San Jose Sharks preview: Erik Karlsson leads Stanley Cup hopefuls
Strengths
Power Play
The San Jose Sharks power play was a bit rough last season, but the addition of Karlsson should give them one of the best and deepest units in the NHL. Both Karlsson and Burns excel on the power play, so don’t be surprised if the Sharks get creative and put them on the ice together.
Expect Karlsson, Burns, Thornton, Pavelski, and Couture to lead the top unit. It’s a rare two defensemen unit that could work because, if you remember, Burns used to be a forward. Karlsson firing passes to him is going to be fun to watch. I’m curious how the Sharks will use Kane, since he’s a pretty lethal power play threat, but Burns does a lot of what he does better than him.
Donskoi, Hertl, and Meier are both solid options as well. Lebanc seems like he’ll be the odd man out unless there’s an injury, but he’s still an intriguing option. The Sharks power play is going to be something special in 2018-19.
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Defense
San Jose is going to give a lot of teams trouble because of their defense. They have the two most impactful defenders on offense in Karlsson and Burns. The Sharks also have Vlasic, who’s among the NHL’s best shutdown defensemen. Ryan posted very impressive numbers with Burns last year. Braun has been a solid second pairing defenseman, so he should thrive in a third pairing role.