So as the NHL's two sides continue to show a glimmer of hope hockey can sneak in a very shortened season, it looks like the Sharks -assuming of course, there are games to be played- will be limited if not in trouble on the blue line.
In the course of a few days, Comcast SportsNet California Sharks' reporter Kevin Kurz had a double dose of bad defenseman news: 1. Jason Demers is out four-to-six weeks after suffering a broken wrist playing lockout-inspired hockey in Switzerland. 2. Brent Burns' status for a would-be opening to the season is in question after Kurz revealed Burns had a sports hernia and groin repair surgery in May after the Sharks were eliminated quickly from the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Sharks did a reasonable job on defense last season, and will already be exponentially better after letting loose of the doomed Colin White experiment (he wasn't re-signed). The Sharks would need their most significant offseason addition -Brad Stuart- to not only provide dressing room guidance but some grit. The biggest issue the Sharks would face is no Demers or Burns firing shots from the point. They are two of the team's best offensive defenseman, leaving more zone responsible blueliners like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Stuart and Douglas Murray without a lot of offensive firepower flanking them. Dan Boyle would become the de facto No. 1 shooting option and the team's best points-producer on the power play. Also, Justin Braun suffered a fractured hand playing in Finland, and there's already reason to worry about depth on the back end.
But first things first is actually having a season to worry about.
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