
Programming note: Sharks-Bruins coverage starts today at 3:30pm with Sharks Pregame Live on CSN California.
Naturally, lots of questions came in about the Sharks trying out free agent forward Dainius Zubrus in my latest call for mailbag questions. Among them…
What do you think of the Zubrus try-out? (Julian Francisco Felix)
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If Zubrus makes the team what line do you think he gets put on? (@slushyjake)
Zubrus has played for Pete [DeBoer] before in NJ. He fits the system. Is it a serious thing or is it sending a message to the younger guys saying this is how the system should be played? (Christopher Martinez)
Let’s start with the third of those three questions – this is a legitimate tryout. It would be unfair to the player to simply be brought in for the purposes of sending a message to others. Can he pressure underperforming wingers like Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels? Possibly. But, there’s no way DeBoer would use Zubrus, whom he clearly respects, in that way.
This also shouldn’t be viewed as just a stopgap solution to the Sharks’ injured list. Logan Couture is missed, of course, and Ben Smith’s lingering head injury doesn’t help matters, but DeBoer doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of Smith, anyway, for reasons I can’t quite put my finger on. DeBoer never had Smith on a regular line in training camp, and then benched him in the second half of a game in Dallas on Oct. 31.
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To me, the potential Zubrus addition is more of an indication that the Sharks simply don’t trust the depth guys they have in the minor league system. Nikolay Goldobin isn’t trustworthy enough defensively, Barclay Goodrow still needs to figure out his identity of just what he’s supposed to be at the NHL level, and guys like Bryan Lerg, John McCarthy and Micheal Haley are your standard career minor leaguers that can fill in, but aren’t long-term solutions.
Zubrus won’t be lighting up the scoreboard any time soon, with just four goals in 74 games last season, but he’s a guy that DeBoer played about 17 minutes a night for three-and-a-half seasons. At the very least, the coach trusts the six-foot-five, 225-pounder to play from start to finish in a close game. That’s more than he can say for Goldobin, the current Barracuda on recall, who was benched for the third period of Saturday’s win in Buffalo and looks to be a healthy scratch Tuesday in Boston.
I think it’s obvious that Zubrus isn’t more than a third or fourth line guy at this point in his career, and the fact that he was beaten out by Marty Havlat for a roster spot in St. Louis on try-out last month is not encouraging, but giving him a look carries no risk from the Sharks’ perspective.
Do you expect Jones to get the majority of the starts now after the back-to-back over the weekend? (Joshua Neditch)
Yes. I would be surprised if Jones doesn’t play at least the next three games (including Tuesday in Boston). It’s still early enough in the season that Jones should be able to handle the heavy workload, and the Sharks have days off before playing the Flyers on Thursday and Penguins on Saturday. I could see Alex Stalock possibly playing that last game in Columbus on Sunday, in what is the second of a back-to-back and third game in four nights, but Jones should stay in the net until that game at the earliest, barring any truly awful performances.
Something to remember regarding Jones is that his game only hit a bump in the road after he was given the night off in the team’s fifth game in Brooklyn. He now seems to be getting back into a groove again.
Considering Stalock has done nothing to warrant more playing time, Jones, to me, should start 90 percent of the team’s games for the rest of the season as long as he’s playing well. He’s young at 25 years old, he seems to thrive when he plays every night, and so far he’s been the Sharks’ most important player. The drop-off is just too dramatic from Jones to Stalock, and this team looks like it will be in a dogfight for a playoff spot all season.
Should I get "Melker" or "Karlsson" on the back of my jersey? (@Corini94)
Neither. Go with Puck Hunter.