San Jose Sharks: 5 Players That Need To Step Their Game Up

The San Jose Sharks have officially clicked as a team, after a 5-1 east coast road trip has revived this team's very early season blunders.

The addition of Martin Havlat has stabilized the Sharks' second line, and Joe Pavelski is having a field day with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau on the first line.

San Jose Sharks: What We Learned in First Game of the Season

I don't mean to play off of the unoriginal use of "What did we learn today," which is so overplayed, but there is something to say about seeing the Sharks for the first time this season on TV, in the starting lines and in front of fired up fans.

NHL Free Agency: Ranking the New Players That Will Help the San Jose Sharks Make the Stanley Cup Finals

The San Jose Sharks made some deals this offseason, to say the least. GM Doug Wilson traded in offensive prowess for speed and bulky defense, giving this San Jose team a whole different look and feel heading into this season.

On paper, the Sharks look to be at the top of the Western Conference yet again. Even more, they have turned their biggest weakness into possibly its greatest asset.

San Jose Sharks: 5 Players We Can't Wait To See On the Ice Next Season

The San Jose Sharks will be throwing a whole different team out on the ice next season. This summer, it seemed GM Doug Wilson and the Sharks were a little fed up with back-to-back Western Conference Final defeats, and they decided to re-tool.

While many teams would be content with making it to the third round of the NHL playoffs two years in a row, GM Doug Wilson evidently was not. He made that clear when he traded sniper Dany Heatley and young talent Devin Setoguchi to the Wild this past offseason.