San Jose Sharks' Biggest Needs and Best Trade Fits at 2015 Deadline

The NHL trade deadline on March 2 is quickly approaching, and with the San Jose Sharks currently sitting on the playoff bubble in the Western Conference, it's hard to know whether they will be buyers or sellers.

Goalie Antti Niemi and fellow soon-to-be unrestricted free agents Tyler Kennedy and Scott Hannan could all be on the move by deadline day, but if the team gets hot, plenty of established veterans on the market could help the Sharks make some noise in the playoffs.

There are certainly moves out there to be made and players on the market who can help Team Teal crash the postseason party. What are the Sharks' biggest needs? Which players can make an impact this season and beyond? Read on to find out.

Help on the Power Play

Billy Hurst/Associated Press

A quick glance at the numbers might make you think the Sharks are just humming along on the power play this season. Their 39 power-play goals are tied for sixth in the NHL, and they are converting 21.1 percent of their power-play opportunities into goals—the seventh-best percentage in the league.

Take a deeper dive and the problems become apparent: The Sharks' power play is top-heavy. Joe Pavelski's 16 power-play goals are second only to Alex Ovechkin's league-leading 17. Brent Burns has chipped in six power-play goals from the blue line, and forwards Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture have tallied four apiece.

That means just four players have come up with 30 of the team's 39 goals (77 percent) with the man-advantage. 

What's worse, those same four players—in addition to Joe Thornton—make up the Sharks No.1 power-play unit. The second unit is a pack of strays who wouldn't sniff power-play minutes on other playoff-contending teams and rarely play together on the ice during games. This gives opponents a distinct advantage.

With the Sharks' second unit lacking any bite, opposing penalty killers essentially have their work cut in half: Kill the first minute of the penalty and you likely kill off the whole thing.

Enter Jarome Iginla. The 37-year-old veteran is leading the cellar-dwelling Colorado Avalanche in scoring (18 goals, 22 assists) and would be a boon to the Sharks power play. His 172 career power-play goals are second among active players. A trade for Iginla would allow the Sharks to shuffle their dynamic goal scorers and provide much-needed balance between the two units.

Iginla, who signed a three-year contract with the Avalanche in the offseason, is still chasing his first Stanley Cup. He joined Colorado in hopes that its young core would continue to ascend following last season's division championship. But the Avs have stumbled this year, and time is ticking for Iginla.

He carries a $5.3 million cap hit through the 2016-17 season.

A Goaltender for the Future

Billy Hurst/Associated Press

According to ESPN.com's Craig Custance, it is likely only a matter of time before goalie Antti Niemi plays his final game in a Sharks sweater, and despite the team's proximity to a playoff spot, his last days in teal could actually come before the trade deadline: "Even if the Sharks get hot before the deadline, they will move starting goalie Antti Niemi if the right offer comes along. That doesn’t mean he’s gone for sure. It’s still possible he’s back next season on a short-term deal." 

According to Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area, Niemi—whose contract is up at the end of the season—hasn't been paying attention to the rumors, telling reporters, "If somebody didn’t mention something, I wouldn’t know. If you didn’t say anything I wouldn’t know, ya know?"

So whether via trade or free agency, Niemi is on his way out, so the Sharks will need to find a long-term solution. Few teams are looking to deal a franchise goalie, but Custance believes general manager Doug Wilson will be looking to add young talent this offseason:

"

The Sharks listened on Evander Kane, although they didn’t want to part with the necessary young players, but that’s the kind of young, talented player you can expect the Sharks to target. Maybe it’s a player who needs a fresh start in an organization. Maybe it’s a young player a team has to move because of finances. If there’s a team squeezed by a cap that looks as if it’s going to be pretty stagnant, they should expect a call from the Sharks to bail them out. We also know Wilson isn’t afraid to use an offer sheet to complicate things even further for teams squeezed by the cap.

"

If the Sharks indeed move Niemi prior to the deadline, they might not find his replacement until the summer, but keep an eye on Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier. The pending unrestricted free agent could become a casualty of the dumpster fire that is the Leafs. Wilson could extend an offer sheet or try to deal some of his young prospects to pry the former first-round pick out of Toronto.

A Puck-Moving Defenseman

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Name one NHL team that doesn't want to add a puck-moving defenseman. These offensive-minded defensemen are a rare breed and an item on every general manager's short list. Keith Yandle of the Arizona Coyotes is the likeliest to move prior to the deadline, but he won't come cheap.

Coyotes GM Don Maloney knows he has a good one on his hands, and he is holding out in hopes of maximizing his return. "We have good assets. We have good people that other teams would like to acquire," he said on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, via NHL.com. "We'd just like a little bit more than what's being offered right now."

Yandle leads the Coyotes in scoring this year with 40 points (four goals, 36 assists) and has one year remaining on a contract with a $5.25 million cap hit. Maloney has an eye for the future, and the Sharks would likely have to part with one or both of their recent first-round picks—defenseman Mirco Mueller or forward Nikolay Goldobin—to acquire the 28-year-old blueliner.

"We need to bring some young assets in. We want to introduce more youth and speed into our lineup, which is what we plan on doing going forward," Maloney said.

The price might be steep, but after losing Dan Boyle to free agency following the 2014 season, the Sharks have had a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of their own end this season and are allowing 2.8 goals per game. Like every other team in the league, they would be wise to add a puck-mover like Yandle if the opportunity arises. 

Veteran Scoring Depth

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Despite being perennial Stanley Cup contenders for the better part of the last decade, the Sharks have always fallen short, primarily due to a lack of scoring depth. Teams that make long playoff runs into June typically have a veteran goal scorer who can put the puck in the net when the pressure is on; think Los Angeles Kings forward Justin Williams.

While the Sharks have usually been stocked with a talented group of top-six forwards, they are severely lacking depth in that department this year.

For most of the season, undrafted rookie Melker Karlsson has flanked Joe Pavelski and Joe Thornton on the top line, while Matt Nieto has played alongside Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau on the second line. While Karlsson's effort—and five-game goal-scoring streak in January—has been admirable, he is hardly a top-six forward and has been coming back down to earth lately with just one goal in his last nine games.

Nieto has looked like a fish out of water after a promising rookie season and is definitely not worthy of the increased minutes. Of his four goals this season, only one has gone past an actual goalie (one empty netter, two with the goalie completely out of position).

The Dallas Stars have just the player to cure the Sharks' depth woes in 13-year veteran Erik Cole. He won a Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 and twice surpassed the 30-goal plateau. According to ESPN.com's Custance, he might be an affordable option on deadline day.

At 36 years old, Cole will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and will be a rental player for whichever team forks over the mid-round draft pick it will likely take to acquire him. Because of this, the Sharks won't likely go after him unless they are securely in a playoff spot.

Grit

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The knock on the San Jose Sharks every year when the calendar turns to April is that they are soft. Not mentally tough. Don't show enough fight when things get tough. Last year's inability to close out the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings after rushing out to a 3-0 series lead validates those claims. 

Rugged winger Raffi Torres has been out all season due to complications from ACL surgery, and although he hasn't been officially ruled out for the year, he still has a "long road ahead," per head coach Todd McLellan, via Kevin Kurz.

John Scott, the Sharks' current enforcer, is unlikely to sniff the ice if the team makes the postseason and has only played in 24 of the team's 58 games this season. Finding a replacement for Torres would be ideal, and the Buffalo Sabres might be able to help.

Forward Chris Stewart hasn't really found his groove since Buffalo acquired him from the St. Louis Blues in the Ryan Miller trade last season, and he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

As a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 2010, Stewart was a thorn in the Sharks' side during a hard-fought six-game playoff series that San Jose eventually won. That was Stewart's best year as a pro with 28 goals and 64 points, and at just 27 years old, the gritty agitator has the potential to become a difference-maker once again in the NHL.

A Reliable Third-Line Center

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The Sharks have been on the brink of the Stanley Cup Final in 2004, 2010 and 2011. One thing those three teams all had in common were solid, dependable third-line centers who could win faceoffs, kill penalties and chip in goal or two when needed. Needless to say, the Sharks need a serious upgrade here if they are going to make another run at Lord Stanley's cup.

James Sheppard, who currently centers the checking line, has done enough to keep his job but is hardly indispensable. If the Sharks make the playoffs, he will be matching up with the likes of Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf, Los Angeles' Anze Kopitar or Vancouver's Henrik Sedin. That's not ideal.

The Arizona Coyotes are shopping Antoine Vermette and his 56.1 faceoff percentage, a percentage every puck-possessing team craves. Just like with Keith Yandle, the price for Vermette will likely be pretty high despite his pending unrestricted free agency, and the Coyotes are fielding multiple offers.

Vermette will likely cost the Sharks a future first-round draft pick—a price they might not be willing to pay.

All statistics via NHL.com and current through games played on February 18. All salary information courtesy of NHLNumbers.com.

You can find Daniel in Section 212 at the Shark Tank or on Twitter: @thedpedroza