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 Melker Karlsson.
Karlsson had a fairly disappointing season, as his production continued to drop. He scored just six goals and 12 points in 61 games, a pace of eight goals and 16 points per 82 games, which was his lowest pace for both goals and points in any season of his career. His shots and shot attempts per 82 averages were also down once again, while his ice time was up from last season but down from every other season of his career.
His corsi for percentage of 45.1 per cent was the worst of any player on the team (minimum 15 games played) and much lower than the team’s overall corsi for percentage of 50.7 per cent, despite getting an average amount of offensive zone starts. His expected goals for percentage of 44.4 per cent was also the lowest of any player on the team (min. 15 games played), according to NaturalStatTrick.com.
As I wrote in a previous article, I don’t think Karlsson shouldn't be brought back and in a poll I did a couple of months ago, 70 per cent of readers agreed that he shouldn't be re-signed. He’s already 30 years old, trending in the wrong direction and the Sharks should probably use the extra cap space to go after a short-term veteran forward in free agency (because that’s all they can really afford) or simply get a younger player into the lineup. Either way, I don’t think he should be back.
Unfortunately, Karlsson isn’t the same player he was a few years ago in San Jose and it’s probably time for the two sides to part ways. The Sharks have some problems to solve and Karlsson just doesn’t provide any solutions.
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Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted in a future article):
How did you feel about Melker Karlsson's performance this season?
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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