Sharks’ Devin Cooley Faces Uncertain Future

Cooley’s first two games with the Sharks were against the Chicago Blackhawks, and considering he was making both his NHL and SAP Center debuts, nerves were a factor, and he didn’t play well against a team that’s not much better than the Sharks. 

Even at the American Hockey League level, Cooley has struggled to consistently perform well. He had a strong 2022-23 season with the Milwaukee Admirals, but in every other AHL season, he’s had a sub-.900 save percentage. He has always lacked consistency – he can be solid one night, or even one season, but it hasn’t been sustainable, and that’s been the case in his limited opportunities in the NHL as well. 

There’s also the fact that the Sharks don’t have much room for Cooley. The NHL tandem next season is likely to be Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek, while the AHL team will run with some combination of Magnus Chrona, Eetu Makaniemi, and Georgi Romanov. That means there’s no place within the organization for him to see regular playing time.

Cooley: The Good

Despite his poor performances this season, Cooley also had two phenomenal appearances. He made 34 saves on 36 shots against the St. Louis Blues when he earned his first career NHL win. He followed that up with a 49-save performance against the Seattle Kraken. Those two games showed what he could potentially become at the NHL level. While he’ll never be a number-one goaltender, he could be a decent backup if he finds some consistency.

He’s shown that he can play at a high level and has praised the effect that goaltending coach Thomas Speer and Blackwood have had on his game since joining the organization. The mental aspect of his game has drastically improved, but there are some areas that still need major work as well. As Cooley himself talked about following the game against the Blues, he was able to keep himself from getting into his own head, and it kept the game from falling apart as it had in his two previous starts. If Speer can help him play at a high level more regularly, at the very least he could be a third goaltender who can fill in if injuries were to occur. As a result, players like Chrona who aren’t ready for the NHL wouldn’t be thrust into the lineup just because they need a body.

Cooley also brings a big personality to the locker room, which can be underrated, especially as the team moves through a rebuild. Players like that are very important for building and keeping morale high. 

Finally, Cooley wouldn’t be expensive to keep around as he’d likely sign for the league minimum and be a serviceable injury replacement whenever needed. As mentioned earlier, though, there isn’t a spot within the organization that would allow him to play regularly, so he would be the third goaltender for either the Sharks or the San Jose Barracuda. That said, using a roster spot on an extra goaltender isn’t ideal. It’s much more valuable for general managers to have the flexibility to call up skaters when needed, but it may be the only option if the Sharks want to keep the Los Gatos native. The question then becomes, do the Sharks want to keep him or was this season simply a one-off? Realistically, it seems like he may be departing the organization sooner rather than later.

Cooley’s arrival this season will be a fond memory for Sharks fans whether he stays with the team or not. The future is unknown, especially on a rebuilding team. Given the very low expectations when he arrived on the scene, he certainly overperformed on a couple of occasions and as a result, he showed that he has what it takes to play in the NHL even for a short period of time. That’s a significant takeaway for an undrafted goaltender who defied the odds to ever even make it to the league. He wasn’t out of place, and although this might end up marking the end of his NHL career, there is always the chance that it could just be the start.