# 2021–22 San Jose Sharks season

The 2021–22 San Jose Sharks season was the 31st season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 9, 1990.
General manager Doug Wilson took medical leave beginning on November 26, 2021, and would resign from the role on April 7, 2022, ending a 19-season tenure with the team. Assistant general manager Joe Will had already been serving as acting general manager since Wilson took medical leave, and will continue to do so until the team finds a permanent candidate for the role. On April 14, the Sharks were eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Pacific Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | y – Calgary Flames | 82 | 50 | 21 | 11 | 44 | 293 | 208 | +85 | 111 |
| 2 | x – Edmonton Oilers | 82 | 49 | 27 | 6 | 38 | 290 | 252 | +38 | 104 |
| 3 | x – Los Angeles Kings | 82 | 44 | 27 | 11 | 35 | 239 | 236 | +3 | 99 |
| 4 | e – Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 34 | 266 | 248 | +18 | 94 |
| 5 | e – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 32 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 92 |
| 6 | e – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 22 | 214 | 264 | −50 | 77 |
| 7 | e – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 31 | 37 | 14 | 22 | 232 | 271 | −39 | 76 |
| 8 | e – Seattle Kraken | 82 | 27 | 49 | 6 | 23 | 216 | 285 | −69 | 60 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Dallas Stars | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 31 | 238 | 246 | −8 | 98 |
| 2 | CE | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 35 | 266 | 252 | +14 | 97 |
| 3 | PA | e – Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 34 | 266 | 248 | +18 | 94 |
| 4 | PA | e – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 32 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 92 |
| 5 | CE | e – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 32 | 252 | 257 | −5 | 89 |
| 6 | PA | e – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 22 | 214 | 264 | −50 | 77 |
| 7 | PA | e – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 31 | 37 | 14 | 22 | 232 | 271 | −39 | 76 |
| 8 | CE | e – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 28 | 42 | 12 | 16 | 219 | 291 | −72 | 68 |
| 9 | PA | e – Seattle Kraken | 82 | 27 | 49 | 6 | 23 | 216 | 285 | −69 | 60 |
| 10 | CE | e – Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 25 | 50 | 7 | 18 | 207 | 313 | −106 | 57 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The schedule was announced on August 4, 2021.

### Regular season

The schedule was announced on July 22, 2021, and was tentative pending on whether the league and the International Olympic Committee reach a deal to send players to the 2022 Winter Olympics. If no deal would have been reached, then an alternative schedule without an Olympics break would have been released and up to 16 of the team's home dates would have been rescheduled. An agreement was made on September 3, 2021. However, on December 22, 2021, the NHL decided to skip the Olympics due to a rise of COVID-19 cases. In place of missing the Olympics, the NHL used that time to reschedule postponed regular season games.
2021–22 game log: 32–37–13 (home: 18–18–5; road: 14–19–8) :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
  Postponement :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Timo Meier | 77 | 35 | 41 | 76 | −3 | 54 |
| Tomas Hertl | 82 | 30 | 34 | 64 | −9 | 30 |
| Logan Couture | 77 | 23 | 33 | 56 | −11 | 18 |
| Brent Burns | 82 | 10 | 44 | 54 | −15 | 42 |
| Alexander Barabanov | 70 | 10 | 29 | 39 | −5 | 14 |
| Erik Karlsson | 50 | 10 | 25 | 35 | −14 | 14 |
| Nick Bonino | 80 | 16 | 10 | 26 | −25 | 18 |
| Rudolfs Balcers | 61 | 11 | 12 | 23 | −3 | 20 |
| Noah Gregor | 63 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −21 | 25 |
| Jonathan Dahlen | 61 | 12 | 10 | 22 | −25 | 12 |
| Matt Nieto | 70 | 6 | 11 | 17 | −20 | 19 |
| Andrew Cogliano$^‡$ | 56 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −16 | 12 |
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic | 75 | 3 | 11 | 14 | −22 | 18 |
| Mario Ferraro | 63 | 2 | 12 | 14 | −5 | 16 |
| Jasper Weatherby | 50 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −14 | 18 |
| Scott Reedy | 35 | 7 | 2 | 9 | −8 | 10 |
| Jacob Middleton$^‡$ | 45 | 3 | 6 | 9 | +3 | 69 |
| Jaycob Megna | 44 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −1 | 16 |
| Sasha Chmelevski | 19 | 0 | 8 | 8 | +2 | 4 |
| Nicolas Meloche | 50 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −17 | 39 |
| Kevin Labanc | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −4 | 6 |
| Ryan Merkley | 39 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −10 | 8 |
| Jeffrey Viel | 34 | 3 | 2 | 5 | −2 | 114 |
| Thomas Bordeleau | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | −1 | 0 |
| William Eklund | 9 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 2 |
| Nick Merkley | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| Jonah Gadjovich | 43 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −9 | 74 |
| John Leonard | 14 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −5 | 0 |
| Radim Simek | 36 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −13 | 8 |
| Santeri Hatakka | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −5 | 2 |
| Lane Pederson | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −16 | 10 |
| Ryan Dzingel$^†$ | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 0 |
| Jayden Halbgewachs | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Adam Raska | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 7 |
| Artemi Kniazev | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 0 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| James Reimer | 48 | 46 | 2672:41 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 129 | 2.90 | 1,450 | .911 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Adin Hill | 25 | 22 | 1375:57 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 61 | 2.66 | 648 | .906 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Kaapo Kahkonen$^†$ | 11 | 10 | 565:59 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 2.86 | 322 | .916 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zach Sawchenko | 7 | 3 | 268:58 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 3.35 | 151 | .901 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Stalock$^†$ | 1 | 1 | 46:07 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7.81 | 28 | .786 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sharks. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.

## Transactions

The Sharks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 17, 2021 (2021-07-17) | To Arizona CoyotesJosef Korenar 2nd-round pick in 2022 | To San Jose SharksAdin Hill 7th-round pick in 2022 |
| July 26, 2021 (2021-07-26) | To New Jersey DevilsChristian Jaros | To San Jose SharksNick Merkley |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | To Arizona Coyotes4th-round pick in 2024 | To San Jose SharksLane Pederson |
| October 24, 2021 (2021-10-24) | To Ottawa SenatorsDylan Gambrell | To San Jose Sharks7th-round pick in 2022 |
| March 2, 2022 (2022-03-02) | To Edmonton OilersFuture considerations | To San Jose SharksAlex Stalock |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Minnesota WildJacob Middleton | To San Jose SharksKaapo Kahkonen 5th-round pick in 2022 |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To New York RangersNick Merkley | To San Jose SharksAnthony Bitetto |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Colorado AvalancheAndrew Cogliano | To San Jose Sharks5th-round pick in 2024 |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Tampa Bay LightningAlexei Melnichuk | To San Jose SharksAntoine Morand |

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Nick Bonino | Minnesota Wild | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Andrew Cogliano | Dallas Stars | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | James Reimer | Carolina Hurricanes | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Jaycob Megna | San Jose Barracuda (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 7, 2021 (2021-10-07) | Jonah Gadjovich | Vancouver Canucks | | Waivers |
| February 21, 2022 (2022-02-21) | Ryan Dzingel | Arizona Coyotes | | Waivers |
| April 11, 2022 (2022-04-11) | Nick Cicek | San Jose Barracuda (AHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| April 14, 2022 (2022-04-14) | Max Veronneau | Leksands IF (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| April 19, 2022 (2022-04-19) | Strauss Mann | Skellefteå AIK (SHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| May 19, 2022 (2022-05-19) | Mitchell Russell | North Bay Battalion (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| June 1, 2022 (2022-06-01) | Gannon Laroque | Victoria Royals (WHL) | 3-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 21, 2021 (2021-07-21) | Alexander True | Seattle Kraken | | Expansion draft |
| July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) | Lean Bergmann | | | Contract termination |
| July 26, 2021 (2021-07-26) | Lean Bergmann | Adler Mannheim (DEL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 27, 2021 (2021-07-27) | Martin Jones | | | Buy-out |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Kurtis Gabriel | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Martin Jones | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Greg Pateryn | Anaheim Ducks | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 31, 2021 (2021-07-31) | Maxim Letunov | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 30, 2021 (2021-08-30) | Ivan Chekhovich | | | Contract termination |
| September 1, 2021 (2021-09-01) | Ivan Chekhovich | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) | Unknown | Free agency |
| September 5, 2021 (2021-09-05) | Marcus Sorensen | Djurgårdens IF (SHL) | 4-year | Free agency |
| September 12, 2021 (2021-09-12) | Vladislav Kotkov | | | Contract termination |
| September 13, 2021 (2021-09-13) | Ryan Donato | Seattle Kraken | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 14, 2021 (2021-09-14) | Vladislav Kotkov | CSKA Moscow (KHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| December 15, 2021 (2021-12-15) | Joel Kellman | | | Contract termination |
| December 16, 2021 (2021-12-16) | Joel Kellman | Växjö Lakers (SHL) | 2-year | Free agency |
| January 8, 2022 (2022-01-08) | Evander Kane | | | Contract termination |
| June 8, 2022 (2022-06-08) | Joachim Blichfeld | Växjö Lakers (SHL) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 22, 2021 (2021-07-22) | Rudolfs Balcers | 2-year | Re-signing |
| July 22, 2021 (2021-07-22) | Joachim Blichfeld | 1-year | Re-signing |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Nick Merkley | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 4, 2021 (2021-08-04) | Adin Hill | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 16, 2021 (2021-08-16) | William Eklund | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 24, 2021 (2021-08-24) | Jasper Weatherby | 2-year | Entry-level |
| September 13, 2021 (2021-09-13) | Noah Gregor | 1-year | Re-signing |
| December 6, 2021 (2021-12-06) | Brandon Coe | 3-year | Entry-level |
| March 16, 2022 (2022-03-16) | Tomas Hertl | 8-year | Extension |
| April 1, 2022 (2022-04-01) | Nikolai Knyzhov | 1-year | Extension |
| April 16, 2022 (2022-04-16) | Thomas Bordeleau | 3-year | Entry-level |
| May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09) | Alexander Barabanov | 2-year | Extension |
| May 9, 2022 (2022-05-09) | Jaycob Megna | 2-year | Extension |
| June 1, 2022 (2022-06-01) | Gannon Laroque | 3-year | Entry-level |

## Draft picks

Below are the San Jose Sharks' selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which was held on July 23 to 24, 2021 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, United States.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club (League) |
| 1 | 7 | William Eklund | LW | Sweden | Djurgardens IF (SHL) |
| 3 | 81$^2$ | Benjamin Gaudreau | G | Canada | Sarnia Sting (OHL) |
| 4 | 103 | Gannon Laroque | D | Canada | Victoria Royals (WHL) |
| 4 | 121$^3$ | Ethan Cardwell | C | Canada | Barrie Colts (OHL) |
| 5 | 135 | Artem Guryev | D | Russia | Lindsay Muskies (OJHL) |
| 5 | 156$^4$ | Max Mccue | C | Canada | London Knights (OHL) |
| 6 | 167 | Liam Gilmartin | LW | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 6 | 177$^2$ | Theo Jacobsson | C | Sweden | Modo Jr. (SWE) |
| 7 | 199 | Evgenii Kashnikov | D | Russia | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
Notes:
* The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade on September 13, 2018, that sent Erik Karlsson and Francis Perron to San Jose in exchange for Chris Tierney, Dylan DeMelo, Josh Norris, Rudolfs Balcers, a conditional second-round pick in 2019, a conditional l first-round pick in 2019 or 2020, a conditional first-round pick no later than 2022, and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Ottawa will receive a second-round pick in 2021 if Karlsson re-signs with the Sharks for the 2019–20 NHL season and the Sharks do not make the 2019 Stanley Cup Finals – was converted on June 17, 2019, when Karlsson re-signed with San Jose for the 2019–20 NHL season.
* The St. Louis Blues' third and sixth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as a result of a trade on July 24, 2021, that sent the Sharks' third-round pick to the Blues.
* The Toronto Maple Leafs' fourth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as a result of a trade on April 11, 2021, that sent Nick Foligno to Toronto.
* The Colorado Avalanche's fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as a result of a trade on April 10, 2021, that sent Devan Dubnyk to Colorado in exchange for Greg Pateryn.

## Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Tomas Hertl | Third star of the week | January 10, 2022 |
| Timo Meier | All-Star Third star of the week | January 13, 2022 January 24, 2022 |