Sharks happily under the radar and winning after playoff run

A few months after their most successful playoff run in franchise history, the San Jose Sharks are comfortably under-the-radar at the top of the Pacific Division.

For years, the Sharks were the trendy pick to go all the way – even as they almost always followed big-time regular seasons with postseason disappointments. That’s not longer the case, and the team has thrived with less attention and fewer external expectations.

“The game is played on the ice. We have great respect for the opponents. There’s a lot of parity in this league,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said in a phone interview with Puck Daddy. “There’s not much difference between teams. Doing the job on the ice, getting better as a team, our focus is just to get better every day. That’s where it falls and then the results come after that. That’s what we did last year and that’s what we’ll continue to do this year.”

This season, the Sharks are pretty much as potent as they were last year when they finished third in the Pacific and then took the Pittsburgh Penguins to six games in the Stanley Cup Final.

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They’ve scored a little less at 2.43 goals per-game (compared to 2.89 last season) and their power play hasn’t clicked at as high a rate at 16.7 percent (compared to 22.5 percent last season). But the team has improved defensively in allowing 2.20 goals per-game compared to 2.52 goals per-game last season. They also have a better record in 2016-17 at 18-11-1 than they had at this point a year ago when they were 15-14-1.

“It’s a really, really tight group as they say and just keep playing and there’s different nights – I think we’re a team that can win in many different ways,” Wilson said.

There were some questions coming into the season about the Sharks – mostly because of their age, combined with the amount of hockey they’ve played since last April.

On top of the Cup Final run, core players Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Brent Burns and Joe Pavelski all took part in the World Cup of Hockey. Out of that group, only the 27-year-old Couture and the 29-year-old Vlasic are under 31.

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So far the grind of all those high-pressure games hasn’t noticeably hurt the Sharks’ consistency. San Jose’s longest regulation losing streak has been just three games in a row and this has happened once. Last season coach Peter DeBoer was able to mix in rest days to help his players stay fresh in the face of 82 games and the playoffs and through 30 this season he has his pulse on the group’s energy again.

“I mean that’s always a reality. The work-to-rest ratio and everything, the short summer coupled by the World Cup, but I’m really proud of our guys representing their countries in events like that and that’s where I think the coaching staff does a great job of when to work, when to rest, when to bring up some young guys and all that,” Wilson said. “I think our team has played well, especially with some important games at certain times and I think our best hockey is ahead of us, but you just knock on wood.”

The Sharks have struggled with injuries to a degree, but Wilson has set them up to deal with some of the wear and tear that came with the World Cup followed by the condensed schedule. This year they haven’t been hurt badly by health in part because of how their youth has given them a boost when they’ve needed it

Rookie Kevin Labanc has four goals in 17 games played and youngster Chris Tierney’s 10 points puts him one behind franchise all-time points leader Patrick Marleau and has him on pace for a career high.

Tomas Hertl has played just 17 games because of a knee injury, and Logan Couture suffered an upper-body injury on Wednesday when he took a cross-check to the head from Ottawa Senators forward Mike Hoffman, which could keep him out for a stretch.

“We’ve added 34 young players in the last two years to our reserve list and having our farm team right in San Jose and the ability to see those guys and for us to have access to them on a daily basis is really important,” Wilson said. “There’s a group of them that have come up and contributed and played really well and some that are playing extremely well that will get the opportunity in the very near future if they keep doing what they’re doing.”

There are a few trouble spots for the Sharks. For one, their play with the man-advantage is somewhat concerning since their ability to score on the power play in the playoffs played a major part in them getting to the Cup Final.

“We maybe haven’t scored as many goals as we would have liked to but there are a lot of guys in there that have scored a lot of goals in this league, so we think that will certainly come around,” Wilson said.

Also, the signing of fleet-footed forward Mikkel Boedker to a four-year, $16 million contract hasn’t worked out yet. His 0.17 points per-game average in 30 games played in 2016-17 is far below his career mark of 0.48. Wilson attributes this to Boedker’s learning the Sharks’ system.

“It’s taken him a while to understand how we play in all three zones and different things, but his last four games have been really good,” Wilson said. “I think he’s going to be an important player as we go forward.”

Some off ice issues still remain for the Sharks. In late November, the team got pending unrestricted free agent Brent Burns signed to a new contract worth $64 million over eight years, but 37-year-old franchise icons Joe Thornton ($6.75 million) and Patrick Marleau ($6.67 million) remain unsigned. Wilson didn’t want to talk about the two players and said the focus remains on winning each and every game.

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“The one thing about our group, and it’s great, is we don’t talk about any contract negotiations” Wilson said. “Like with Burns, we’ll announce it when it’s done. We’re focused on hockey and our next game against Montreal. There’s lots of time to deal with those things in due time, but the team comes first and we all agree to focus on what we need to focus on and keep the other things in confidence.”

As for Burns, who leads the Sharks with 28 points in 30 games and is a Norris favorite this year – Wilson sees no buyer’s remorse on the deal that went beyond San Jose’s usual five-year threshold.

“His offensive numbers I think are outstanding but his all-around game and how he impacts the game in many different ways, he’s one of the dominant players in the game,” Wilson said. “But he also realizes he’s part of a team and I think we have a very strong core where he’s a great teammate. It’s fun to be around, it’s fun to see his growth and I really think his best hockey is ahead of him.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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