Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
The San Jose Sharks have busted out of their inconsistent start and are looking like the Sharks franchise that has made the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons. San Jose has won eight of their past nine games, including seven straight wins at home, and is now second in the highly competitive Pacific Division.
If the Sharks want to continue their winning ways and extend their playoff streak, San Jose will need more scoring depth. The Sharks are currently right in the middle of the league (15th) in goals per game with 2.79, after ranking fourth in the league a season ago with 2.92.
San Jose has been carried by their superstars thus far. The Sharks’ five highest paid players, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Brent Burns, have combined for 52 goals and 83 assists for 135 points. The 52 goals represent more than 55 percent of the scoring production the Sharks have had this year.
In order for the Sharks to contend throughout the rest of the season and into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they need to find another scoring winger or center. Scoring centers are difficult to find since every team is looking to find that pivot in the middle, but adding a scoring winger could help push Pavelski back down to a third-line center role where he’s thrived in the past.
Two names the Sharks should target to fill their needs would be Nick Foligno of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Antoine Vermette of the Arizona Coyotes. Both of these players are unrestricted free agents at end of the season and on teams currently out of the playoff race. Also, the Sharks have the necessary cap space to bring them in and sign them to extensions if they wanted to.
Foligno is having a career year for a Blue Jackets team that is rebounding after a dreadful start to the season. He leads Columbus with 16 goals and 30 points, including a two-goal performance in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals last night. Foligno would fit perfectly alongside Thornton and would provide another potent weapon at the top for the Sharks.
Vermette is intriguing because of his ability to play center and his familiarity of playing within the same division as the Sharks. He knows the nightly battles of the Pacific Division and has thrived. Vermette leads the Coyotes in scoring with 21 points, including five power play goals. He could be used in any situation and his addition would give the Sharks plenty of flexibility. Vermette could slot into the third-line center role which would allow Pavelski to remain up top on Thornton’s wing while instantly providing a scoring threat to the Sharks’ bottom group of forwards.
The only question for the Sharks is what they are willing to part with in any trades since they are committed to their young players. While some of those young players, such as Barclay Goodrow and Melker Karlsson, have played well recently, adding another proven NHL scorer with playoff experience would boost this team back into the elite conversation in the Western Conference.
Otherwise, this will be another season of solid regular season play in San Jose with an empty feeling after another postseason exit.
Patrick Leiva is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleiva4 and add him to your network on Google.
