- Editor's Note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Jack Han has a glass half-full prognosis of the Sharks' power play, even without Erik Karlsson.
"It's actually your weaknesses that end up creating opportunity," the ex-Toronto Marlies (AHL) assistant coach told San Jose Hockey Now. "I think the pieces are there."
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Really?
The Sharks' power play last year, even with a 101-point defenseman leading it, was 25th in the NHL at 18.4 percent. And now Karlsson has been removed from the unit, after San Jose traded the reigning Norris Trophy winner to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Aug. 6.
Han recognizes that reality.
"If you look at the D," Han said. "There's literally nobody there who would be a credible power play quarterback at the NHL level."
San Jose Sharks
Han is referring to a group that includes mostly defense-first blueliners like Mario Ferraro, Matt Benning, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jan Rutta, Kyle Burroughs, Radim Simek, Nikolai Knyzhov and Jacob MacDonald.
"There's not a single defenseman I would feel comfortable with on the first unit," Han said.
So how do the Sharks compensate for this weakness?
In the absence of Karlsson, the Sharks actually are flush with skill forwards, with the additions of Anthony Duclair, Filip Zadina, Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman.
This is on top of logical power-play incumbents up front, like Logan Couture, Tomas Hertl, Alexander Barabanov, Kevin Labanc, Luke Kunin and William Eklund.
It’s an imperfect but talented group, most with a legitimate scoring track record.
Han believes the Sharks should go five forwards on their top power play unit.
That seems like an obvious solution, but keep in mind, each skater on a power play has a different job. It’s not as simple as a team putting its five most-productive forwards together. For example, the Sharks likely wouldn't use the smallish Granlund net front over, say, Kunin, despite Granlund’s obviously superior offensive history.
What’s a five-forward power-play unit that could work for the Sharks?
Han suggested Hoffman, Labanc, Duclair, Eklund, and Hertl.
Keep in mind, this is a very fluid notion, an idea written in sand. Offseason projected lines are more often than not scrapped by opening night.
But a Hoffman, Labanc, Duclair, Eklund and Hertl group might not be everybody’s first guess: A Sharks top power play unit without Couture? Barabanov? Granlund?
But hear Han out.
"If we took a real honest look at where the Sharks are now, they're in a phase where they're basically, on the one hand, rebuilding, but on the other hand, they're looking to manufacture some trade assets," Han said. "What better way to put one and one together, then have a five-forward power play, maybe give up a little bit more defensively, because that is the risk that you run.
"But if that's a unit that can click and that can score some goals, then all of a sudden, Anthony Duclair or Kevin Labanc or you name it becomes trade bait for a championship contender at the Deadline. Because they have some inflated scoring numbers because they were super-good on the power play."
And what do Duclair and Labanc (and Hoffman) have in common? Besides a complementary skill-set for the power play duties that Han has assigned them, they, along with Barabanov, are pending unrestricted free agents. So they’re ripe to be dealt at the trade deadline.
So how would Han position Hoffman, Labanc, Duclair, Eklund and Hertl in this power play proposal?
"Labanc is a guy who really is comfortable on the right flank," Han said. "Duclair is a guy who's comfortable on the left flank.
"Hertl is a guy who can kind of do a bit of everything. Hoffman is a guy who has good vision and a good shot and he can play up."
Han noted that Hoffman played the point on a five-forward Montreal Canadiens power-play last year with Cole Caulfield, Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach, and either Sean Monahan or Evgenii Dadonov.
As for the inclusion of rookie Eklund? The high slot or bumper spot on the power play is a high-traffic area, where penalty killers concentrate, meaning players don’t have a lot of time with the puck, and must execute quick and accurate decisions, be it pass or shoot. Playing fast is an Eklund calling card. Han thought Couture or Hertl could fit this role well too.
But Han also thinks this unit has the ability to be flexible too.
“When you have five forwards [on the power play], the idea is nobody's really playing defense, they're all rotating in and out of their roles," Han said. "So you're creating movement. Instead of having a very neat-looking 1-3-1, which San Jose had last year with Karlsson up top, you're looking at sort of a whirlpool or a blender sort of action where players are coming down toward the net, and then, you're shooting or passing as the situation dictates, but it's movement-based.
"Theoretically, that's what would work best for the Sharks."
If this PP1 clicks, the Sharks have the makings of two dangerous power play units, which they haven’t had since their last playoff appearance in 2018-19. Couture, Granlund, Barabanov, and Zadina actually is an intriguing secondary group.
Oh my god, I’m talking myself into the 2023-24 Sharks.
Anyway, Hoffman at the point is all well and good in the offensive zone, but what about retrieving the puck from behind the Sharks net, skating most of the ice, and entering the offensive zone? That’s perhaps what Karlsson excelled at most on the power play, zone entries.
"The simplest way to go about it is Hoffman replaces Karlsson," Han said. "He's going to be the one to go back [and get the puck] and drop the puck. He's going to drop it to, you could try it with Duclair by himself on a single drop, or maybe Duclair and another forward on a double-drop.
"Then you would have everybody else anchor at the far blueline, ready to retrieve a dump-in or to get a quick pass on the entry."
Hoffman is no Karlsson, and the 33-year-old has slowed down over the years, but Han believes the winger still can pull this job off.
The hardest work on a power play zone entry probably isn’t shouldered by Hoffman here, but the receiver of his drop pass. The receiver has to negotiate the rest of the neutral zone, and ultimately, make a decision that leads to San Jose possession in the offensive zone.
RELATED: Sharks' 2023-24 roster projection with Karlsson traded
“[Duclair has] obviously got high-end speed and high-end agility,” Han pointed out.
The hockey tactics guru summarized the division of labor once more.
"I would like Hoffman to be comfortable playing the top of the 1-3-1," Han said. "I would like Hertl to be comfortable playing on the goal-line and below the goal-line. I would like Eklund to be comfortable playing maybe the bumper or more of an inside position. I would like Labanc to be a shooting threat from the [right] flank. I would like Duclair to be the guy that's in charge of getting the puck in the zone. If it works well, then you've actually increased the value of your players and also maybe increased the team's overall effectiveness."