SAN JOSE — Coach Pete DeBoer emphasized that the forward lines and defense pairs the Sharks went with Friday for their first day of training camp are hardly set in stone.
Still, there was some intrigue, namely seeing the longtime shutdown pair of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Justin Braun practicing in different groups, with Vlasic skating in the morning session and Braun in the afternoon.
Does that mean the two will find themselves with different partners — Vlasic with Erik Karlsson, for instance — in some preseason games and perhaps even on Opening Night on Oct. 3 when the Sharks host the Anaheim Ducks?