San Jose Sharks Are Not Rebuilding Anytime Soon

There is no denying that the San Jose Sharks were a bad hockey team this season. They finished the year second to last in the West Division and 26th overall in the entire league. When seeing as how they missed the postseason last year, too, it would make sense for them to rebuild. Yet, Sharks president Jonathan Becher has confirmed that he is against rebuilding entirely. This is because he feels that blowing up the team will result in fans not buying tickets.

Although it is easy to understand his mindset from a business perspective, the Sharks have so much going against them. When looking at their core, it is clear that they are getting older. That also does not mesh well with the fact that they are all overpaid. The Erik Karlsson contract is among the worst in the league, as he is making $11.5 million per season for the next six years. With his play already noticeably declining, this is just a terrifying contract.

It does not stop there, as Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also are locked up for many more seasons, while both being in their mid-thirties and showing serious decline. Martin Jones has had an .896 save percentage the last three seasons, but is locked up for three more years at a $5.75 million cap hit. Lastly, Logan Couture is 32-years-old and has six more seasons left of his deal. His noticeable drop in offensive production makes this contract also a bit scary moving forward.

With the way these last two seasons have gone, the Sharks need to make changes. Due to their questionable contracts, they have a little over $10 million of cap space to work with this off-season. They also may move Evander Kane because he has caused issues in the locker room. Yet, even if necessary, his departure would make the team worse. They could look buyout Jones to get a little more cap room, but that still would make it difficult for them to bring in a star player.

Assuming they are unable to move any of their bad contracts, they will have to sign a few cheaper free agents. They could look to add Tomas Tatar, as his value is lower due to being a healthy scratch most of this postseason. Blake Coleman could also be a fantastic addition, as he is a very versatile and hardworking forward. They would also need to bring in a new goalie if they want to make the playoffs.

With everything that is working against them, the Sharks management should be more open to the idea of rebuild. Here's to hoping they can have an effective off-season and turn it around, but that seems like a monstrous task to overcome.