San Jose Sharks: 5 Problems That Must Be Fixed Immediately

Despite their strong record of 13-6-1 and their position atop the Pacific Division, the San Jose Sharks' recent loss to the Vancouver Canucks highlighted some of the team's glaring weaknesses.

Ranging from poor coaching choices to lackluster player performances, these issues have to be resolved as quickly as possible.

The Sharks are considered to be an elite team and one of the NHL's top Stanley Cup contenders. Their lineup is riddled with high-end talent and seasoned veterans who know what it takes to win.

Because of their status as one of the league's top clubs, San Jose has a reputation to uphold. They have been a highly successful franchise in recent years, with seven straight playoff appearances entering this season. The only thing they're missing is a Cup. 

If the Sharks aim to continue their playoff streak and make another run at the Stanley Cup, they'll need to address the following problems.  

Get Martin Havat out of the Bottom 6

OK, Todd McLellan. We get it. Martin Havlat and third-line pivot Michal Handzus used to play on a line together when they both suited up for the Chicago Blackhawks. 

They may have had some chemistry back then, but Handzus has clearly lost a step (or two) and Havlat is a complimentary player who can't carry a line on his own. 

Trying to spread out the scoring over three lines worked well for the San Jose Sharks last season, but the experiment has been a failure so far this year. In his last five games, all spent on the third line with Handzus and youngster Jamie McGinn, Havlat has just one point.

The Sharks would be wise to reunite Havlat with Ryane Clowe on the second line. Both forwards are currently slumping and may benefit from playing together like they did at the beginning of the season.  

Get Torrey Mitchell out of the Top 6

Torrey Mitchell can be an effective player in a lot of ways, but providing offense just isn't part of his arsenal. 

He brings speed, tenacity and strong defensive play to the lineup on a nightly basis. That sounds like a solid third-liner to me. 

Mitchell's presence on the second line, where he's currently playing alongside Patrick Marleau and Ryane Clowe, is no doubt the result of Martin Havlat's move to the third line. As previously mentioned, that Havlat experiment simply isn't working out. 

With a career high of 23 points in a single season, it's clear that Mitchell isn't going to be an impact player in the offensive zone and is not a top-six-caliber forward. He's one of the Sharks' key penalty killers and strongest forecheckers, so he certainly has a role on the team...in the bottom six. 

Dan Boyle Needs to Start Producing Offense

Dan Boyle is one of the top rearguards in the NHL, especially when it comes to putting up points, but his play as of late has been mediocre at best.

At 35 years old, age might be part of the problem as Boyle approaches the end of his career. Still, he has at least another few years left in the tank and is more than capable of remaining one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the game. 

Boyle has 10 points through 20 games this season, which isn't bad, but he hasn't registered a single point in his last five games. Given that he's an integral piece of San Jose's core and one of their best players, it is essential that he picks up the pace and finds his game again. 

Fix the Penalty Kill

With an abysmal penalty-killing percentage of 75 percent, the San Jose Sharks are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second-worst penalty kill in the NHL, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks.

On paper, San Jose's penalty kill looks strong. Veterans Michal Handzus, Dan Boyle, Douglas Murray and Patrick Marleau carry the bulk of the load, while Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski, Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns see considerable amounts of ice time on the PK as well. All of these players are sound defensively and solid positionally.

For whatever reason, the Sharks are struggling to kill penalties. Perhaps they need to think of some new line combinations or be more aggressive. Maybe they need to bring in a PK specialist. Honestly, I'm not sure.

What is crystal clear, though, is that they need to fix their penalty kill somehow. It's hard to win games when you're allowing a goal 25 percent of the time you're down a man.    

Ryane Clowe Needs to Shake His Slump

A bruising power forward who contributes on both ends of the ice, Ryane Clowe is one of the San Jose Sharks' leaders and best players. 

He plays a key role in generating offense and providing physicality in the top six, and he enjoyed a career year last season when he netted 24 goals and added 38 assists for 62 points. 

So far this season, Clowe has 14 points in 20 games played. While these numbers are impressive, he has been relatively ineffective over the course of the last five games, where he has tallied no goals and just two assists.

The Sharks haven't been scoring much as of late, and Clowe's slump likely has a lot to do with it. His physical play has been great, but he needs to start contributing more on the score sheet.