The San Jose Sharks made quite a few offseason additions, in an effort to get a bit more competitive this season.
Free agency signings, along with some trades, resulted in several new members being added to the roster. Below, we’ve ranked them based on their play so far this season, from worst to best.
The list won’t include players who haven’t been regularly entering the lineup, like Scott Harrington or Aaron Dell. It also won’t include Markus Nutivaara, who’s an NHL-caliber player but has yet to even play a game with the Sharks due to an injury.
6. OSKAR LINDBLOM
While Lindblom does play a fairly well-rounded game and is relatively strong defensively, he’s really struggled to get anything going offensively since joining the Sharks.
Lindblom only just scored his first goal with San Jose in his 27th game of the season on Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres, and is producing at a pace of 15 points per 82 with the Sharks, the worst points per game average of his career.
He’s a strong candidate to start turning things around but so far, he hasn’t come anywhere close to being worth his $2.5 million salary.
5. EVGENY SVECHNIKOV
Svechnikov hasn’t had any sort of a large impact, only suiting up for 20 of the team's 28 games. That said, he's been pretty alright in a limited role, especially earlier in the year, and has managed three goals and six points overall.
Considering he hasn’t been able to earn a regular role in a less-than-stellar forward group though (and was just placed on waivers today), it’s tough to say he’s been a notable addition. Still, it was up for debate as to whether he'd even make the roster out of training camp, so he's arguably exceeded expectations.
4. MATT BENNING
Signing Benning to a four-year deal seemed like a questionable move this summer. Now through the first third of the season, we know that concern was justified.
Benning has been prone to bad mistakes and getting beaten cleanly on rushes. While he may have 10 points this season, which ranks second amongst Sharks’ defensemen, he’s had a tough time defensively.
Shockingly, his underlying numbers actually aren’t bad. He sits with an expected goals for percentage of 53 per cent (according to NaturalStatTrick.com), with he and Marc-Edouard Vlasic posting the best expected goals percentages of any defensemen on the team. This is one of the scenarios where the numbers just don’t seem to align with what’s happening on the ice.
In all fairness though, he’s also playing in far too large of a role. Benning is being counted on as a top-four defenseman (which he isn't), playing nearly 19 minutes per game. It verges on nearly three minutes per game more than last season and perhaps a reduced role would help.
Regardless though, Benning needs to cut down on the errors.
3. STEVEN LORENTZ
Lorentz plays a clear role, in terms of adding intensity and a physical presence. He’s not going to add much offense at all, but you never have to question what kind of effort you’ll get from him.
He works well as a depth forward in a limited role and while he’s not going to provide a huge impact, the Sharks knew what they were getting from him. Lorentz has been pretty much exactly the player the team brought him in to be.
2. LUKE KUNIN
So far, Kunin has been about as good as expected. He’s on pace for roughly 15 goals and 38 points per 82 games, which is better than last season, but maybe not necessarily the step the Sharks were hoping for.
Kunin has had opportunities playing up the lineup, but hasn’t really been much of a standout thus far. I think the hope was he could maybe elevate his game given he’s still fairly young, but it seems like he’s probably going to remain as a middle-six forward.
Regardless, he’s still providing some secondary offense and can play with some intensity. Kunin has probably been worth the third-round pick San Jose gave up for him value-wise (even though the Sharks really shouldn’t be giving up draft picks, considering where they're at).
1. NICO STURM
While not necessarily playing a huge role for the Sharks, Sturm has proved to be a great addition to the forward group. Coming off a Stanley Cup win with the Colorado Avalanche, the center has provided more stability to the bottom-six as a really steady defensive presence, and has added six goals already. He’s also been excellent at the faceoff dot this season, winning roughly 59 per cent of draws, which ranks 14th in the league amongst forwards who have taken at least 100 faceoffs.
Sturm has missed the last eight games for the Sharks, but is expected to return soon. At just $2 million per year, he’s providing a lot of value and while he’s never going to play too far up the lineup, he’s been a really solid addition thus far.
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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