The San Jose Sharks’ offseason spending spree brought in veterans on bargain deals, but are they delivering value or dragging down a young roster trying to find its identity?
Host JD Young ranks every free agency acquisition from most disappointing to most impactful through the first dozen games. Nick Leddy’s waiver claim has been a disaster, posting just one shot on goal in seven games while the defense improved immediately after his injury. John Klingberg’s $4 million gamble shows troubling signs as he forces offense while getting burned defensively, including costly lapses against teenagers like Beckett Sennecke.
The middle tier tells a different story. Ryan Reaves exceeds rock-bottom expectations with actual goal production despite getting caved in possession-wise. Adam Gaudette and Jeff Skinner provide exactly what their modest contracts promised, though finding them additional minutes remains challenging with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith demanding ice time.
At the top, Philipp Kurashev’s $1.2 million deal looks like highway robbery. Playing alongside Wennberg and William Eklund, he’s rediscovered his 50-point form with the Sharks scoring 62.5% of goals when he’s on ice. Alexander Nedeljkovic provides steady goaltending behind a defense still finding its footing, making a strong case for extension before the trade deadline. Dmitry Orlov justifies his $6.5 million price tag as the defensive anchor this blue line desperately needed, posting team-leading possession numbers while logging over 23 minutes nightly.
Tune in for the complete breakdown with advanced metrics, contract analysis, and what these performances mean for San Jose’s rebuild trajectory.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:34 Nick Leddy: Most Disappointing Free Agent
6:08 John Klingberg’s Rocky Start with Sharks
14:17 Adam Gaudette Living Up to Expectations
16:50 Jeff Skinner’s Streaky Goal Scoring
20:54 Alexander Nedeljkovic’s Solid Goaltending Performance
23:59 Philipp Kurashev’s Breakout with Wennberg Line
26:02 Dmitry Orlov: Best Free Agency Acquisition
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13 Comments
What up JD
They need to move klingberg to the second power play and put orlov back on the top pp line. He's good at moving the puck and finding celebrini, klingberg keeps trying to shoot but the traffic isn't there when you have a bunch of snippers on the ice. The second pp line will get more of those deflection/ugly goals
I just need Reaves to fight and bring toughness. I don’t need him to be a superstar. I need him to play 7min a night and fight someone.
I think the way injuries aren't honestly reported in the NHL creates an opinion which might not be the opinion of the team.
Time to fully lean into the youth movement
Klingberg so disappointing JD misspelled his name 🤣
Do you not put weight behind relxgf%? I only saw you referencing on ice goal percentage, corsi and goals for.
Moments after the wings went up 2:1 klingberg with the defensive zone turnover to create a 2 on 1 rush for Detroit. The main issue is this kind of thing happens ever game. What does this guy gotta do to get benched. If klingberg was in his 8th game as a rookie we could understand but this guy is supposed to be a seasoned veteran. This is not modeling behavior
Loved the Reaves addition; needed toughness and protection
Boom:Phil, Guadette, Oralov
Bust: Leddy, Klingberg
I'd never thought I say I'm finally glad Ryan Reeves is on our team
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Interesting episode. I agree with your rankings for the most part but not all of your reasoning. This is where I see them from worst (1) to best (9). I include Lorio as he is an add from outside the organization.
1) Leddy – He's just not looked good and has to some extent become a block to young defensemen getting minutes (Muk, Dickinson and Lorio) when he was healthy. Some of his play is to be expected coming off of his injury from last season.
2) Klingberg – Whether it is his lack of health (the best ability is availability) or just ineffective play I think he has not looked like a good pickup. His PP was good before his injury, but his injury has been a setback. Maybe PP2 until he is fully back would make more sense.
3) Reaves – Low on the list but I liked the pickup for the very reasons why fans are loving him now, BUT. he plays under six minutes and that limits what he can bring.
4) Skinner – So far he has shown he can score, and brought more physicality to his game. He seems to really be more of a third line winger and can play up to the second lines at times.
5) Lorio – I liked the pickup and considering his experience (nine NHL games) when he was acquired via waivers Lorio has played well. His size, being an RD and playing a more defensive defenseman game makes him valuable. His first game was rough but he literally jumped off the plane with no practice and was thrown into a game. Since then he has steadily improved. He's a keeper me thinks.
6) Kurashev – Has been really good as of late but I want to see this more than just a few games at this level. If he can maintain it then he moves ahead of Gaudette because it is more plausible that a Cuda forward fits into a line 3 or 4 role than a line 2 role. Overall I like him.
7) Gaudette – Love this guy and when he is with Graf and Misa they are a good third line. He can score, has speed, plays some special teams, can play wing or center and brings physicality. Great pickup for a bottom six winger/center. As the third line gets more minutes so will Gaudette.
8) Orlov – Has been what everyone has hoped. Does take some bad penalties and takes chances, but overall the best defensemen we have had in multiple seasons.
9) Ned – I rank him the best because of how critical it was to get a goalie to pair with Asky that plays a similar game. He is getting better as the season progresses.
As JD said and I agree, this will change as the season progresses so this is more of a progress report. I like the additions.