Besides landing the number one pick in the draft, last season was one to forget for the San Jose Sharks. Some of the biggest lows of the season included a 12-game losing streak and giving up 10 goals in back-to-back games. This team was historically bad in some aspects last season, and it looked like for a while that their win total could be in the 10-15 range.
One reason the Sharks avoided one of the worst seasons in NHL history was the goaltending. Mackenzie Blackwood stole more games and played much better than his .899 save percentage would lead most to believe. Having a slightly below league average save percentage behind one of the worst bluelines in the NHL isn't something that should be ignored.
The Sharks goaltending should be better next season.
The Sharks added Vitek Vanecek, a goaltender that has four seasons under his belt. Before last season, Vanecek posted a save percentage of .908 or better with Washington and New Jersey. Last year his performance went way down, but the Devils defense had a lot of injuries, and counted on a lot of young guys to play big minutes.
The Sharks didn't exactly revamp their blueline this offseason, but they have established an NHL level goalie tandem at the very least. The goal in San Jose this year isn't to reach the playoffs, it's not even close to that. It's about growth, and Blackwood/Vanecek should earn them an extra 5-7 wins this year.
Spirits should be high in San Jose, and it's all because of the young guns coming in. Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini might be a year or two away, but San Jose has some exciting players already on the roster. Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund were just two of the young players that had breakout seasons last year. It's going to be a long road back to success for San Jose, but if you squint you can start to see the pieces that will get them there.