Mile High Sticking
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The Wild Wild West: Let’s Get Used to the Colorado Avalanche’s New Division

By King Dawit

EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 02: Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on September 02, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA - SEPTEMBER 02: Mikko Rantanen #96 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by his teammates after scoring a goal against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game Six of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on September 02, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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San Jose Sharks

DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 16: Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks fights for the puck against Ian Cole #28 of the Colorado Avalanche in the third period at the Pepsi Center on January 16, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – JANUARY 16: Patrick Marleau #12 of the San Jose Sharks fights for the puck against Ian Cole #28 of the Colorado Avalanche in the third period at the Pepsi Center on January 16, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

2019-20 Record: 29-36-5, 15th in the West (2-0-0 against Colorado)

A year after making it to the Conference Finals, the Sharks went to the bottom of the sea. No, the West. Both.

Grubauer and the Avs would make do of the Sharks their first meeting, which saw Cale Makar, scoring his 10th of the season, leading the charge for a 4-0 shutout and 38 shots on net. The Sharks’ second meeting would fair better, but would still see the Avs win, a game which saw MacKinnon and Landeskog each get a goal and two assists for a 4-3 win.

Elsewhere, the Sharks, sunk by signing Erik Karlsson to an eight-year, $92 million deal, a gamble which meant — aside from signing Timo Meier — losing Joe Pavelski to Dallas, and Joonas Donskoi to yours truly. With starter Martin Jones struggling, and the sight of a first round pick to save the franchise gone in exchange for Karlsson, the Sharks entered a dark, very deep abyss. While Meier and Evander Kane, as well as the always offensive Brent Burns, would put up solid seasons in scoring, the lack of a secondary crew hurt the team.

This year, other than seeing Joe Thornton on another team for the first time since 2005, and bringing back Patrick Marleau after his very brief stint on Pittsburgh, Devan Dubnyk arrives to take the brunt of the goaltending. It’s still a team that needs a lot of work, and being in a division that also includes the Anaheim Ducks, and the Los Angeles Kings, it’s going to be more of the same.

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