Status report (Opinion)

[sampler]

16 games in, 20% of the season:

the good:
- 8-5-3, not great but not bad given all the struggles.
- Burns is a norris front runner. Beast mode is unstoppable, and he showing zero signs of slowing. His defensive play is vastly improved as well..
- Meier, Hertl, Labanc, sorenson, suomela, and all the other younger players are getting the job done. The performance of the youth bodes well for a long time.
- The cuda are tops in the division with multiple point-per-game guys, and the sharks have back-to-back CHL players of the week in checkhovich and Blichfeld which bodes very well for the future as well.
- they have manged to win alot of games with so many guys playing sub par hockey
- Jumbo is starting to look like an NHL player again. Better putting him in the bottom lines, but still nice o see him beginning to contribute.

The bad:
-Erik f***ing Karlsson! What the hell! I can handle the lack of scoring. All great players struggle sometimes and all great players need to adjust to new systems and teammates. However, the defensive effort is sorely lacking. He is a complete and total liability in his own zone and seems good for at least 2 goals against every game. He is the #1 reason why they have given up 3+ goals in 8 straight games and 12 of 16 with no shutouts and 1 goal against only twice. His play is inexcusable. I am not ready to throw in the towel, but it needs to change soon...
- Evander Kane: Yes, he got a goal on luck tonight but he has been bad for a whole month. And again, not just the lack of offense. His defensive efforts and neutral zone is horrific. He was 100% responsible for the GTG against the wild (didnt end up mattering) and his physicality and grit is gone. His effort is not OK, and he is starting to live up to his reputation for streaky play, and attitude problems...
- DeBoer: It seems like anytime there is chemistry in a line, he destroys it at the first hiccup. I cannot remember the last time the lines didnt jumble. There is no consistency. No chemistry. No smoothness. Perhaps that is by design this early in the year, but it's tough to watch and its gotta be hard for the guys. He also does not have the balls to send the messages that need to be sent. EK65 needs a night with 18 mins. EK9 might need a night on the bench. MK68 needs to be benched as well. Joachim Ryan needs more minutes given how well he has played defensively all year. He is not getting the best out of his team and it's unacceptable.
- Goaltending. Yes, the numbers are skewed as the sharks give up good chances even on few shots, but nevertheless, the goaltending is not giving them enough big saves.
- the team intensity. The sharks have beaten the best in the form of nashville, minny and the like. But they've lost twice to NYR, now to Dallas, and the rest of the bottom feeders. Its like they play down to opponents and that's not OK either.

Overall, given the weakness thus far from pavs, jumbo, EK65, EK9, Jones, Melker, and more, the sharks should suck, but remain near the top of the division. That's the bright side and should those guys get it going, then it should be damn fun.

tick tock tick tock...

Click to read more...

 

[BaileyMacTavish]

Can we fire Pete yet? Q is ripe for the taking

 

[sampler]

Can we fire Pete yet? Q is ripe for the taking

not yet. PDB has done a solid job for a while and has gotten the team to respond to adversity well over time. I expect he will find the line combos and performance needed soon. And, once it comes, the sharks could be scary. He clearly has not yet found the right chemistry or gotten Karlsson to integrate into the system and make good reads. Eventually, PDB will send the message karlsson needs and cut back the minutes. PDB tends to be a solid defensive coach and that's obvious where the team is struggling giving up 3+ goals in 8 straight. That's not the sharks identity and its pretty much completely karlsson's fault, so eventually they will clean that up.

A little early adversity is not a problem. No need to panic, and no need to fire anyone...

 

[OrrNumber4]

At this point, Jones has to be the #1 bad guy. Unacceptable performances from him; an NHL goalie has to make a couple of big saves every game...he needs to bail out his defense. He's not making those saves, and on top of it, he often goofs on what should be routine stops.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

At this point, Jones has to be the #1 bad guy. Unacceptable performances from him; an NHL goalie has to make a couple of big saves every game...he needs to bail out his defense. He's not making those saves, and on top of it, he often goofs on what should be routine stops.

He has been making a couple big saves every game. The team defense has been horrible lately.

 

[OrrNumber4]

He has been making a couple big saves every game. The team defense has been horrible lately.

He did, but on the balance, he's disappointed. The first goal was one he has to stop 98% of the time, and the fourth one 95% of the time.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

He did, but on the balance, he's disappointed. The first goal was one he has to stop 98% of the time, and the fourth one 95% of the time.

That first goal doesn’t get stopped 98% of the time by any goalie. The fourth one, eh...that was an awfully unlucky bounce that essentially turned it into a one-timer. His reaction time is damn slow, though; you could key in on just Jones in the replay and make people think it was a slow motion video. That has been an issue all season.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

There are always games where the team is out of sync. Every season. This was one of them and they were still in it against a very good team up until the end. You could tell they were out of sync with all the brutal missed passes. NHL players don't typically pass as bad as most of the team did tonight and they still dominated long stretches of the game. They will be fine. Everyone needs to chill the f*** out.

 

[Sysreq]

I think we need a system change to go back to our identity of strong team defense. Right now we are pushing the tempo up the ice and creating plenty of chances, but inevitably losing the transition game back.

 

[Munnyro]

Some of turnovers in the D zone last night were ECHL level bad. I'm not a big Jones fan but lately our play with the puck in the D zone is head scratching.

 

[sampler]

I think we need a system change to go back to our identity of strong team defense. Right now we are pushing the tempo up the ice and creating plenty of chances, but inevitably losing the transition game back.

this is the key really! Its the defensive system that is failing. Jones has been sub-par, but they gave up several full breakaways, many odd man situations, and wide open cross crease passes. Thier defensive structure is clearly lacking. However, it's not a team-wide thing. Its an Erik karlsson thing. he was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes yesterday, which was too much. His defensive game is god awful. He has been on the ice for 26 goals against (which is over 54% of the total goals against for the team), despite being out for roughly 40% of the time. Of course PK time can skew that, so here are the goals against at EV (team total = 41):

Karlsson= 24 (59% of total)
Braun= 7
dillon = 11 (zero SH goals against on the season!!)
vlasic = 15
burns = 16

The numbers are not even close! the rest of the team is defending, in general, reasonable well...

This is not a team issue. It may not be a structure issue. The numbers seem to point that it's a karlsson issue, and when a guy is on the ice for nearly half the game, he can alter team statistics dramatically.

DeBoer has a huge coaching challenge to teach Karlsson how to play solid defense. Strange as that sounds, if Karlsson shores up defensively, makes better pinch reads, better D zone coverage decisions, fewer turnovers, and just overall better commitment to D, then the sharks will start winning alot of games.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Pointing to goals against is not giving anywhere near enough context for the reasons why those goals go in. I could go back and look at all those goals and probably point to maybe a handful of which were actually on Karlsson. The reality is that the other guys playing around him need to adjust their games to get the most out of him and not the other way around. Dillon and Vlasic have both been guilty on numerous occasions of stepping up in ill-advised situations. Ryan has been guilty of it as well but since his playing time gets cut so drastically, it's hard to say it's a consistent issue (I don't think it would be).

The team as a whole is not very committed to the defensive side of the game right now. They're not tight in their own zone. They run around too much. They're pretty soft on the back-check as well. The offense as a whole leaguewide has picked up. Right now, there are more goals per game than even the 2005-06 post-lockout year when they were handing out PP's like candy and not letting any interference go. Part of it is the goalie equipment changes and part of it is simply nobody really committing to team defense yet.

 

[Naki]

this is the key really! Its the defensive system that is failing. Jones has been sub-par, but they gave up several full breakaways, many odd man situations, and wide open cross crease passes. Thier defensive structure is clearly lacking. However, it's not a team-wide thing. Its an Erik karlsson thing. he was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes yesterday, which was too much. His defensive game is god awful. He has been on the ice for 26 goals against (which is over 54% of the total goals against for the team), despite being out for roughly 40% of the time. Of course PK time can skew that, so here are the goals against at EV (team total = 41):

Karlsson= 24 (59% of total)
Braun= 7
dillon = 11 (zero SH goals against on the season!!)
vlasic = 15
burns = 16

The numbers are not even close! the rest of the team is defending, in general, reasonable well...

This is not a team issue. It may not be a structure issue. The numbers seem to point that it's a karlsson issue, and when a guy is on the ice for nearly half the game, he can alter team statistics dramatically.

DeBoer has a huge coaching challenge to teach Karlsson how to play solid defense. Strange as that sounds, if Karlsson shores up defensively, makes better pinch reads, better D zone coverage decisions, fewer turnovers, and just overall better commitment to D, then the sharks will start winning alot of games.

Is this a case of Karlsson trying too hard to make his mark offensively or just that hes always been bad at defense (similar to Burns) but it is more noticeable with 7 points on the season?

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

this is the key really! Its the defensive system that is failing. Jones has been sub-par, but they gave up several full breakaways, many odd man situations, and wide open cross crease passes. Thier defensive structure is clearly lacking. However, it's not a team-wide thing. Its an Erik karlsson thing. he was on the ice for nearly 30 minutes yesterday, which was too much. His defensive game is god awful. He has been on the ice for 26 goals against (which is over 54% of the total goals against for the team), despite being out for roughly 40% of the time. Of course PK time can skew that, so here are the goals against at EV (team total = 41):

Karlsson= 24 (59% of total)
Braun= 7
dillon = 11 (zero SH goals against on the season!!)
vlasic = 15
burns = 16

The numbers are not even close! the rest of the team is defending, in general, reasonable well...

This is not a team issue. It may not be a structure issue. The numbers seem to point that it's a karlsson issue, and when a guy is on the ice for nearly half the game, he can alter team statistics dramatically.

DeBoer has a huge coaching challenge to teach Karlsson how to play solid defense. Strange as that sounds, if Karlsson shores up defensively, makes better pinch reads, better D zone coverage decisions, fewer turnovers, and just overall better commitment to D, then the sharks will start winning alot of games.

I think there in lies the problem. If PDB is focused on making Karlsson more into what he has never been in his career and is not even his best skillset, then that is just poor utilization of his skills. You don't take a Ferrari off-roading.

Also, pointing to the goals against at EV seems like an interesting stat. There are 4 other skaters and a goalie on the ice. The defensive breakdowns we have had are not entirely player specific. The team is giving up too many odd-man rushes which are leading to our issues.

I am probably in the minority but PDB needs to stop f***ing around with EK65 the way he has done early this season. EK65 has been fairly solid in the 1st period of games and then we have almost always had shitty 2nd periods leading to PDB over-utlizing his blender and putting EK65 in terrible spots. EK65 has almost 5 more minutes TOI yesterday than Burns. What is PDB's idea here? Just throw EK65 on the ice with whoever and hope it works?

Since Burns has been playing better this season, maybe give EK65 some sheltered minutes and let him get his confidence back.

 

[sampler]

I think there in lies the problem. If PDB is focused on making Karlsson more into what he has never been in his career and is not even his best skillset, then that is just poor utilization of his skills. You don't take a Ferrari off-roading.

Also, pointing to the goals against at EV seems like an interesting stat. There are 4 other skaters and a goalie on the ice. The defensive breakdowns we have had are not entirely player specific. The team is giving up too many odd-man rushes which are leading to our issues.

I am probably in the minority but PDB needs to stop ****ing around with EK65 the way he has done early this season. EK65 has been fairly solid in the 1st period of games and then we have almost always had ****ty 2nd periods leading to PDB over-utlizing his blender and putting EK65 in terrible spots. EK65 has almost 5 more minutes TOI yesterday than Burns. What is PDB's idea here? Just throw EK65 on the ice with whoever and hope it works?

Since Burns has been playing better this season, maybe give EK65 some sheltered minutes and let him get his confidence back.

Of course there are other players on the ice, but Dmen and goalies tend to be the most influential in goals against. The goalie is the same for all players so that has nothing to do with the desparity. Secondly, EK65 has been paired with just about everyone, so it's not a specific weak D partner either. The numbers all point to it being specifically him. I mean, when a guy is on for nearly 60% of the 5 on 5 goals despite less than 40% of the ice time (at EV), that's a big disparity.

I think Deboer needs to limit his minutes more. 22 min/gm should be the target. EK65 relies on speed and skating, both of which deteriorate as ice time rises due to fatigue. He played 30 mins last game and the last 10 minutes looked just god awful. He was gassed. His best game (and the sharks' best) to my recollection was against minny. They looked strong late in the game, rolled all 6 D, and karlsson played only 20:31 minutes (still on the ice for 2 of the 3 against).

The sharks are most effective when they roll 4 lines and 3 pairs of D. Depending on PPs, PK's, etc, the target ice time at least in the regular season should be roughly:

120 total mins:
Burns 24, Karlsson 23, Vlasic 22, Braun, 20, Dillon 18, Ryan 13. that would keep everyone fresh, maintain pairings, and give the sharks good jump late in games.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I think there in lies the problem. If PDB is focused on making Karlsson more into what he has never been in his career and is not even his best skillset, then that is just poor utilization of his skills. You don't take a Ferrari off-roading.

Also, pointing to the goals against at EV seems like an interesting stat. There are 4 other skaters and a goalie on the ice. The defensive breakdowns we have had are not entirely player specific. The team is giving up too many odd-man rushes which are leading to our issues.

I am probably in the minority but PDB needs to stop ****ing around with EK65 the way he has done early this season. EK65 has been fairly solid in the 1st period of games and then we have almost always had ****ty 2nd periods leading to PDB over-utlizing his blender and putting EK65 in terrible spots. EK65 has almost 5 more minutes TOI yesterday than Burns. What is PDB's idea here? Just throw EK65 on the ice with whoever and hope it works?

Since Burns has been playing better this season, maybe give EK65 some sheltered minutes and let him get his confidence back.

I don't think it's a matter of confidence for Karlsson honestly. The only reason why his production isn't double what it is right now is because the other guys aren't ready for a lot of his passes or just simply aren't burying them. That Thornton breakaway at the end of the game is the most recent and obvious example of something Karlsson regularly does to create an opportunity. That was the difference in last night's game. The Sharks were getting chances and breakaways too but didn't bury as many of them. Once the guys up front bear down on their sticks when Karlsson is on the ice then the production will come. Once the entire team bears down defensively, they will be consistent winners. Once the latter happens, you'll see Jones' performances improve.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

Of course there are other players on the ice, but Dmen and goalies tend to be the most influential in goals against. The goalie is the same for all players so that has nothing to do with the desparity. Secondly, EK65 has been paired with just about everyone, so it's not a specific weak D partner either. The numbers all point to it being specifically him. I mean, when a guy is on for nearly 60% of the 5 on 5 goals despite less than 40% of the ice time (at EV), that's a big disparity.

I think Deboer needs to limit his minutes more. 22 min/gm should be the target. EK65 relies on speed and skating, both of which deteriorate as ice time rises due to fatigue. He played 30 mins last game and the last 10 minutes looked just god awful. He was gassed. His best game (and the sharks' best) to my recollection was against minny. They looked strong late in the game, rolled all 6 D, and karlsson played only 20:31 minutes (still on the ice for 2 of the 3 against).

The sharks are most effective when they roll 4 lines and 3 pairs of D. Depending on PPs, PK's, etc, the target ice time at least in the regular season should be roughly:

120 total mins:
Burns 24, Karlsson 23, Vlasic 22, Braun, 20, Dillon 18, Ryan 13. that would keep everyone fresh, maintain pairings, and give the sharks good jump late in games.

Your numbers are completely devoid of context is your problem here. Numbers don't tell the whole story. It's still only been 16 games and statistical flukes are going to stick around for a lot of guys. There are other numbers that point to him suffering through some really bad luck. The guy has a 55% HDCF with a 33% HDGF and a PDO of .903. That is absurd and not going to hold up over the long haul given where his CF%, FF%, and SCF% are at.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I don't think it's a matter of confidence for Karlsson honestly. The only reason why his production isn't double what it is right now is because the other guys aren't ready for a lot of his passes or just simply aren't burying them. That Thornton breakaway at the end of the game is the most recent and obvious example of something Karlsson regularly does to create an opportunity. That was the difference in last night's game. The Sharks were getting chances and breakaways too but didn't bury as many of them. Once the guys up front bear down on their sticks when Karlsson is on the ice then the production will come. Once the entire team bears down defensively, they will be consistent winners. Once the latter happens, you'll see Jones' performances improve.

I agree. We had the Chartier breakaway earlier too and could not convert. It seems like other teams are making the most of their scoring opportunities and we are not. Saying Karlsson is the problem is just an easy way out when we are giving up so many breakaways and odd-man rushes. A 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 means that we have someone stuck in the O or neutral zone. You want EK65 to score, which means he will be be caught pinching more often than not and the whole team needs to defend. Can't have it both ways.

Also, it is rather ironic that Burns is off to one of his best career starts in the year but people believe that EK65 being on the team has nothing to do with that. EK65 is taking tougher minutes and taking a lot of pressure off Burns. BTW .. this is not to give EK65 a free pass on his miscues. He definitely needs to play better but that can be said for pretty much most of the team defensively.

 

[LeeIFBB]

Love the opinion in parentheses. Not sure if it is sarcastic though.

 

[spintops]

I am all in favor of firing PDB, time to move on

 

[Naki]

Looking back to 2015 when Deboer became the coach San Jose through the first 16 games has had the following point totals: 2015 - 16, 2016 - 18, 2017 - 20, 2018 - 19.
Record wise this is the 2nd best start Deboer has had with the Sharks. Looking back at his coaching career this is the 3rd best start he has had with a team through 16 games.
I am as just as frustrated as every other fan watching this team underachieve for the start of the season but it seems like Deboer coached teams don't get off to hot starts.

 

[LeftHeartInSF]

Can we all kinda agree, just a little but, that we were sold these really rosy glasses called 'Erik Karlsson' and we have been watching our team through those glasses to the point that we expect to have the same start as the 2013 Blackhawks.

I think expectations are too high. What we should expect is to be very competitive in the playoffs. I think we will be. Its way too early to start talking big changes when we are already dealing with the big change of having two superstar offensive minded defensemen.

I think its reasonable to see where we are in January and if its truly terrible then start to worry. That was only our 5th regulation loss. Only 3 teams have fewer and we beat two of them.

 

[Groo]

Burns with way to many lazy give aways
And it not only him

 

[Lebanezer]

I am all in favor of firing PDB, time to move on

When the season started last year and the Sharks were dominating possession stats and couldn’t score goals, the team changed its system to try to add offense. It worked, at the expense of their defensive play and coverage. Then they acquired Kane and re-signed him, in the off-season they acquired Erik Karlsson, Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl evolved into bigger beasts, Joe Thornton is now healthy and playing pretty good, and they signed the Finnish league’s leading scorer from last year. With all that roster evolution wouldn’t you think that the coaching staff would re-evaluate the system and adjust accordingly? I once again doubt Deboer’s ability to evaluate his own players and their strengths, as well as how to thread them into his system. With the talent the Sharks have throughout the lineup they should not be bleeding high danger chances. A more conservative approach from defenseman not named Karlsson or Burns would be far more beneficial then prompting all 6 dmen to cheat for offense. The player who’s benefitting the least from the system is whichever goalie is in net. I highly doubt that the team’s play in the offensive zone would change at all with a tighter defensive system. I know it’s still early in the season, but we all saw a lot of the same issues last year with the new system. So if Deboer isn’t going to make adjustments, and I’d be surprised if he did, now is as good a time as any for him to move on. Of course it won’t happen, because McLellan got 7 uninspiring seasons and I doubt Deboer gets fewer after taking the team to the finals.

 

[tony d]

Still a good team but the team is supposed to be great. Need to make some tweaks to the team and the style of play. Oh and Erik Karlsson has to play better. Having watched him with the Sens I know he's better than what he's been.