Sharks offseason: New San Jose coaching staff to emphasize in-game adjustments

Todd McLellan has a revamped coaching staff that's anxious to start working. During the NHL lockout, they've been watching KHL games to bide their time, but they're also coming up with a new strategy to make in-game adjustments an emphasis.

Assistant coach Jay Woodcroft is the only returning assistant coach from the San Jose Sharks' staff of last year, but he'll have new duties this season. According to The San Jose Mercury News, Woodcroft will be charged with a system to quickly chart which shifts are playing the best and who in those shifts is making the difference.

Evaluating these things quickly is atop the priority list for McLellan, according to the Mercury News:

"It's hard to do that with the staff size we've had in the past on the bench," he continued. "We have a tendency to react to it a little more on the second day when we can video it. I hope the guidelines we're using are going to be very productive for us,"

The new measures of tracking metrics mid-game are still in the works. Asked if Woodcroft will bring computers into the equation, McLellan said that it'd be "too much."

Overall, the system in which the staff will evaluate shifts quickly is still evolving.