San Jose Sharks Line Up

For many NHL teams, sweeping a division winner in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and taking the defending champion to a seventh game in the second round would be an unquestioned accomplishment. For the San Jose Sharks, who have been searching for an elusive trip the Stanley Cup Final, it was another season with a successful regular season but a too-early postseason exit. The Sharks have reached the conference final three times in the past nine seasons; only the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers can make that claim. But each of those teams has reached the Cup Final, and all except the Flyers have won a championship. San Jose was not far off in 2012-13, pushing the Los Angeles Kings to the limit. Given the collective health of the two clubs, the Sharks may have given the Blackhawks a tougher challenge in the next round. Sharks general manager Doug Wilson did not have a particularly busy summer beyond locking up core forwards Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski to long-term contracts. Tyler Kennedy arrived in a draft-day trade from Pittsburgh, and TJ Galliardi was shipped to the Calgary Flames a few days later. Backup goaltender Thomas Greiss signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, but Alex Stalock might be ready for a full-time opportunity at this level. Offseason surgery could leave Martin Havlat unavailable at the start of the regular season, and it is possible a top-six forward could be atop Wilson's in-season wish list if Havlat cannot return. The Sharks could play Pavelski on one of the top two lines, and almost certainly will at times, especially if Hertl or Wingels isn't able to handle that type of role. Kennedy saw time in Pittsburgh's top six when others were injured and could be an option. After moving Burns to forward and trading Douglas Murray, the Sharks' defense parings were settled and meshed quite well at the end of the season and in the playoffs. Niemi quietly had a great season and will be looking at 65-plus starts again (his career high was 68 two seasons ago).

In: C Tyler Kennedy, D Rob Davison
Out: C/RW TJ Galiardi, G Thomas Greiss
Prospects: C Tomas Hertl, G Alex Stalock, D Matt Tennyson, C Travis Oleksuk

Here is the projected 2013-14 lineup for the Sharks:

Forwards

Patrick Marleau - Logan Couture - Tommy Wingels
Tomas Hertl - Joe Thornton - Brent Burns
Raffi Torres - Joe Pavelski - Tyler Kennedy
James Sheppard - Andrew Desjardins - Adam Burish
Bracken Kearns

Defensemen

Matt Irwin - Dan Boyle
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun
Scott Hannan - Brad Stuart
Jason Demers

Goalies

Antti Niemi Alex Stalock