Saros in Nashville.
If, for whatever reason, Askarov falters in his rookie season in the NHL, the Sharks have found a netminder who can share the goaltending duties with Askarov. Alex Nedeljkovic isn’t going to light the world on fire, but he was the best goaltender on, admittedly, a poor Pittsburgh Penguins team last season. And, with one season left on his contract, the netminder gives the Sharks options moving forward. San Jose can see how the duo works together this season and then decide if they want to continue with the pairing and extend Nedeljkovic beyond next season or trade him at the deadline as San Jose has done for the past several seasons. The one thing Grier has done well in his tenure as General Manager is give himself as many options as possible so that he’s not hemmed in to one path forward.
