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For the second straight season, the San Jose Sharks just cannot seem to buy a win. After beginning the 2023-24 campaign 0-10-1, this year's version of the roster remains without a victory through seven games.
A big reason for that is the team's penalty troubles; San Jose ranks fifth in penalty minutes (81) and penalty minutes per game (11:34), second in penalties taken (38), and tied for 20th in penalties drawn (24), according to The Score's Kayla Douglas.
And head coach Ryan Warsofsky is worried things aren't going to change unless the team improves its on-ice product.
“Until we get the respect back in this league as a team, we're not gonna get those calls,” he told reporters after losing 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks during Frozen Frenzy on Tuesday. “We're just not. That's just the way it is.”
The head coach continued: “In five, 10 years from now, whatever team's working their way up will be the same exact thing. We've talked about that, and that's something we gotta continue to talk about moving forward… You've got to compete, try to be physical, but the stick penalties, the lazy penalties – us not skating – are the ones that obviously got us in trouble big-time tonight. It's been the story of the last few games here.”
The Sharks own the worst penalty differential in the NHL at minus-14, and the penalty kill's success rate of 74.3 percent is 24th in the league, per Douglas.
While there are a ton of problems for this team early on, the penalty troubles are certainly concerning. Now 0-5-2, the season already looks to be on a similar trajectory to the abysmal, 19-win campaign in 2023-24.
Sharks still haven't managed a win in 2024-25
The difference between this year's Sharks and last year's Sharks is Macklin Celebrini — but the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft hasn't played since his electric debut.
Warsofsky recently revealed that the rookie phenom would miss at least another two weeks, and he remains on the IR. Although Tyler Toffoli has been excellent in his first few games as a Shark, the overall talent level on the roster is sorely lacking.
It looks like it will be another long season in San Jose, although it's likely the team will at least get a single victory before game No. 12 — something they couldn't do last year.
“We just have to stick together as a team, pick each other up off the ice,” defenseman Cody Ceci said after the loss to Anaheim. “It's tough, what we're going through. We are competing hard, we're working hard, just not getting the results. … We need to get a win.”
The Sharks will try to finally do that when they travel to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Thursday night. Puck drops between the two Pacific Division rivals from Crypto.com Arena just past 10:30 p.m. ET.
