Where should the Sharks focus on improving in the ‘big’ NHL offseason? originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Editor’s note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more about their coverage at Hockey in San Jose nowlisten to it on San Jose Hockey Podcast Nowand follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
When you’re the worst team in the NHL, there’s a lot wrong with you.
But if I started with something for the San Jose Sharks to focus on this offseason after ending the year with a 5-1 loss to the Calgary Flames?
In addition to drafting Macklin Celebrini.
According to SPORTLOGiQ, the Sharks are the worst in the league in both offensive zone possession time and against.
For the record, they averaged a possession time of 5:17 OZ for a game, well below the median of 6:45 and the NHL’s best time of possession of 7:55. They surrendered 8:56 OZ of possessions against a game, much worse than the league-best 6:45 and 5:09 median.
Therefore, San Jose had a significant problem with both sustaining and killing plays.
How do they take steps to fix this this off-season making it harder to play against?
It’s not easy to find players who truly excel at sustaining or killing plays – but typically, improving defense is easier than improving offense.
