SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks have been competitive in their two games this week without center Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci. But, as could have predicted, the Sharks offense has struggled to produce at even strength.

Since trading Granlund and Ceci to the Dallas Stars last Saturday for two 2025 draft picks, including a first-rounder, the Sharks have had just one 5-on-5 goal, scored by Collin Graf in the second period of a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday.

It’s a small sample size, but the Sharks were already one of the more offensively challenged teams in the NHL during 5-on-5 play when they made the deal. Trading Granlund, who had a team-leading 45 points in 52 games with the Sharks this season, has made even-strength scoring more of an issue, at least in the short term.

“We miss him. He’s a great player,” Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund said of Granlund after Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. “But it’s the guys in here that are going to do it. We can’t do anything about it right now, but we have played two really good games here.”

With Granlund, Ceci, and the Stars coming to SAP Center on Saturday to play the Sharks, here are three ways San Jose has adapted since the deal.

WALMAN’S ROLE: Jake Walman was already a heavily relied-upon defenseman for the Sharks before the deal, averaging 22:45 in ice time per night in 41 games. Since the trade, Walman has averaged 26:18, including a career-high 27:01 against the Canucks on Tuesday. Ice time-wise, He led all skaters at even strength (18:37), power play (3:16), and penalty kill (5:08).

Those are Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns-type numbers from back in their heydays. But Walman said Friday he isn’t any worse for the wear, adding, “I feel pretty good. I feel full of energy. I woke up this morning full of energy. I like it. Obviously, in those situations, if I’m needed, I want to be out there.”

Walman has been establishing himself as a top-pair defenseman with the Sharks all season and is 22nd in the NHL among all defensemen with 29 points – a figure that would be higher had he not had to miss 13 games.

“I thought (Thursday’s) game might have been his best game of the year,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Walman. “He wasn’t reckless; he was skating. He was defending hard. Like anyone, he made a couple of mistakes, but I liked his game last night. He understands (this is) another opportunity for him to really solidify his future, understanding how good he can be in this league.

“He’s got all the potential in the world.”

DEPTH CHARGE: Without a heavy-minute player like Granlund, Warsofsky has seemingly spread out a little more ice time to his bottom six forwards.

Tuesday night, third-line forwards Collin Graf, and Barclay Goodrow had about as much ice time at even strength as the second-line wingers did, with Graf leading all forwards with 23 shifts.

Thursday night, Warsofsky complimented fourth-line forwards Ty Dellandrea, Walker Duehr, and Carl Grundstrom, who, despite limited ice time, had a combined 11 hits and four shots on net.

“All three guys were skating, getting on the forecheck,” Warsofsky said. “I thought in the third period, they were one of our best lines.”

SHOT SUPPRESSION: The Sharks enter Saturday allowing a league-high 32.1 shots per game, but Alexandar Georgiev and Vitek Vanecek were not as busy in their starts this week. Georgiev faced 20 shots by the Canadiens, and Vanecek faced 24 from the Canucks.

Both goalies were helped by the Sharks’ combined 47 blocked shots. Walman was credited with 10 of those blocks.

“I think we’re defending with more pride,” Warsofsky said.

“Even though we only gave up eight chances five on five against (per our) statistics, I still think there’s room to grow there. That means boxing out in front of our net, getting guys up against walls. We get beat back to our puck quite often. Has it been a step in the right direction these last couple of games? One hundred percent. But to get where we want to go in the future, we have to defend with a lot of pride, night in and night out.”

Originally Published: February 7, 2025 at 3:03 PM PST