# 2020–21 San Jose Sharks season

The 2020–21 San Jose Sharks season was the 30th season for the National Hockey League franchise that was established on May 9, 1990.
On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Sharks will play this season in the West Division and will play games against only the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Due to Santa Clara County banning all contact sports in response to a local rise of COVID-19 cases, the Sharks began the season on an extended road trip. Their first two home games on February 1 and 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights were to have been held at Gila River Arena, the home of division rival Arizona Coyotes, but ended up being postponed due to a COVID outbreak among the Golden Knights. On January 25, Santa Clara County health officials announced that they were lifting the ban, and the Sharks returned to SAP Center on February 13.
On May 3, the Sharks were eliminated from playoff contention after a 5–4 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche.

## Draft picks

Below are the San Jose Sharks' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26 and 27, 2020, at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, to October 6 and 7, 2020. It was instead held virtually via video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club (League) |
| 1 | 31 | Ozzy Wiesblatt | RW | Canada | Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) |
| 2 | 38$^1$ | Thomas Bordeleau | C | United States | U.S. NTDP (USHL) |
| 2 | 56 | Tristen Robins | RW | Canada | Saskatoon Blades (WHL) |
| 4 | 76$^2$ | Danil Gushchin | LW | Russia | Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) |
| 4 | 98 | Brandon Coe | RW | Canada | North Bay Battalion (OHL) |
| 7 | 196 | Alex Young | C | Canada | Colgate (ECAC) |
| 7 | 201 | Adam Raska | RW | Czech Republic | Rimouski Océanic (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 206 | Linus Oberg | C | Sweden | Örebro HK (SHL) |
| 7 | 210 | Timofey Spitserov | RW | Russia | Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) |
Notes:
* The Buffalo Sabres traded their 38th and 100th selection in this years' draft for the 34th pick from the Sharks.
* The Sharks traded their 100th and 126th selection in this years' draft for the 76th pick to the Edmonton Oilers.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

West Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | p – Colorado Avalanche | 56 | 39 | 13 | 4 | 35 | 197 | 133 | +64 | 82 |
| 2 | x – Vegas Golden Knights | 56 | 40 | 14 | 2 | 30 | 191 | 124 | +67 | 82 |
| 3 | x – Minnesota Wild | 56 | 35 | 16 | 5 | 27 | 181 | 160 | +21 | 75 |
| 4 | x – St. Louis Blues | 56 | 27 | 20 | 9 | 19 | 169 | 170 | −1 | 63 |
| 5 | e – Arizona Coyotes | 56 | 24 | 26 | 6 | 19 | 153 | 176 | −23 | 54 |
| 6 | e – Los Angeles Kings | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 19 | 143 | 170 | −27 | 49 |
| 7 | e – San Jose Sharks | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 15 | 151 | 199 | −48 | 49 |
| 8 | e – Anaheim Ducks | 56 | 17 | 30 | 9 | 11 | 126 | 179 | −53 | 43 |

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

The schedule was announced on December 23, 2020.
2020–21 game log 21–28–7 (Home: 11–13–4; Road: 10–15–3) :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)
  Postponement :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Evander Kane | 56 | 22 | 27 | 49 | −1 | 42 |
| Tomas Hertl | 50 | 19 | 24 | 43 | +1 | 27 |
| Logan Couture | 53 | 17 | 14 | 31 | −10 | 25 |
| Timo Meier | 54 | 12 | 19 | 31 | −7 | 22 |
| Brent Burns | 56 | 7 | 22 | 29 | −12 | 36 |
| Kevin Labanc | 55 | 12 | 16 | 28 | −9 | 31 |
| Erik Karlsson | 52 | 8 | 14 | 22 | −18 | 18 |
| Ryan Donato | 50 | 6 | 14 | 20 | −10 | 10 |
| Rudolfs Balcers | 41 | 8 | 9 | 17 | −6 | 16 |
| Mario Ferraro | 56 | 1 | 16 | 17 | −6 | 22 |
| John Leonard | 44 | 3 | 10 | 13 | −7 | 2 |
| Dylan Gambrell | 49 | 5 | 7 | 12 | −18 | 13 |
| Nikolai Knyzhov | 56 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −10 | 39 |
| Patrick Marleau | 56 | 4 | 5 | 9 | −9 | 10 |
| Matt Nieto | 28 | 5 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 4 |
| Alexander Barabanov$^†$ | 9 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Noah Gregor | 30 | 5 | 1 | 6 | −16 | 6 |
| Radim Simek | 40 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −9 | 15 |
| Marc-Edouard Vlasic | 51 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −7 | 8 |
| Marcus Sorensen | 29 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −5 | 16 |
| Joel Kellman | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 6 |
| Sasha Chmelevski | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −2 | 2 |
| Joachim Blichfeld | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 12 |
| Fredrik Handemark | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 2 |
| Nicolas Meloche | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 0 |
| Greg Pateryn$^†$ | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 2 |
| Alexander True | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| Ivan Chekhovich | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −3 | 0 |
| Christian Jaros | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| Fredrik Claesson$^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 0 |
| Kurtis Gabriel | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 55 |
| Antti Suomela$^‡$ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stefan Noesen$^‡$ | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Brinson Pasichnuk | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| Lean Bergmann | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 4 |
| Jacob Middleton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Jeffrey Viel | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 23 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Martin Jones | 34 | 34 | 1,868 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 102 | 3.28 | 980 | .896 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josef Korenar | 10 | 7 | 492 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 3.17 | 258 | .899 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Devan Dubnyk | 17 | 13 | 888 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 47 | 3.18 | 462 | .898 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Alexei Melnichuk | 3 | 2 | 131 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 5.05 | 81 | .864 | 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 2020–21 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Buffalo Sabres2nd-round pick in 2020 | To San Jose Sharks2nd-round pick in 2020 4th-round pick in 2020 |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Edmonton Oilers4th-round pick in 2020 5th-round pick in 2020 | To San Jose Sharks3rd-round pick in 2020 |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To Montreal Canadiens3rd-round pick in 2021 | To San Jose Sharks4th-round pick in 2020 |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | To New York Rangers5th-round pick in 2020 | To San Jose SharksTwo 7th-round picks in 2020 |
| January 27, 2021 (2021-01-27) | To Anaheim DucksTrevor Carrick | To San Jose SharksJack Kopacka |
| January 27, 2021 (2021-01-27) | To Ottawa SenatorsJack Kopacka | To San Jose SharksChristian Jaros |
| April 10, 2021 (2021-04-10) | To Colorado AvalancheDevan Dubnyk | To San Jose SharksGreg Pateryn 5th-round pick in 2021 |
| April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11) | To Columbus Blue JacketsCash considerations | To San Jose SharksNick Foligno |
| April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11) | To Toronto Maple LeafsStefan Noesen Nick Foligno | To San Jose Sharks4th-round pick in 2021 |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Tampa Bay Lightning Fredrik Claesson | To San Jose SharksMagnus Chrona |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Chicago BlackhawksCash considerations | To San Jose SharksMattias Janmark |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Vegas Golden KnightsMattias Janmark Nick DeSimone | To San Jose SharksBUF 5th-round pick in 2022 |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | To Toronto Maple LeafsAntti Suomela | To San Jose SharksAlexander Barabanov |

### Free agents

| Date | Player | Team | Contract term |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Anthony Greco | to New York Rangers | 2-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Brandon Davidson | to Buffalo Sabres | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Jonny Brodzinski | to New York Rangers | 1-year |
| October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13) | Patrick Marleau | from Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year |
| October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13) | Matt Nieto | from Colorado Avalanche | 1-year |
| October 13, 2020 (2020-10-13) | Aaron Dell | to Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| October 16, 2020 (2020-10-16) | Joe Thornton | to Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year |
| November 2, 2020 (2020-11-02) | Kurtis Gabriel | from Minnesota Wild | 1-year |
| January 1, 2021 (2021-01-01) | Tristen Robins | from Saskatoon Blades | 1-year |
| January 11, 2021 (2021-01-11) | Fredrik Claesson | from New Jersey Devils | 1-year |

### Waivers

| Date | Player | Team | Ref |
| January 12, 2021 (2021-01-12) | Rudolfs Balcers | from Ottawa Senators | |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Contract term |
| October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06) | Jayden Halbgewachs | 2-year |
| October 6, 2020 (2020-10-06) | Nicolas Meloche | 1-year |
| October 7, 2020 (2020-10-07) | Antti Suomela | 1-year |
| October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | Stefan Noesen | 1-year |
| October 10, 2020 (2020-10-10) | Kevin Labanc | 4-year |
| April 2, 2021 (2021-04-02) | Scott Reedy | 2-year |
| April 12, 2021 (2021-04-12) | Zach Sawchenko | 2-year |
| May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) | Alexander Barabanov | 1-year |
| May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) | Santeri Hatakka | 3-year |
| May 12, 2021 (2021-05-12) | Adam Raska | 3-year |
| May 21, 2021 (2021-05-21) | Daniil Gushchin | 3-year |
| June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) | Jeffrey Viel | 2-year |
| June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) | Jonathan Dahlen | 1-year |
| June 14, 2021 (2021-06-14) | Nicolas Meloche | 1-year |
| June 21, 2021 (2021-06-21) | Matt Nieto | 2-year |
| July 13, 2021 (2021-07-13) | Josef Korenar | 1-year |
| July 15, 2021 (2021-07-15) | Dylan Gambrell | 1-year |

### Contract terminations

| Date | Player | Via | Ref |
| December 25, 2020 (2020-12-25) | Danil Yurtaikin | Waived | |

## Awards

Regular season :
| Player | Award | Awarded |
| Logan Couture | West Star of the Month | March 2, 2021 |
| Martin Jones | Second Star of the Week | April 5, 2021 |