It’s summertime, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing worth talking about in hockey. As THN.com [http://thehockeynews.com]’s exclusive summer splash series – in which we rate the off-season of every NHL team – nears its conclusion, we’re arriving at discussing the teams that have improved the most this summer. And there’s still plenty to talk about. These summer splash rankings are put together by our writers and editors. In every file, we’re examining every team’s additions, departures, hirings and firings. And once we have consensus, we’ll be rating teams with one of three labels: (1) teams that improved over the summer; (2) teams that have stayed the same; and (3) teams that got worse. Did the San Jose Sharks make the right moves this off-season? We’re well past labels No, 2 and 3, in this list, and we’re now safely in the area where the team we’re analyzing has been improved notably. And in today’s file, we’re focused on the San Jose Sharks. Now, before you spit your drink out, let’s remember the purpose of this summer splash rankings – we’re not ranking the best teams, we’re ranking the best off-seasons. And for a team like the Sharks [http://thn.com/sanjose], which is still not going to be particularly good this coming season, they can still have had a great summer, given the big picture of the franchise and what steps are needed to come next. ADDITIONS Jeff Skinner (LW), Adam Gaudette (C), Ryan Reaves (RW), Philipp Kurashev (RW), Dmitry Orlov (D), Nick Leddy (D), John Klingberg (D), Alex Nedeljkovic (G) The Breakdown: The Sharks have spent their money wisely, pouring their salary cap space into veterans who can increase expectations for the team as it strives to climb out of the infancy stages of a full rebuild. None of the above players are difference-makers at this stage in their career. Jeff Skinner was a washout in Edmonton [http://thn.com/edmonton], Adam Gaudette is a plucky player but a fourth liner, Reaves is an enforcer who’s stopped enforcing, Dmitry Orlov was a turnstile for Carolina [http://thn.com/carolina] in the Stanley Cup playoffs last year, and Nick Leddy, John Klingberg and Alex Nedeljkovic all are low-impact players. To be sure, Sharks GM Mike Grier was crafty in his additions. He knows his roster is experiencing necessary turnover, and he’s embraced that reality on the financial end of things. Indeed, 14 San Jose players will be entering the final season of their contract, and that number rises to 22 if you include players who only have one year left on their contract following this season. So, by bringing in players on short-term deals, Grier is in a great position to trade them for draft picks and prospects if they play up to expectations, even in a bad year for the team. Savvy work indeed from Grier. DEPARTURES Marc-Edouard Vlasic (D), Nikolai Kovalenko (RW), Jan Rutta (D), Henry Thrun (D), Klim Kostin (C) The Breakdown: The Sharks do have some cornerstone players they won’t consider moving, but it was time for San Jose and Vlasic to part ways. He’d become far less effective, and his $7-million salary [https://puckpedia.com/player/marc-edouard-vlasic] was too rich, even for a team that does have a ton of cap space – approximately $19.7 million in cap space [https://puckpedia.com/team/san-jose-sharks], to be precise. Thus, a message had to be sent by Grier, and you have to imagine that the Sharks’ young players understand what Grier is trying to do with this team. And Vlasic was no longer part of that picture. Other than Vlasic, San Jose also moved on from winger Nikolai Kovalenko, defenseman Jan Rutta and blueliner Henry Thrun. We don’t want to refer to players as flotsam and jetsam, but the players the Sharks have lost this summer aren’t going to be difference-makers, no matter where they’re playing next year. They were all fringe contributors, and Grier has replaced them with more proven veterans. THE BOTTOM LINE Grier has been doing things that align with the most proven way to win – building slowly after tearing it down to the studs – and slowly but surely, you can see his approach is turning out just about as planned. He’s going to have a young core of players who can grow into stardom together, and he’s going to have a good deal of cap space to eventually bring in proven veterans who want to join a winner. But while this summer’s additions have clearly improved the Sharks from the sad-sack group San Jose group that ended the year last season, don’t take this to mean we’re endorsing the Sharks as a playoff team. That’s definitely not the case. San Jose is almost assuredly going to finish at or near the bottom of the Pacific Division, but that’s not what we’re judging in these summer splash files. Jan Rutta celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames. (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/d6dba388-e6c9-4cd3-8de4-0e62509a5151.jpeg] Jan Rutta celebrates his goal with teammates against the Calgary Flames. (Sergei Belski-Imagn Images) No, instead, we’re judging the off-season of teams. And the Sharks’ roster changes have worked according to Grier’s plans, even if those plans include more seasons without playoff hockey in San Jose. A franchise that had been a lock to be in the post-season for many years is dealing with the aches and pains of birthing a legitimately strong lineup, and even though we’re putting the Sharks near the top of the list of the summer splash rankings, we’re not here to tell you it’s going to be sunshine and rainbows in San Jose in 2025-26. The Sharks are getting better, but there’s still a long way to go. SUMMER SPLASH RANKINGS 8. San Jose Sharks 9. Utah Mammoth [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-9-utah-mammoth] 10. New York Rangers [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-10-new-york-rangers] 11. Detroit Red Wings [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-11-detroit-red-wings] 12. New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-splash-rankings-no-12-new-jersey-devils] 13. St. Louis Blues [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-13-st-louis-blues] 14. Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-14-pittsburgh-penguins] 15. Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-15-colorado-avalanche] 16. Ottawa Senators [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-16-ottawa-senators] 17. Boston Bruins [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-17-boston-bruins] 18. Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-18-edmonton-oilers] 19. Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-19-minnesota-wild] 20. Seattle Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-20-seattle-kraken] 21. Columbus Blue Jackets [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-21-columbus-blue-jackets] 22. Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-22-washington-capitals] 23. Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-23-nashville-predators] 24. New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-24-new-york-islanders] 25. Tampa Bay Lightning [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-25-tampa-bay-lightning] 26. Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-26-toronto-maple-leafs] 27. Dallas Stars [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-27-dallas-stars] 28. Calgary Flames [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-28-calgary-flames] 29. Los Angeles Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-29-los-angeles-kings] 30. Winnipeg Jets [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-30-winnipeg-jets] 31. Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-31-chicago-blackhawks] 32. Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/nhl-summer-splash-rankings-no-32-buffalo-sabres] Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
