NHL San Jose Sharks: Previewing the Upcoming Season

The San Jose Sharks have made it to the Conference Finals the last two years. Their eyes are now set on making it all the way to the finals. GM Doug Wilson wasn’t complacent in the offseason. Gone are Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi in favour of Martin Havlat and Brent Burns.

Is this year’s team good enough to break the barrier and make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals? Let’s preview the 2011-2012 season.

Forwards

The Sharks have arguably the deepest set of forwards in the NHL.

Captain Joe Thornton leads the way as one of the NHL’s premier playmakers. Since the lockout, Thornton has averaged 72 assists per year. He also possesses great size and strength.

Former Captain Patrick Marleau is the Sharks' go-to scorer. He scored 37 goals last season and will continue to bring the offense. Marleau is a very agile winger and a good two-way player. He is plagued by inconsistency, however. Look for him to score 70-80 points next season.

The supporting cast is led by Martin Havlat and Joe Pavelski. Pavelski is a clutch scorer that will put up around 60 points, while Havlat is a crafty, speedy winger.

Sophomore centre Logan Couture will continue his rise to stardom this year. He scored 32 goals for the Sharks last season and will score even more this season. In addition, he is a very solid defensive forward.

He will be lining up next to Ryane Clowe next season. Clowe is a winger born to compete in the playoffs. He brings grit and a scoring touch.

Michal Handzus was brought in to help the penalty kill and should fit in nicely.

As usual, San Jose will not have any trouble scoring goals this season. They can roll three lines that can compete with the best of them.

Defense

San Jose bolstered their blue line this offseason with the acquisition of Brent Burns from the Minnesota Wild. Burns carries the puck well and will produce some much needed offense from the defense in San Jose.

Before Brent Burns, Dan Boyle was virtually the only source of offense from the defense. The 35-year-old runs the San Jose power play and should put up his usual 50 points this year.

Douglas Murray and Marc-Eduoard Vlasic are San Jose’s shutdown defensemen. They don’t provide much offense. Murray is a good penalty killer and is also one of the hardest hitters in the game. Vlasic is defensively sound and can log big minutes.

Jason Demers moves the puck well and passes well. He has also shown some offensive upside.

San Jose’s defense core is not as deep as the forward group, but they do have a good mix of grit, speed and scoring ability.

Goaltending

You never know what you’re going to get with Antti Niemi in net. He can absolutely steal games on some nights. He is also known to get shelled early and often. You can usually count on him to win the crucial game, though.

Antero Niittymaki is a good backup goaltender. He was San Jose’s starting goalie at one point last season. He can be inconsistent at times but will still be relied upon to play 15-20 games this season.

San Jose’s goaltending is not spectacular, but it is good enough, especially for a team that relies on its offense to win games.

San Jose will have some stiff competition in the Pacific this year with the emergence of the L.A. Kings, but they should still win the division and finish second or third in the West.

The season will be considered a disappointment if the Sharks don’t at least return to the final four. They are a legitimate contender to win the Stanley Cup this season.