The San Jose Sharks were not awful at creating chances last season. They just need someone to put the puck in the net.
The San Jose Sharks created chances last season.
According to Natural Stat Trick, at even strength, they had 998 high-danger chances for. On the flip side, San Jose had 874 high-danger chances against.
This proves that they were getting to the middle of the slot and creating great opportunities to score.
The problem is that even with these chances being created, the Sharks were outscored 126-100. Team Teal had a -87 goal differential which was the fourth-worst in the league overall.
Head coach David Quinn was asked about ways to help his goaltenders, but in turn, he also discussed where the team went wrong offensively.
"Mid-January, we did a deep dive into our goals against, and the No. 1 reason we were given up goals is because of offensive zone turnovers, which turned into crazy odd-man rushes. It wasn’t plays at the offensive blue line. It wasn’t crazy pinches and dives. It was all O-zone turnovers that cost us. They accounted for about 35 percent of the scoring chances against," Quinn said during his exit interview.
Now bringing it back to the main topic, the San Jose Sharks need pure goalscorers. They clearly got opportunities to the middle of the ice. Players like William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau are crucial to the Sharks' rebuild.
Eklund has a good shot but showed prowess on the man advantage with the ability to hit a one-timer. Bordeleau needs to be in the center position to be the most successful.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU4k5hP7YJY[/embed]
This play by Erik Karlsson is magical, but two sides need to be examined. First and foremost, the magical move to escape pressure at the point by EK65 and then to spin back up to the point.
That part is just superstar play, but once Karlsson gets to the center point, the forwards have crashed the front of the net and screened the goalie. Karlsson then displayed his elite vision with a pass to Steven Lorentz. That traffic in front is a perfect example of getting to high-danger areas both from where the shot is released and if a rebound is created.
This goal from Tomas Hertl is a good teaching moment for the Sharks' chances off the rush. The San Jose Sharks also need to get faster, and with a good breakout pass, that can be achieved.
The key in this situation is that the forwards executed a three-on-two effectively. Jacob Peterson enters the zone wide, and as soon as the defender is drawn toward him, he finds Martin Kaut. Kaut is playing as the high man of the three forwards.
Hertl continues his center lane drive to the crease, which creates this high-danger scoring chance. This play is something the Sharks did not do effectively enough and, just like coach Quinn said, would cause too many turnovers that lead to odd-man rushes.
San Jose Sharks General Manger Mike Grier will have his work cut out for him when it comes to picking at No. 4 at the 2023 NHL Draft. The players he could select need to be ones that can bury the puck behind NHL-caliber goaltenders.
Take a look at what the San Jose Sharks should do in the upcoming draft with looks at players like Matvei Michkov, Leo Carlsson, and Will Smith.