Buyers, or sellers?

This time of year, NHL fans across North America want to know which of the two columns their team falls under.

It’s possible to be neither, though, and that could be where the Sharks are as the Feb. 26 NHL trade deadline is now less than two weeks away.

There are some mixed messages coming from the organization.

On the one hand, general manager Doug Wilson said on “Hockey Night in Canada” on Saturday that he doesn’t see the Sharks “being in the rental market unless there’s players that fit for now and the future. We promised our young guys the opportunity, they’ve taken advantage of it, and we don’t want anybody to leapfrog them.”

If that’s true, you can take the Sharks out of the running for some of the big names that are likely to get dealt before the deadline, like Evander Kane or Rick Nash.

On the other hand, recent comments by coach Pete DeBoer could suggest that the roster has some holes, particularly up front.

“It doesn’t feel as dangerous as I would like it to feel as a four-line attack,” DeBoer said before Sunday’s game in Anaheim. “We’re going to keep experimenting until we get there.”

The problem is that the stretch run to the playoffs, especially in a division as tightly packed as the Pacific is right now, is not the ideal time for experimentation. Earlier in the week, DeBoer even said so himself, bristling at a suggestion that Danny O’Regan is currently auditioning for the fourth line center role.

“This isn’t f—ing training camp. We’re trying to make the playoffs. There’s no evaluation,” DeBoer said on Feb. 9. “We’re in the sprint to get in the playoffs, and these guys have worked their balls off for 54 games. … This isn’t training camp, this isn’t tryout time. That was six months ago. We’re in the push to the finish line here.”

Another player or two via trade would help with that push. But is it coming?

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The Sharks are in a decent position to make the playoffs. Sunday’s huge 3-2 shootout win in Anaheim has them in second place in the Pacific Division, two points ahead of Calgary and three in front of the Kings and Ducks.

The biggest question mark with their roster is whether an injured Joe Thornton will return. The organization has gone out of its way to avoid putting a timeline on Thornton’s right knee injury that required surgery, and even Thornton himself indicated to The Athletic last week that he’s merely hopeful that he’ll be able to play again this season. Not a single individual in the Sharks organization has said that they surely expect Thornton back.

That, of course, leaves a huge void at the center position. If Thornton doesn’t return, it’s difficult to see the Sharks, as currently constructed, being a real threat in the Stanley Cup playoffs even if they manage to qualify.

DeBoer has been forced to tinker with the lineup ever since Thornton left the game against the Jets on Jan. 23 with the knee injury. The early returns were not good, as the Sharks managed just seven even-strength goals in the six combined games after the All-Star break — and lost four of the six — but weekend wins over the Oilers and Ducks were a bit more encouraging.

Joe Pavelski, in particular, has been in the spotlight. The captain has never regularly played center in the three seasons DeBoer has been coach, but he’s started the last six games there. Pavelski has four goals and five assists over that span, including back-to-back multi-goal games against Vegas and Edmonton on Thursday and Saturday.

Still, Pavelski’s line has been playing protected minutes lately. In the past four games, Pavelski has started 31 shifts in the offensive zone as opposed to just 14 in the defensive zone (69.9 percent). Only Timo Meier (80.5 percent) and Joonas Donskoi (75.8 percent) — Pavelski’s most frequent linemates — have started a higher percentage of draws in the offensive zone than the captain has.

Does Pavelski, 33, still have the legs and the hands to drive a line? The jury is still out, but DeBoer said Sunday he’s been pleased with Pavelski lately.

“I think he’s getting more and more comfortable,” DeBoer said. “I like his game. I’ve liked his game for a little while now, even on the wing. You throw him into the middle, it’s not an easy ask. I think every game he looks a little more comfortable.”

In the meantime, Logan Couture and his linemates, Tomas Hertl and Kevin Labanc, are starting most of their shifts in the defensive zone, often against the other team’s best line. Surely DeBoer would like to put that dangerous trio in a better position to generate offense, but he just can’t do it right now. That’s a problem, as Couture is far and away the Sharks’ most consistent offensive forward.

All of this is to say is that even with Pavelski’s recent uptick in scoring from the center position, the Sharks probably need at least one more center, even if it’s not the sexiest name.

“The centermen drive the lines for me,” DeBoer said. “It’s such a critical position. Wingers are important, but if you’re not stable and solid up the middle, it’s hard to establish a lot of momentum long-term. That’s something that we’ve talked about since day one here.”

Recall in 2016, when the Sharks acquired Nick Spaling from the Maple Leafs. Spaling wasn’t brought in to light up the scoreboard, and he didn’t, with two goals and six points in 23 games and just one assist in 24 playoff games. But he was a player that was a reliable two-way guy, and centered the Sharks’ fourth line for most of their run to the Stanley Cup Final.

DeBoer could roll his four lines against anyone after Spaling arrived, and that was a key to that team’s success.

“It was a guy that you didn’t worry about being on the road and him ending up out against Corey Perry or (Ryan) Getzlaf, or the Sedins,” DeBoer said of Spaling. “If that happened, he had the ability to survive because of the way he plays, but also because he was a seasoned veteran and he had been there before and he wasn’t overwhelmed.”

So who might be a seasoned veteran center that could help the Sharks without the team surrendering any assets to get him?

Perhaps the most interesting part of Wilson’s HNIC interview on Saturday was that he left open the possibility of pursuing a player that’s currently competing in the Olympics in South Korea.

“There might even be some players there that we are scouting, because there are some guys that could come in right after the Olympics and maybe fill a role,” Wilson said.

Were Wilson to sign someone from an Olympic team, it could provide a boost without him surrendering anything other than money.

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There also exists the possibility that the Sharks never really expected to compete for a Stanley Cup this season anyway.

Start with the offseason. The Sharks let Patrick Marleau depart via free agency, and strangely didn’t bring anyone in to try and replace his offense. The hope was that the younger forwards would develop, and in some cases that has happened, but there seemed to be more of an importance placed on keeping salary cap space.

The Sharks still have that salary cap space, approximately $5.6 million, according to CapFriendly.com. If they’re not in the market for a rental player, as Wilson stated, then keeping that cap space available for this season becomes even more perplexing.

Looking ahead, the Sharks will have plenty of flexibility in the offseason, when Thornton ($8 million), Joel Ward ($3.275 million) and Jannik Hansen ($2 million) come off of the books. Some of that money is already going towards raises for Martin Jones and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who will see their respective contract extensions begin.

Hertl, Chris Tierney and Aaron Dell (if he stays), will also be in line for raises, but regardless, indications are the Sharks will attempt to be big players in the free agent market. You can be sure that if John Tavares becomes an unrestricted free agent, for example, the Sharks will be blowing up his agent’s cell phone.

The Sharks have often said that they’re not in a position as an organization to bottom out in the standings and rebuild. Dwindling attendance numbers and stagnant TV ratings are enough evidence that they’re having trouble remaining relevant in the Bay Area sports scene as it is.

Keeping the fanbase engaged with a successful product has been a relative success so far this season, as the team has won its fair share of games and has shown to be a particularly resilient group.

While Thornton may or may not be back next season, most everyone else on the roster — including the improving young players like Hertl, Tierney, Meier, Labanc and Joakim Ryan — will be. Adding some exciting names via free agency to that group could result in a dangerous team in 2018-19, and it would also energize the fans, too, some of which probably consider the Sharks a stale group right now.

If that’s the case, the front office will be careful not to jeopardize future success for what looks like difficult odds to win a championship this year.

Perhaps that’s been the idea all along.

— Reported from San Jose

(Top photo: Neville E. Guard/USA TODAY Sports)