This article will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll look at each player on the San Jose Sharks and assess how their season went. This article will focus on Aaron Dell.
All things considered, Dell had a pretty decent year for the Sharks. He was quite a bit better statistically than last season despite San Jose’s disaster year, posting a .907 save percentage compared to his terrible .886 save percentage last season. He played a much larger role this year than in previous seasons, based on Martin Jones continuing to struggle. He played 33 games and was on pace to play about 39 this season, compared to his 25 games in 2018-19.
However, here’s my stance on him. Even though Dell made for a solid backup goalie and was certainly better in the back half of the season, I’m a firm believer that he shouldn’t be brought back (so long as Jones is with the team). Dell is 31 years old and while he may be decent in a limited capacity, the Sharks need someone who can effectively split time with Jones or even take over the starting job if need be. Some options for this are Thomas Greiss or Anton Khudobin, who are old enough that they won’t command much term in free agency and won’t cost a ton, but can play a lot of games. Essentially, Dell would be fine if San Jose already had a reliable starter but instead, the Sharks will have to use that money to find an upgrade, rather than re-sign him.
His four-year run with the Sharks has been successful, especially considering he was just signed as a free agent, made his NHL debut at 27 years old and the Sharks gave up nothing to get him. But if the Sharks want to compete again, they need to improve in net and based on Jones’ contract, Dell will have to be the one to go.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
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