There were a lot of pieces of the Erik Karlsson trade that the San Jose Sharks worked into the lineup last season. The addition of Mikael Grandlund was a net positive. After all, the forward became the team’s MVP, albeit in a dismal year. The addition of Mike Hoffman was brutal. Consider the addition of Jan Rutta as middle ground in it all.
Rutta came to the Sharks as advertised. A depth defenseman with a veteran presence who was reliable in his own end. He wasn’t a prolific scorer, but he did what he was tasked to do, play defense.
Rutta’s 2023-24 production
Rutta’s points this season were in line with his normal production and even close to his career high.
| Games Played | G | A | Pts | +/- | TOI/G |
| 69 | 5 | 14 | 19 | -21 | 19:43 |
In 69 games, the 33-year-old defenseman scored 19 points. That was more than any other season in Rutta’s career except for the 2017-18 season with the Chicago Blackhawks when he scored 20 points in 57 games. His five goals this season, was also the second best of his career, bested by the aforementioned season with the Blackhawks.
Where Rutta’s work truly helped the team was in ice time. His 19:43 per game was a career-high. In his five prior seasons, he ranged from 14:26 per game to 17:07 per game.
Rutta’s results a mixed-bag
When looking at his ranking on the goals above replacement (GAR) chart for Sharks defensemen courtesy of Evolving-Hockey, you can see that Rutta was far from the best defender in the Sharks’ lineup.
Both his even-strength defense and work on the penalty kill left something to be desired.
However, some of that ranking might be due to the heavy minutes he was asked to log. He and Mario Ferraro were the only two defensemen on the team who played 200-plus minutes on the penalty kill. In fact, they’re the only players who logged 100-plus minutes on the penalty kill, according to Natural Stat Trick.
What’s more, Rutta did not get the benefit of offensive zone starts at even-strength as much as other defensemen did. He was relied on more for neutral zone and defensive zone starts. (It should be noted that the offensive zone starts for all defensemen at 5-on-5 was very low since there were some games where the Sharks had failed to have enough sustained pressure to earn more than a couple of stoppages in play in the offensive zone.)
Unfortunately, Rutta had a negative impact on helping the Sharks gain or maintain the puck. For example, the defenseman had 15 penalties, including one misconduct penalty, while drawing only 6, according to Natural Stat Trick. He had 16 giveaways to his 14 takeaways, not a great stat for someone who logged that many minutes on a team that often failed to have the puck.
That said, he wasn’t afraid to sacrifice his body. Rutta delivered 56 hits this season; he took 50 hits. He also blocked 110 shots.
Rutta as a teacher
Rutta spent a large part of the season paired with Henry Thrun. While the pairing didn’t work out statistically, as we explored in Thrun’s season review, it’s clear that Thrun learned during his time working with Rutta. More than once during the Sharks’ broadcasts, the pair were shown on the bench after a shift talking things out. Rutta was clearly explaining the nuances of the game to Thrun and helping him better shape his defense.
It’s a role that other players on the blueline didn’t step into as smoothly. The leadership that Rutta showed on the bench should not be discounted when considering his impact on the team.
Rutta’s future with the Sharks
2024-25 will mark the final season of Rutta’s contract. His $2.75 million cap hit is manageable for a team that’s still struggling to find its way to the cap floor. But, the added benefit of a contract like Rutta’s is that it’s tradable.
If the Sharks’ defense finds stability this season — this relies on the healthy return of Ty Emberson and Matt Benning — there may be the opportunity for Rutta to move down the lineup and play easier minutes against lighter competition. This may be a better showcase of the skills he can offer to a playoff-contending team. Rutta is a two-time Stanley Cup Champion, and he was a stabilizing force alongside Victor Hedman in one of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Cup runs. That’s something general managers value at the trade deadline.
Look for the Sharks to try to put Rutta in a position to succeed and hopefully trade at the deadline.
Editor’s Note: Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out the player reviews for the San Jose Sharks. We realize there were a lot of guys rotating into and out of the lineup and some of the key depth players were traded. As a result, Fear the Fin plans to focus on the players who are 1) still with the Sharks and 2) played 20 or more games for San Jose this season.
