Predicting The Sharks Roster
It's July, the free agency frenzy dust has settled and training camps are right around the corner. After the Sharks somewhat shook up their lineup by adding skilled veterans and opening up spots for young prospects, lets take a look, line-by-line, at next year's roster.
Because the Sharks hired a new coach in Pete DeBoer, there's no way to know what he likes in terms of line chemistry. So, these are lines I think would be best for the team by the bay.
Let's start from the top:
LINE #1
LW- Tomas Hertl
C - Joe Thornton
RW - Joe Pavelski
The Sharks have the luxury of a deep forward group this year. I could've easily picked Patrick Marleau, Logan Couture or new comer Joel Ward to put up in the top line. I like Hertl along with Thornton because they seemed to do well paired up together in the past. Pavelski is a star player in the NHL these days, and he too does well with Thornton. Pavelski was tied for fifth in goals last year with 37, Thornton tied seventh for assists and Hertl has the potential for around 30 goals is he stays healthy. This is a top line on any team.
LINE #2
LW - Patrick Marleau
C - Logan Couture
RW - Joel Ward
This line has it all, in my opinion. Marleau still has top tier speed at his age, Couture is a highly-skilled puck handler and Ward is a gritty, do-it-all kind of player. Marleau was not his usual self last year. As the franchise all-time goals leader, he put up only 19 goals - his lowest since 2007-08. Ward may take some time to develop chemistry with this line, but he has experience - they could be deadly as a second shift.
LINE #3
LW - Matt Nieto
C - Tommy Wingels
RW - Melker Karlsson
This is the young core of the Sharks that can really do some damage together. Wingels is developing into a nice two-way player who led the team in hits last year (and was eighth in the league), while Karlsson had a nice rookie year with 13 goals and 11 assists and Nieto with a decent 10 goals and 17 assists.
LINE #4
LW - Nikolay Goldobin
C - Chris Tierney
RW - Barclay Goodrow
Anther young line here. I've been waiting all year from Goldobin, he has the potential to be a very solid winger, and after bulking up in the last year, he has a shot to crack the opening day roster. Matched up with him will be Chris Tierney and Barclay Goodrow - two guys who got some decent playing time last season.
DEFENSE PAIR #1
LD - Paul Martin
RD - Brent Burns
With the Addition of Paul Martin, the Sharks finally have another lefty puck-moving defenseman. He should compliment Burns nicely as a defensive anchor, but he has shown some offensive pop throughout his career.
DEFENSE PAIR #2
LD - Marc-Edouard Vlasic
RD - Justin Braun
The "veteran" Vlasic has been in the league for nine full seasons, and he's only 28. He can shut down any offense and his offense has improved slightly over the last few years. Pairing him with the offensive Braun should be a good match.
DEFENSE PAIR #3
LD - Mirco Mueller
RD - Brenden Dillion
The youngest of the defensmen, Mueller and Dillion spent part of the season last year with the Sharks - Mueller being called up and down (39 games played) and Dillion was traded to the Sharks from the Stars mid way through the season (60 games). Dillion just signed a 5-year contract extension and Mueller is still only 20 years old - both of these guys are expected to be the future of the Sharks defense in the upcoming years.
GOALTENDER
1 - Martin Jones
1A - Alex Stalock
Stalock has been with the Sharks organization for a long time, and it feels wrong not to give him a chance at the starting job over a younger newcomer in Jones. They will battle it out over training camp and the preseason, but I'll assume Jones takes the top spot based on his heavier contract and higher potential.
