Every NHL coach cautions the media this time of year not to read too much into line combinations, as experimentation is frequent in the preseason. Still, the lines deployed for practice offer a window into what Pete DeBoer and his new-look staff are thinking.



The group that would would currently be labeled as the Sharks’ fourth line might be its most intriguing.



Chris Tierney, Joel Ward and Marcus Sorensen all enter the 2017-18 season with something to prove, yet all are at drastically different stages of their careers. Tierney is the young center who didn’t take the step forward last season that the organization had hoped, Ward is the savvy veteran trying to find the fountain of youth after a down year, and Sorensen is the speedy newcomer who came on late last year but still has to show he can play in the NHL on a nightly basis.



The fourth liners on any team are also typically the guys most in danger of losing their places in the active lineup,...