The San Jose Sharks are a complete mess after a dismal start to the season

Just 13 games into the season, the San Jose Sharks are a complete mess with no four-line attack and subpar goaltending as the team is showing no signs of contending for the postseason.

Logan Couture’s tenure as captain of the San Jose Sharks is not getting off to a triumphant beginning.

At 4-8-1 to begin the year, Couture and his teammates are searching for answers offensively. Five-on-five play is horrendous as opponents have out-chanced the Sharks by a wide margin.

San Jose’s power play is the only bright spot at the moment with Evander Kane reaping the rewards, scoring almost half of the Sharks’ goals with the man advantage.

Kane leads the team with seven goals after missing the first three games due to a suspension. From the start, Kane is perhaps the best player currently in the lineup, giving a consistent effort with his physical style of play.

The bar rose high after career seasons for young players in Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier, but the two have yet to make a significant impact through the first 13 games.

Hertl and Meier have a combined 14 points but only sit at three and two goals, respectively. Both have been underwhelming to find a footing in the games.

As for Couture, he is brutally honest with his assessment of his play and his teammates. He said his production is unacceptable, along with the players in the top-six forward pairings. Couture sits with only one goal and nine assists as finding the net is an overall growing concern for the Sharks.

After losing essential depth players in Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist in the offseason, the Sharks got exposed at the forward position. Coach Peter DeBoer relies on using all four lines at any juncture of the contest but so far finds himself juggling lines as his team struggles at even strength.

Doug Wilson’s promise of allowing prospects to make the opening lineup is not looking fruitful at the moment. The move backfired as no current player on the San Jose Barracuda is ready to make the impact Wilson and the organization expects.

Lean Bergmann and Danil Yurtaykin were the surprise training camp players to crack the lineup for the opener. Bergmann appeared to be the steady fourth-line forward; the Sharks sought, and Yurtaykin could fill the offensive void left by the departures.

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Both did not raise their level from training camp and are now playing with the Barracuda.

The salary cap became a concern after locking up Erik Karlsson, which is starting to become a buyer’s remorse. Karlsson is skating well after offseason surgery, but his plus/minus -11 rating is hurting the Sharks. An offensive-minded defenseman, Karlsson is not making smart decisions with the puck.

The high praise from Wilson and the scouting staff is all smoke with no fire to the current Sharks’ prospects. San Jose sits at the bottom with the existing talent pool of NHL-ready players with questionable decisions in what scouts are searching for in drafting or signing players.

Evidence of Wilson making a blunder on the young players came after the team announced the return of Patrick Marleau to the Sharks. At age 40, Marleau is providing leadership to the younger players and trying to help the team in all aspects.

Falling behind is a recurring theme for the Sharks, not getting a chance to establish a heavy forecheck or create early scoring opportunities. Tuesday’s game against Boston is perhaps rock bottom for a team searching for answers, getting outplayed by the Bruins.

The Sharks tend to let average teams appear to be the best in the NHL despite the Bruins only having one regulation loss in their campaign.

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A big concern is the inconsistent goaltending by Martin Jones and Aaron Dell, both with a combined save percentage sitting at the bottom of the league. The shaky outings from last year came full circle to start the year an appears to have no solution.

Blame cannot go entirely on Jones or Dell as the Sharks’ poor play is often leaving the two left hanging to dry as opponents bury the miscues.

In Toronto, the Sharks staked a 1-0 lead, but could not muster any offense, ultimately relying too much on Jones and losing 4-1. The same story happened again in Boston with Jones making save after save but generating zero offense in the 5-1 embarrassment.

Plenty of faults can go all around, but the goaltending of Jones is getting better through each start. Hopefully, the Sharks can find some consistency before plummeting further down the Pacific Division standings.

Right now, the execution is not happening. Passes are not crisp, there’s too much overthinking of setting up, and not having a shoot-first mentality is hurting the Sharks.

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Calls for DeBoer to be fired are irreverent as he is not the reason for the early struggles. The players on the ice are just not playing up to NHL standards. Help appears to be on the way as Radim Simek is on a conditioning assignment with the Barracuda.

The defenseman became a mainstay in the lineup after locking up the sixth defenseman position, which helped the Sharks become a legitimate team during a long stretch before going down with a knee injury. Perhaps he can deliver again and be active.

No matter the reasons or explanations, the Sharks are a complete dumpster fire after a dismal start to the 2019-20 season. To fire DeBoer would be a terrible decision and signal a team waving the white flag.

With the team returning home, perhaps some home cooking can jump-start the San Jose Sharks.