What noise? Sharks ignoring detractors

Most pundits have the San Jose Sharks finishing in the basement of the NHL this season. The Athletic, for example, has San Jose as the worst team in the league with a leadoff line of: “In the immediate aftermath of the Erik Karlsson trade, one thing was clear: The San Jose Sharks were going to be a baaaaaaaad hockey team in 2023-24.”

Ouch.

Of course, Sharks fans who watch the team know what the outside world is saying. We’re torn between hoping for that first overall draft pick in 2024 and hoping that the Sharks give a big middle finger to all the pundits in the league who are counting this team out. It hurts to root for your team to lose.

Whether the Sharks accept what the pundits are saying or not is one of those deep, dark secrets every player keeps to himself. However, some of the players are going into the season with a chip on their shoulders.

“I don’t care who predicts anything. Whatever. People can predict whatever they want. I just want to win games,” said goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen. “That’s my only goal going into any given game. Just want to win the game. Yeah, I don’t care what are people’s predictions.”

“Honestly, I don’t really look at that or listen to that. I don’t really have the time to,” said Sharks captain Logan Couture. “For most people, I think you can use that as motivation if it helps you.”

The players who were in San Jose for the end of the last season are using that as fuel for the fire as well. They remember the feeling of losing and it’s something they don’t want to repeat.

“We have a good crop of guys that are here from last year, and they know what it was like to play those last little bit of games. You’re not really fighting for anything,” said Kevin Labanc. “So, I think that we have fire in our belly to push and give it everything we got first 10 games of the season.”

“I think as competitors, you want to be competitive, you want to win games, and that’s why we’re here. We’re not here to lose games,” said Matt Benning.

San Jose Sharks forward depth an asset

Several of the players point to the depth of the forward group as a strong point for the team this season. The team added players like Anthony Ducliar, Mike Hoffman and Mikael Granlund in the summer. All three are proven scorers in the NHL. Duclair scored 31 goals for the Florida Panthers in 2021-22, while Hoffman scored 36 goals for the Panthers in 2018-19.

“I think we got a really deep forward group. Look at all the guys that were brought in and the previous guys that have already been here. It’s gonna be a deep group and there’s a lot of good hockey players out there,” said Hoffman, who has spent time playing alongside Tomas Hertl and Filip Zadina early in the training camp.

For Duclair, it does not matter what team he plays on or what the expectations are, his approach to the game does not change.

“I think for us, I think our effort can be non-negotiable. You just gotta go out there and work hard; doesn’t matter what the score is. And then you see what’s going on from there,” said Duclair.

Jan Rutta, a new addition on defense via the Erik Karlsson trade, has played most of his career on teams with high playoff expectations. Rutta won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He says while the expectations might be different, it does not change what he does on the ice.

“Last few teams I’ve been on, they’re always…the expectations were the highest. Maybe here the expectations are a little lower. But that doesn’t change the attitude and the work ethic,” said Rutta. “I always took pride in my work ethic and the commitment and dedication. So that’s something we can infect the group or just push guys a little harder. So that doesn’t really change.”

Sharks stay positive despite league predictions

Right now, the Sharks’ players are sticking to what’s in their control.

“It’s only been three days in the camp. So we can only work hard and do our job and we’ll see. Maybe we’ll be great, but it all starts in the locker room and with hard work,” said Rutta

“I think it’s just one foot in front of another and keep our head down and work hard,” said Benning. “I don’t think people are giving us a chance this year, but there’s gonna be motivation…we already talked about it, coming out and having a good start, doing that sort of thing. So, there’s a lot of guys that don’t like what people have to say about us, but we’ll be ready. We’ll be ready to go game one.”

“We want to be in the best position that we can be in. We have a great team. We got a lot of guys working and I think that we understand Quinn and we understand the systems and where he wants us to be physically and mentally,” said Labanc. “So, it’s all about just putting it out on the ice and making sure that we get the job done.”