The Sharks Sterility Stare is in an awkward spot this week, as the San Jose Sharks have not played a game since January 31, and they will not play again until February 14 due to a weird scheduling quirk with the NHL All-Star break and other circumstances. So, with no recent games to assess, we’re going to rank the team’s 10 best players this season, so far, in reverse order to get a feel for the good, the bad, and the ugly.

10. William Eklund, LW—1.0 PS (age 21)

With 24 points (8G, 16A) in 50 games, he’s acquitting himself decently at such a young age in his first extended NHL stint. The good news is that he’s a positive contributor on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ice. The No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Eklund is going to be one of those players to watch in upcoming seasons as the team rebuilds and tries to get back to the playoffs. The sky is the limit here.

9. Anthony Duclair, LW—1.1 PS (age 28)

This is the seventh NHL team he’s played with, so at his age, what you see is what you’re going to get going forward at this point in his career. He’s not a star, but Duclair is a middling contributor as a lower-line forward (17 points in 46 games: 9G, 8A). His veteran presence can help the younger skaters learn and grow, but we can’t see him sticking long with the organization, based on his career trajectory hitherto.

8. Fabian Zetterlund, LW/RW—1.4 PS (age 24)

With 21 points (14G, 7A) in 51 games, he’s providing the Sharks with balance on all areas of the sheet, just like Eklund. The issue here is that he’s older and not as productive, relatively speaking. San Jose is his second franchise already, and we don’t see the team keeping him longterm, even if he is serving a purpose right now: chewing up minutes on the lower lines and scoring an occasional goal due to his numerous shots.

7. Mario Ferraro, D—1.5 PS (age 25)

With the Sharks so bad on defense, maybe it’s a surprise to see a blueliner so high on this list. But someone’s got to do the dirty work, right? He provides very little on offense at this point in his career, and that’s not going to change. Most of his value comes on defense: with 13 more blocked shots, for example, he will set a career high with plenty of games left on the schedule. He’s played 299 games for the franchise, so … yeah.

6. Ty Emberson, D—1.6 PS (age 23)

There is some good upside here to discuss: he has only appeared in 23 games, and he’s scored 9 points (1G, 8A). He’s doing just enough on offense, while his defense stands out. Rare on this team, too, he currently has an even-zero plus/minus rating, which is shocking. He’s averaging just under 19:00 ATOI now, but there’s positivity to be found. Assuming his conditioning holds, look for him to get more ice time down the stretch.

5. Jan Rutta, D—1.9 PS (age 33)

He’s on the roster for one reason: experience. A 2-time Cup winner with Tampa Bay (2020, 2021), he’s never been a star, and the Sharks are his 4th organization. For his career, he’s barely averaged 17:00 ATOI, so we know Rutta has been a low-line option on the blue line. For San Jose, he’s getting almost 19:30 ATOI, showing the kids how it is done, professionally. His scoring (3G, 9A) is negligible; his presence is his value.

4. Mikael Granlund, C—1.9 PS (age 31)

He turns 32 in a few weeks, and we have highlighted his efforts here before. He plays a solid 2-way game, with an edge to his offensive contributions (5G, 24A, 38 games). Keeping him healthy and on the ice would be great for the organization, as his veteran leadership has counted for a lot in the absence of it elsewhere. With over 20:30 ATOI this season when healthy, Granlund has given the San Jose organization a nice boost.

3. Tomáš Hertl, C—2.4 PS (age 30)

It says more about the team that the player when the best skater only has 2.4 Point Shares at this point of the season. Hertl is a Sharks lifer, with 712 regular-season and 62 postseason games with the franchise. He brings solid offense (15G, 19A, 48 games) and above-average defense to the equation. Yet he’s never been an All Star at this point in his career, and he’s not even a “team” star. Yet San Jose would be worse without him.

2. Kaapo Kähkönen, G—4.2 PS (age 27)

He is 6-14-2 on a team that is 14-32-5 this year, so his value comes from the fact he’s stopped a lot of shots that the porous defense has let through the cracks. His 3.55 GAA reflects that, although his .901 S% is actually pretty admirable under the circumstances. Kähkönen is a decent backup on a bad team, and we applaud his .524 QS%—which is better than the .378 mark he posted last year with the organization.

1. Mackenzie Blackwood, G—5.4 PS (age 27)

We’ve discussed his play this year aplenty here already, so we’re going to emphasize his value here as the “best” player on one of the worst teams in the league: his 8-17-3 record aside, his .586 QS% is the best of his career for a full season. Also, his RBS mark (“Really Ba Starts” … literally) is not the worst of his career so far; he has 7 RBS this year in 32 games, and he had 10 RBS over 35 games in New Jersey once (2021). Keeper?