It is no secret the San Jose Sharks are using their last few regular-season games to evaluate certain players on the roster, to see who can fit with the team long-term.

Forward Ryan Donato, set to become a restricted free agent in the offseason, is no doubt undergoing that same type of scrutiny.

Donato’s play and production have been up-and-down in his first season with the Sharks. He got off to a solid start with five points in his first eight games, then went without a goal in 10 games in February, rebounded with 10 points in 17 games in March, and had just two points, both assists, in 13 games in April.

Going into Saturday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche, the 25-year-old Donato has six goals and 20 points in 48 games with San Jose. He had 14 goals and 23 points in 62 games with Minnesota last season.

“I just want to finish as strong as I possibly can,” Donato said. “I obviously want to do as best I can to chip in offensively. But for me, I also want to show that I can play the right way and buy into the systems and do the right things to make myself a player that can be trusted every night.”

The Sharks have several pending restricted free agents, including Rudolfs Balcers, Jeffrey Viel, Alex True, and Dylan Gambrell, who, like Donato, have arbitration rights.

Donato’s agent, Matthew Keator, said in an email that contract talks with the Sharks will take place in the offseason. Still, it would be a surprise to see the two sides not come to an agreement on a new deal, although the Sharks could also trade Donato or expose him to the Seattle Kraken’s expansion draft this summer.

“Everybody that’s got an expiring contract is something that we’ve got to look at to see what we’re going to look like next year as a team, and who fits and who doesn’t,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “It’s not like we don’t know what we’re getting with (Donato).

“The good thing about his game is that from the tops of the circles down in the offensive zone, he’s got good hands and he finds the net and he’s got good hockey sense with the puck. We definitely have to see what we think our team’s going to look like next year.”

Donato’s ice time has dwindled from the start of the season until now, as he’ll start Saturday’s game on the Sharks’ fourth line with Patrick Marleau and John Leonard. Donato averaged just under 15 minutes of ice time per game in January but was down to 11:19 per game in April.

Nevertheless, the NHL’s salary cap is expected to remain flat at $81.5 million for next season and likely beyond, so the Sharks are going to need several players on economical contracts to make a difference.

Perhaps Donato fits into that category, although his role with the team next season might still be a mystery like it was in October when he was acquired by the Sharks for a 2021 third-round draft pick.

“Next season I want to be a guy that contributes every night, I want to be a guy that’s playing 15-20 minutes a night,” said Donato, who is finishing a two-year, $3.8 million contract he signed with Minnesota in July 2019.

“I want to be a guy that contributes on the power play and also contributes by blocking shots. Obviously, there’s still some time left to do some of those things and adjust for next year, but those are my goals and obviously to help the team make a run next year.”

LINEUP CHANGES: Josef Korenar will replace Martin Jones in net for the Sharks on Saturday. Jones stopped 33 of 35 shots in the Sharks’ 3-0 loss to the Avalanche on Friday night. This will be Korenar’s fourth start in the last six games.

Leonard is replacing Ivan Chekhovich, who had 10:55 of ice time in his NHL debut Friday. Boughner said he thought Chekhovich improved as the game went on Friday and that he expects the Russian-born forward to play more games at the NHL level before the end of the regular season.

INJURY UPDATES: Forwards Joachim Blichfeld and Dylan Gambrell and defenseman Radim Simek all remain out of the lineup with injuries. All are considered day-to-day. Boughner said Simek might have been able to go if the Sharks were in the playoffs, but with the team out of the mix, they are being conservative with his recovery.

“With fresh bodies and guys that are 100% sitting around, it doesn’t make sense to put (Simek) in a situation where he’s going to end the season hurt and he’s going to have another summer of trying to get through maintenance and rehab and all that stuff,” Boughner said. “We want to make sure that he’s in a good spot before he gets back in there.”