Montreal Canadiens: Mike Hoffman And The Sharks Never-Ending Rebuild
Sharks Start Is Historically Awful
Yes, all of NHL history, going back as far as the days of the 1990’s expansion where the Sharks were first introduced as a team, or even the expansion Washington Capitals in 1974-75, who hold the NHL record for fewest wins in a season (8).
In 1992-93, just the second year of their existence, the Sharks went 11-71-2, with an offense comprised of veteran Rangers star Kelly Kisio and not much else. Since then, the Sharks have gone from a gritty, veteran heavy squad led by guys like Vincent Damphousse in the early 2000s, to a genuine Cup contender with Brent Burns and Joe Thornton running the show in the mid to late 2010s, to well… now, and again, words cannot describe how unbelievably daft and devoid of skill this Sharks team is.
This article was one I had put on the backburner for a while as I waited to see how San Jose’s season progressed after a, to put it ever so kindly, not ideal start.
Surely, I thought they would have a win by this point, or at least a game where they looked like a professional hockey team capable of competing with other similarly professional hockey organizations. Instead, they’ve been outscored 20-3 in their last two games. Yes, you heard that right, 20-3.
A 10-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, and a 10-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Back-to-back games allowing 10 goals. Overall, the Sharks have been outscored 51-11 this season, and there is not one player on the roster that has more than three goals and seven points.
They’re 0-10-1 to start the season, and I don’t know if there is a team in the NHL they can actually beat without playing a perfect, and I mean, perfect game. I think there are some AHL teams currently better than this Sharks squad, and the thought of that alone is just pathetic.
Obviously, no one was expecting the Sharks to be anything close to world-beaters this season after trading away one of their last tangible trade assets/star players in defenseman Erik Karlsson.
At one point, the Sharks had a few more assets, like defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic and, to an extent, Hoffman, but now, there’s as much value in them as there is in Blockbuster, and both have similarly fallen off the map in terms of their production.
Video rental jokes aside, Vlasic has been one of the NHL’s worst players through the beginning of 2023-24, and similarly has the worst contract in the league. $7 million AAV, for the next three years, with a three-team no trade clause. While the trade clause might seem decent at the very least, Vlasic makes $7 million regardless of whether he plays in the AHL or the NHL, and so far, he’s looked like every other veteran AHL defenseman who can’t keep up in the NHL.
At the very least, Hoffman’s contract expires after this season, and quite frankly an NHL GM would have to be drunk to give him an opportunity after his performance to start this year.
Erik Karlsson Trade Return
Unfortunately, the rest of Sharks roster has looked much the same, with a mix of other similarly high-priced veterans who have nothing left and a lack of any real game-breaking stars if there are any stars to begin with. Prior to last season, Karlsson was seen as one such overpaid veteran, or, in the words of myself, not just buy-out proof but buy-out repellant.
After an injury plagued and worryingly poor 2020-21 season, pretty much everyone had written Karlsson off, that was until he became just the sixth defenseman in league history to record a 100-point season in 2022-23, posting astounding 25-76-101 totals while playing all 82 games for the first time since 2015-16.
For the modern-day NHL, its an absurd achievement, especially coming from what many thought were damaged goods in Karlsson. So, you’d think, with a player of Karlsson’s calibre, Sharks GM Mike Grier would’ve been able to capitalize on in the trade market, even with Karlsson’s ludicrous $11.5 million AAV cap hit.
Well, he didn’t.
Argue the return and the value and every other aspect theoretical or otherwise involved with this trade all you want, but Grier got nothing for Karlsson considering all the talk he had made in the off-season about getting a high return for his star defenseman, something Hughes has built a reputation in Montreal for, getting great returns including the likes of Sean Monahan and numerous high draft picks.
Tyler Toffoli in particular netted the Habs Emil Heineman and a first round pick from the Calgary Flames, who subsequently dealt Toffoli to New Jersey for nothing this off-season. That is how moving veteran talents should be done. In comparison, Grier got well… zip. Nada. Zero. I’m sorry, but Jan Rutta, Mikael Granlund, Hoffman, and a single first-round pick is a terrible return.
The first-round pick is top-10 protected so its essentially meaningless at this moment, and unless Zeus strikes down with his magic thunder Granlund and Rutta will be out of San Jose within a few seasons if not after this season, with Hoffman looking like he may be gone before the end of this season.
Canadiens Rebuild Doesn’t Seem So Bad
Again, this entire situation puts the Canadiens rebuild into perspective, and kind of demonstrates where teams like the Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes stand. That being, they actually have players who can contribute on both sides of the puck night in and night out.
Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki are a duo like no other and the Canadiens have a lot of young, promising talent. For all the uncertainty about the future, Montreal at least has a future. Hughes has drafted well (mostly *ahem*) and it shows, especially when compared to well… the Sharks.
They have genuinely no players to move out for picks (especially if they keep up this level of performance), and outside of getting the first overall pick this Summer, have no prospects to look forward to. They have nothing, absolutely nothing, whether it be defensively offensively, culturally, systematically, societally, okay listen you get my point.
Now, obviously, the NHL has had bad teams before, that’s no secret, as I mentioned the 2021-22 Canadiens started the season as one, but in that case factors outside of the on-ice play were mostly to blame. The Canadiens were stuck with a head coach in Dominique Ducharme who looked like he had picked up all of his strategies skills from NHL 94, being one of the few people who could shut Cole Caufield down while well, also being his head coach somehow.
In comparison, San Jose doesn’t have any of that. Their once-Stanley Cup contending core has been long-gone and there’s no head coaching carousel or baffling personnel decisions to blame, except for well, Karlsson. San Jose had one tangible piece left that could contribute to their future going forward. Erik Karlsson, and welp Mike Grier completely and totally wasted it, and now the Sharks literally have nothing.
Even with the Canadiens in 21-22, players like Suzuki and Rem Pitlick stepped up and gave fans something to be excited about if ever so briefly. By seasons end they had players who could well, win them hockey games. What do the Sharks have right now? Filip Zadina? Matt Benning? Luke Kunin? Givani Smith? (yes, all of these players are currently taking regular shifts).
Point being, San Jose is in a lot of trouble, and I mean, a LOT of trouble, and I genuinely don’t know when they will win their first game. I just don’t.
There’s no one on their roster outside of Hertl and Logan Couture who can contribute reliably offensively, their defense is non-existent outside of Mario Ferraro if that, and it doesn’t matter if Mackenzie Blackwood makes 50 saves if the game still ends in a 10-0 loss.
Their goalies are being swarmed and the team has no clue what to do, and there is nothing that can save them. There’s no Superman to swoop them up as they fall perilously to the ground, and there’s no Lollipop after their Doctor’s visit. It’s a root Canal with no Novocain, and boy are the Sharks feeling it right now.
As a team, they showcase just how far teams like Arizona and Montreal have come, as they can actually go out on the ice night after night knowing they have a chance to win, against any NHL team. There’s not a team in this league the Sharks can beat right now, and I’m not sure if that will change for the next few seasons if not the next freaking decade.
While the 2023-24 NHL season is here and accounted for, the same unfortunately can’t be said for every team’s performance, and with a bafflingly and I mean bafflingly dismal start to the campaign, Mike Hoffman and the San Jose Sharks have nowhere to go but well… nowhere.
Next. Ryan Reaves and Remembering Habs Rebuild Enforcers. dark
Want your voice heard? Join the A Winning Habit team!