1998-99 record: 31-33-18, 80 points, 4th Pacific Division
Coach: Darryl Sutter (65-71-28, two years as Sharks coach)
New faces: D Gary Suter, C Eric Landry, G Johan Hedberg, LW Niklas Sundstrom, D Brad Stuart
Losses: LW Fredrik Oduya, D Jon Rohloff, C Alexei Yegorov, D Andrei Zyuzin, RW Joe Murphy
Strengths: This has the makings of the first winning season in the Sharks' nine-year history. Suddenly, they boast one of the deepest group of forwards in the Western Conference. San Jose re-signed C Vincent Damphousse and acquired Sundstrom, who join RW Owen Nolan, C Patrick Marleau and LWs Jeff Friesen and Marco Sturm. The Sharks figure to get a boost from the long-delayed arrival of Suter, who signed before last season but missed the entire campaign with an elbow injury. The defense is solid with veterans Bill Houlder, Bryan Marchment, Marcus Ragnarsson and Bob Rouse. The goaltending tandem of Mike Vernon and Steve Shields more than held its own. Shields was a pleasant surprise, going 15-11-8 with four shutouts, a .921 save percentage and a 2.22 goals-against average.
Weaknesses: The Sharks are still waiting for Nolan to bounce back. After scoring 31 goals in 1996-97, he has combined for 33 in the past two seasons. He was one of the reasons San Jose had the fewest goals (196) among the 16 playoff teams. The Sharks also are hoping Suter improves a power play that ranked 23rd in the league last season. It is almost vital for San Jose to avoid another slow start. The Sharks were 4-11-1 to start the 1997-98 season and a dreadful 0-6-2 to open last season. With RW Joe Murphy remaining unsigned, Sutter must find someone to replace the 25 goals he scored in 1998-99.