The San Jose Sharks noticeably got better over the offseason through trades and signings, but aren’t expected to step into a playoff spot just yet. Regardless of that, the players and coaches are trying to win and there’s no harm to the organization if the team does surprise.
The Sharks want to be better than last season and I think that is a given that they will be. But to what extent? I think a lot of that hinges on goaltending. Mackenzie Blackwood was good for the 32nd place Sharks when healthy, but that became the problem. He missed a chunk of time and couldn’t keep San Jose in games like he had been.
Blackwood is back for the final year of his contract, but the other goalie in the tandem heading into the 2024-25 season is Vitek Vanecek who came over in a trade with the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline in exchange for Kaapo Kahkonen. Vanecek didn’t play a game for the Sharks to finish up the season because he too was out. This is where the potential issue comes in for the team this season.
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The expectation is that Blackwood and Vanecek are going to each get a good look this season in net and one will likely stand out from the other. That being said, Vanecek is coming off a poor season statistically in New Jersey despite his 17-9-3 record. He had a 3.18 GAA, .890 SV%, no shutouts, and only 12 quality starts out of 29 starts total. This was on a team that was better than the Sharks are as well.
Blackwood hasn’t finished a season with a .900 SV% since 2020-21 (three seasons) despite being on better teams before last season’s Sharks. In the 2020-21 season, his SV% was still only .902. While he has the ability to steal games, he can also blow up for some games throughout the season. The good news is that his quality start percentage is 57.4% over the last two seasons.
While the Sharks’ goaltending is a big wildcard for them this season, there is still a good option for a third string goalie. This would be the unsigned former Nashville Predators backup, Kevin Lankinen.
Magnus Chroma, the next in line to be called up in net for the Sharks, proved he isn’t ready for the NHL just yet, posting a 1-6-1 record, 4.71 GAA, and .859 SV%. Lankinen on the other hand went 20-14-1 with a 2.79 GAA and .912 SV% over the past two seasons in Nashville as well as starting the majority of the games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2020-21.
The Predators have no room for Lankinen in Nashville anymore…