Sharks go to great depths to become stronger

Doug Wilson said he saw no reason to change the chemistry of the San Jose Sharks, the only team that reached the NHL’s final four each of the last two seasons.

“Not at all,” said Wilson, the team’s general manager since 2003-04. “We kept our core.”

But after losing the Western Conference finals to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and to the Vancouver Canucks last spring, Wilson realized why those teams had made the quantum leap his team couldn’t pull off.

The difference he saw was depth, especially on defense. With that in mind, he made a stunning deal in late June by trading swift right wing Devin Setoguchi, 2010 first-round draft pick Charlie Coyle and the Sharks’ 2011 first-round pick to Minnesota for 6-foot-5, 230-pound defenseman Brent Burns and a 2012 second-round pick.

Ten days later, thinking he was short on speed and confident that second-year center Logan Couture was ready for more responsibility, Wilson traded left wing Dany Heatley to Minnesota for right wing Martin Havlat.

Boom. And boom again.

“We think now we’ve got the depth that I think you have to have for the marathon of the playoffs,” Wilson said. “I think we had a very good team last year. Certainly, I would have loved to have Brent Burns in our team last year.

“Remember, we were in 12th place in the Western Conference in January. We played terribly the first part of the year. We made a late run to finish where we finished, but it also came at a cost, exhausting us and leaving us susceptible to injuries. So what we’ve done is add to our depth. On defense we’re 10 deep. It’s the deepest it’s ever been. And I think we’ve added some depth in the forward position.”

Havlat, hampered by shoulder problems, hasn’t made his Sharks debut. But signing free-agent center Michal Handzus should give them a veteran presence and faceoff wins. Forwards Andrew Desjardins, Jamie McGinn and Andrew Murray will be counted on to support big guns Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ryane Clowe and Joe Pavelski.

“Our younger players have experienced a lot of playoff experience the last couple of years,” Wilson said. “Our team is just at its prime right now with guys like Pavelski and Clowe and younger guys like Couture and Jason Demers.

“We’ve been building to get to this point and now that we’ve been adding the couple of pieces that we did, we like where we’re at.”

The Canucks used nine defensemen during the playoffs last spring and the Blackhawks used eight in their 2010 title run, demonstrating the value of stockpiling blue-line wealth. For the Sharks, the key addition is Burns, who had 17 goals and 46 points for the Wild last season while averaging more than 25 minutes’ ice time per game. Burns and Dan Boyle should become a fearsome power-play duo within a balanced defense that also features hard-hitting Douglas Murray.

Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle, a former NHL defenseman, recognizes Burns’ abilities.

“That’s a big weapon, a guy that can do a lot,” Carlyle said. “You’d almost think that he was a forward at some times back there. Boyle’s the same but just not as big a man.

“That gives them two weapons, and you know that you’re going to have to be prepared for them to be involved in the offensive zone and in the offensive rush. They’re dynamic players.”

Coach Todd McLellan said last week that Burns was “still getting his feet wet, understanding how we want to play and what we want to do,” and that applies to the Sharks as a whole.

The NHL did the Sharks no favors by having them open the season Oct. 8, play no games for five days and then play three in four nights, ending Monday against the Ducks. Practice doesn’t make for perfect conditions to determine if kids can thrive under pressure or the power play needs adjusting.

“Earlier in the year you like to play a bit more than two games in two weeks or whatever,” Clowe said.

But starting Friday, they’ll swing to the other end of the spectrum to play six road games in 11 days.

“So if we’re going to bond, this is a good chance,” Clowe said.

Wilson said he believes his moves have made a good team better. That might be true. By spring we’ll know whether the Sharks’ new depth extends to their character too, an element they’ve found harder to come by.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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