2019/20 NHL Season

SAN JOSE — The Sharks didn’t need any more obstacles in their bid to reach the playoffs this season.

But they’ll have another major hurdle to clear if center and captain Logan Couture has to miss an extended period of time with a lower body injury he suffered Tuesday night against the St. Louis Blues.

It’ll likely be too much to bear for a team that is already eight points back of the Winnipeg Jets and Vancouver Canucks for the second and last wild card spot in the Western Conference.

With all that in mind, we open up the Sharks mailbag for the first time in 2020.

If Couture injury looks like it’ll be weeks or months long, leaving the Sharks even more thin up front, does (Doug Wilson) start making trades this week? (@erikthered92)

Do the Sharks become sellers at this point and if so who are the players that they say goodbye to? (@_Sharksdivision)

Who do you predict is not on the team on February 25? (@jumbofan2018)

Assuming Couture has to miss at least a week or is out until the end of the month, I do not see Wilson adding a player who is currently or has a recent history of being a top six forward. They can’t afford to give up more future assets. There is a chance the Sharks bring in another depth forward like Stefan Noesen to bolster the bottom six, but in all likelihood, I see the team giving more minutes to players already in the organization.

If you have not already, we strongly encourage you to sign up for a digital subscription, which gives you access to all content on the Mercury News and East Bay Times websites. With your support, we can continue bringing these stories — and much more — to your screens. Here’s where to sign up for the season pass: Mercury News, East Bay Times.

This could be an opportunity for someone like Joel Kellman or Antti Suomela to show coaches and management that they can handle a greater workload. They may get more time on the penalty kill, or even some minutes in the top nine.

I do think the Sharks will be sellers at the deadline, with Brenden Dillon a candidate to be moved. Is on an expiring contract, physical presence, is good in the room, and most importantly, can eat up 17-20 minutes a night. Melker Karlsson is another player who would shore up any team’s fourth line. Very good penalty killer, just goes about his business and gives you the same solid effort every night.

Other major moves, if they happen, would likely take place in the offseason.

Is Doug Wilson now on the hot seat and or is there any combination of players he could package to get a first round pick back? Does he have any real options right now? (@sjfankellyanne)

Doug Wilson’s future with the Sharks will be the biggest question the organization will face once the season ends, particularly if the team misses the playoffs. As we’ve mentioned before in a past mailbag, Wilson, if he hasn’t done so already, will need to articulate a clear vision to majority owner Hasso Plattner for how he will get the Sharks back to being a contender in 2020-21. Wilson has enjoyed a good relationship with Plattner, with the owner standing behind his GM the last time the Sharks missed the playoffs in 2015.

Can trading Dillon or Melker Karlsson fetch a first round pick? Probably not by themselves. I do think getting a second rounder for Dillon or a third round pick for Karlsson is reasonable.

After 11 games under the new coaching staff, which includes a lengthy home stand and road trip, what do you see this team doing better now compared to before the change? (@bleedingteal)

There’s no question the Sharks are defending better now than they did for the first two months of the season under Pete DeBoer. Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Sharks, in 11 games under Boughner, had allowed the seventh fewest 5-on-5 goals in the NHL (20). They have also allowed two goals or fewer five times in 11 games and three goals or less eight times. They’ve been better at defending the slot area, and, by in large, have received better goaltending as a result.

The power play has looked a little more dangerous in recent games, particularly that second unit with Joe Thornton and Evander Kane.

More than anything, I see the Sharks playing more to an identity than they did before. That defense-first mindset will be even more important now if Couture has to miss significant time.

If (Wilson) knew (then) what he does today, does he still make the EK65 trade? (@redsharkpack)

In terms of the players he gave up, I think so. The sticking point, of course, is the conditional first round pick that went the Ottawa Senators’ way as well. When the Sharks made the playoffs last season, that pick turned into the Sharks’ first rounder this year. There’s no way Wilson could have thought the Sharks would be this far out of the playoff hunt at this point of the 2019-2020 season when he made that deal. Giving up a late first round pick is a lot easier to stomach than one potentially in the top five. If Wilson could have forecasted that, he likely would have done things differently, in my opinion.
San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, left, and San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson (65) listen to questions as Karlsson is introduced as the newest member of the San Jose Sharks at the Hilton in downtown San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

Do you see a world in which San Jose buys out Martin Jones’ contract? (@imjeffschroeder)

I’m not sure anything’s off the table, but that’s a lot of years. Jones’ deal runs for four more years at $5.75 million cap hit. If the Sharks were to buy out Jones’ contract this summer, per CapFriendly, they’d save a total of $6.5 million over the next eight seasons, with $13 million in savings over the next four. In my opinion, without any great inside knowledge, I think the Sharks hold onto Jones for at least one more season, and find an experienced 1A goalie if they do not decide to re-sign Aaron Dell. Just my two cents.