As the saying goes in sports, there always has to be a winner and a loser. Yet, when teams have played the San Jose Sharks this year, it’s almost been a foregone conclusion at this point. Even for a rebuilding team, they’ve struggled to look competitive on the ice to this point. Is it the perfect storm of mediocrity that is causing the Sharks to look this bad? Or are they potentially just one of the worst teams in NHL history?
When you look at their record of 0-10-1, the ONLY positive you can pull from this is that they got an overtime point from the Avalanche. Other than that, they haven’t been involved in any other one goal games this season. They are currently tied for the NHL record of longest losing streak to start a season and tied for second of the longest winless streak to start a season. They’ve also set the NHL record for the least even strength goals in the first ten games with just six goals of 5v5 hockey. They are also the first NHL team in nearly 60 years to give up 10 goals in back to back games, having lost 10-1 to Vancouver and 10-2 to Pittsburgh. Offense has looked flat, defense non-existent, and goaltending has been mediocre at best.
Rather than just saying how bad this team is, let’s look at a comparison between the Sharks and the worst team of all time in the NHL, 1974-1975 Washington Capitals. Those Caps were an expansion team and it was their first year in the National Hockey League and had a record of 8-67-5 for 21 points in 80 games. They compiled a goal differential of -265, points percentage of .131%, and scored 2.26 goals per game. Through their first 11 games, they were 1-9-1, got outscored 45-20, and were held to two or less goals in 6 of their first eleven games. This year, the Sharks are currently 0-10-1, being outscored 55-12, and were held to two or less goals in ten of the eleven games, the lone exception being a 6-3 loss to Carolina on home ice. Their current points percentage is .045% and are averaging 1.09 goals per game. At an 82 game pace, they’d be 0-74-8 with a goal differential of -320. This is undoubtedly the worst team I’ve seen in my lifetime, but how do I predict the season pan out?
Let’s get this off the table, the Sharks won’t go winless. They’ll notch a few wins, figure things out, but could they finish the year as the worst team of all time? The simple answer is yes. Due to lack of overall talent and no goaltending depth, I can see this team struggle to scrape 21 points together. I don’t know if they eclipse the -265 goal differential mark, but this team is definitely a candidate to go 6-69-7 for 19 points given what they’ve shown (or haven’t shown) this year. They’re young, developing players, and tanking for perceived first overall pick Mack Celebrini. Right now is not a good time to be a fan of San Jose sports.
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