San Jose Sharks: Radim Simek’s return helps, but it doesn’t fix everything

San Jose Sharks defenseman Radim Simek is set to return from a lengthy absence. But while his return will certainly help, it won’t be enough to fix everything.

The San Jose Sharks are a team in need of a lot of help at the moment. Despite an overwhelmingly optimistic outlook on the season, the Sharks have struggled to a 4-10-1 start and look like one of the worst teams in the NHL.

This has left many fans asking what exactly is wrong with the team? And as is the case with any 4-10-1 team, there isn’t one solitary answer to that question.

The Sharks are a bad team right not, plain and simple. The defense is questionable, the goaltending remains lackluster, and their 5-on-5 play is perhaps the worst in the NHL.

However, the team could be in for a renewed dose of optimism in Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks when defenseman Radim Simek makes his long-awaited return from injury.

Will he solve all of the team’s problems? No, of course not. But his return certainly shouldn’t hurt.

Simek was a revelation last season after being recalled by the team in December. The Sharks would go on an incredible 29-9-3 stretch with Simek in the lineup as the Czech defenseman served as the perfect running mate for Brent Burns.

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When Simek was on the ice last season, the Sharks allowed a lower rate of shots, shot attempts, and chances further emphasizing his impact with the team. San Jose was playing their best hockey of the season with Simek in the lineup, but unfortunately, a mid-March injury ended his season early.

Simek has been out since March 12th when he suffered a nasty knee injury that resulted in issues with both his ACL and MCL. The Sharks hoped that he would be able to return in time for the regular season but his rehab clearly took longer than originally expected.

The 27-year-old played in two games with the San Jose Barracuda down in the AHL while on his rehab assignment recording an assist in both outings. Now, it appears as though he’s set to return for the Sharks’ next game on Tuesday.

How his return will impact the rest of the Sharks’ blueliners is still uncertain. The obvious choice would be to send standout rookie Mario Ferraro back down to the AHL and pair Simek back with Burns.

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However, Ferraro has been playing at a high level and it would be a shame to demote the rookie even with the return of the elder Simek.

Another option could be to remove veteran Tim Heed from the lineup and based on play alone, this seems to make the most sense. The only issue with that comes with the fact that Heed is right-handed which would make it tricky to have Simek replace him.

Either way, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Simek and Burns will be back together once again — even with the everchanging lineup configurations from head coach Peter DeBoer.

Sharks fans will be eagerly awaiting the return of Simek to the every-day starting lineup. But even though he may help matters, the issues with this team run far beyond what he can fix.