NHL division previews: 2017-18 Pacific Division

4th in 2017-18 Pacific Division – San Jose Sharks

This is the least solid selection for the Pacific Division. It would be less than surprising to see the Flames and Sharks swap spots in 2017-18, but the Sharks get the edge based off having better depth, even if most of their top players are on the wrong side of 30.

The window is closing quickly. Can the Sharks capitalize on it and make a deep playoff run?

Up front, the Sharks still have some solid talent, even despite most of them being a bit older. They have Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton, who are both still able to get the job done and produce at a top-six pace. Outside of that, they have a few question marks in Mikkel Boedker and Logan Couture that need to step up to ensure San Jose doesn’t struggle to score this season.

On the back-end, they are solid but don’t have much in the way of replacements. If they encounter multiple injuries they could quickly go on a slide and fall out of any contention for the playoffs. In Brent Burns they have a Norris Trophy winner that is capable of a point-per-game pace, and he has players like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brenden Dillon and Justin Braun to likely round out the defensive corps, with the other two being up in the air.

In net, they have Martin Jones. Jones is a solid starter, even despite his rather average season in 2016-17. He can easily be the starting goaltender for a Cup contender. The biggest issue here isn’t Jones, but who will be his back up. Troy Grosenick has two career games under his belt and Aaron Dell has 20, all of which came in 2016-17. Can one of them step up and make this a non-issue?

Player to watch in 2017-18: Martin Jones. Jones will need to bounce back and improve on the .912 save percentage he rocked in 2016-17. If he can bounce back, and get some at least average performances from whoever his back up is, he could be the biggest reason The Sharks beat out the Flames in the Pacific Division.