Sharks officially cut ties with 3 of their players.

The San Jose Sharks are coming off a catastrophic season, one that saw them post by far the worst record in the entire National Hockey League, and unsurprisingly there are going to be significant changes coming to the organization as a result of the poor product on the ice.

On Saturday, we got a small preview of what some of those changes will look like when San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier confirmed that he and the Sharks would be cutting ties with at least 3 of their current players. Grier confirmed that the Sharks would be moving on from forwards Kevin Labanc, Alexander Barabanov, and Mike Hoffman when their contracts expire at the end of the season.

Labanc will likely come as the biggest surprise given the fact that he has been a member of the Sharks organization for the entire length of his NHL career this far. Drafted in the 7th round (171st overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Sharks, Labanc has played all 478 of his NHL games in a Sharks uniform. Obviously that will have to change come next season if he intends to continue his career in the NHL.

Barabanov finds himself in something of a similar boat, having played only 13 games for another NHL franchise during his career. Babarbanov has been with the Sharks since the 2020-21 NHL regular season and the only other team he has ever played for is the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Many have already been critical of the Sharks for failing to move Barabanov ahead of the NHL's trade deadline, and this news will only amplify those criticisms.

Hoffman will be the least surprising name on the list as the 34 year old goal scorer had only just arrived in San Jose this season, and neither party is likely thrilled at the prospect of repeating what they went through this season. Hoffman played 66 games for the Sharks this season and had the lowest point production of his career since he played just 25 games for the Ottawa Senators during the 2013-14 NHL season.

Grier will have his work cut out for him this offseason if he hopes to turn this Sharks roster around in relatively short order.