Earlier this month, I looked at the San Jose Sharks’ weak defensive group and the issues that could arise on their blue line this season. While the front office and coaching staff have a lot of work to do to build up the defense, they face the opposite problem with their forwards. They might have more forwards worthy of NHL playing time than they have NHL roster spots, and they’ll need to figure out how to manage that. The team needs to use this season to juggle the players in question and lay out a plan for their forward lines in future seasons.
Sharks Have Too Many Forwards, Need to Balance Lineup
By my count, the Sharks currently have 19 or 20 forwards who might deserve NHL appearances this season, a number that didn’t reduce even by trading Danil Gushchin. Compare that to the maximum of 15 they could possibly carry on their active roster and 12 who can suit up for any given game, and they’ll have some tough decisions.
As a rebuilding team, the Sharks want their lineup to consist of a mix of young players and veterans, and they certainly have plenty of both. The challenge they face is determining which of those skaters should take the ice from game to game. Many of those young players are looking for a breakthrough and a chance to prove they belong. Others like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith hope to take a leap now that they’ve established themselves. Furthermore, while a lot of the veterans are bottom-six grinders, the Sharks need those players as well, at least in part to insulate those young guys. With so many capable players who deserve NHL playing time, striking the right balance in their rotation won’t be easy.
The Sharks do have ways to mitigate these concerns. At least some of the veterans will rotate in and out as healthy scratches, and a few of them could get traded, although probably not until the season is already underway. A handful of the young players will spend a substantial portion of the season in the minor leagues, and in at least one case, might not join the Sharks at all. Of course, not all of them can be healthy scratched or sent down at the same time. And with so many of them being new, either to the Sharks organization or the NHL as a whole, the coaching staff will need to use some experimentation to mix and match the best possible line combinations.
Related: Sharks Still Need to Solve Their Right-Shot Defenseman Problem
The Sharks are at something of an inflection point in their rebuild, and need to use this season to determine their roster outlook for future seasons. They benefit from having a lot of different options and players to look at, but the concern is that they might actually have too many choices.
Sharks Don’t Have a Best Solution
All things considered, this is a relatively good problem for the Sharks to have. It certainly beats past seasons, when they had to stretch to reach a full NHL-caliber roster. But it’s also not a very common problem, meaning they don’t have a lot of precedent to figure out who belongs at which level. As such, both the coaching staff and the front office should try out a few different methods.
The coaches will use a lot of different lineups and line combinations, and perhaps give the younger players days off for development like they did with Smith last season. Meanwhile, the front office could move the younger players back and forth from the minors and might eventually trade some forwards to make room for others. The team as a whole will be learning a lot about which forwards fit best as the season progresses, but with playoff contention not a major concern, they can afford to do so.
The Sharks might not match up evenly with most NHL teams yet, but for the first time in a few seasons, they seem to be solidifying one of their position groups. Over the course of the next year, they have an opportunity to evaluate and filter specific players from a group that’s too large right now. From where they were not too long ago, it’s not a bad position to be in.
