San Jose Sharks: A complete offseason strategy to fix the team
By Andrew Bet
2. Find a veteran backup goalie for the San Jose Sharks
The goaltending of Martin Jones and Aaron Dell ranked last in save percentages. Most firings in the NHL came this season from goalies not getting the job done, both not making routine saves or weak play from their teammates.
Jones’ workload from the previous seasons caught up to him. The sharpness or the athleticism from his arrival in the 2015-16 campaign comes in bursts only to fall wayside.
He did show signs of a rebound before the shutdown after a lengthy stay on the bench and working with goaltending coach Evgeni Nabokov.
In an unfortunate situation, Dell took advantage of getting the starting duties in net and played admirably. Reliable and confident best describe Dell since becoming the backup in the 2016-17 season.
Unfortunately, he will likely be moving on as Dell is an unrestricted free agent. Unless he takes a discount to re-sign, the Sharks will look to sign a goaltender for a low price.
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Former Sharks’ backup, Thomas Griess, is an interesting option, or perhaps Wilson sends a pick to Carolina to acquire James Reimer. Alexei Melnichuk recently signed with San Jose, bolstering the goaltending depth in the organization.
An impressive year in the KHL landed him a two-year deal with San Jose as multiple teams sought his services. A year with the Barracuda is in store for the 21-year-old so he can adjust to the style of play in North America.
Rumors swirl about potentially trading for Alexandar Georgiev of the New York Rangers. A draft pick and forward Kevin Labanc seem reasonable despite a disappointing season for Labanc who raised eyebrows after taking a one-year $1 million offer by the Sharks.
Both players are young with plenty of upside,s and a change of scenery may be in the best interests of Labanc.