The defending champs knew they weren’t good enough to repeat with the roster the way it was. Yes The Sharks sit 2nd in the west and 3rd overall but Gm Martin still wasn’t happy.

The 3rd line was obviously an issue so Martin definitely addressed that. The Sharks also added 2 Defenseman to an already steady D group.

The Sharks picked up M. Reilly from the Oilers. Reilly is highly skilled puck moving Dman. Reilly is gonna step onto the Top line along side Martinez. This gives Matthews and Marner more time with the puck and that’s never a bad idea. The Shark also picked up K. Yandle. Yandle doesn’t have super crazy numbers but the Sharks seem to think he is worth it Yandle can still move the puck and has sound numbers. Yandle is slotted in to skate beside young superstar C. Makar on the second line. What Yandle brings in LD and EX will help Makar and the rest of The Sharks that you can’t put a price on.

The Sharks felt they needed to clean house on the 3rd line. The Sharks top 2 lines are obviously solid. The 3rd line wasn’t chipping in. Not that these guys were costing the team by any means but they definitely weren’t that solid hard to play against line that you need in the playoffs. I think GM Martin fixed that and made significant upgrades. Martin brought in Ritchie,Lowry and Stastny to play on the 3rd line. This line is now very respectable. They now have a third threat to score. But here’s a “little” number for the opposition. I have learned that these three are gonna have Oleksiak and Myers as D. This line is big. They average 6’4″ 224lbs. Oh my!!!

As always it’s about staying healthy. If this team stays healthy they have a legitimate chance of repeating. Long way to go yes but if healthy that roster is scary.