Sharks hoping offseason acquisitions can lead them back to playoffs

After missing the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, the San Jose Sharks are looking to rebound and get back into the dance in 2021-22.

In order to help them do that, they switched up their goaltending in a big way. First, they bought out the contract of Martin Jones, who has really struggled the past few seasons, and replaced him with both Adin Hill and James Reimer. Hill is still just 25-years-old and has the potential to become a solid starting goalie. Aside from that, they brought in some depth in Nick Bonino and Andrew Cogliano who should help plug some holes in their lineup.

They also lost a few players in Patrick Marleau and Ryan Donato. Marleau will forever be remembered as a Sharks legend but has become clear the past few seasons that he is no longer an NHL caliber player. Donato on the other hand is much younger but has struggled with consistency during his short time in the league and his still waiting for a team to take a flier on him in free agency.

On paper, the Sharks have some very talented names. Unfortunately, many of those names are players who are on the decline in their careers. If they are able to turn things around, they will need players like Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, and Logan Couture to play like their former selves, but that doesn't feel overly likely at this stage. While we certainly don't want to count them out, they seem like a longshot to land a playoff berth in 2021-22.

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