The San Jose Sharks (39-35-8) showed major progress towards a Stanley Cup Contender this season. After years of deep, arduous rebuilds, they were in the hunt for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference this season. Sure, they fell short, but the arrow is pointing up on them making the Stanley Cup Playoff in the 2026-27 season.
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Macklin Celebrini, who they drafted No. 1 overall in 2024, set the franchise record for points in a season (115). Guys like Will Smith and William Eklund became top-line fixtures, while center Alex Wennberg came out of nowhere to score 55 points. They also signed Collin Graf as an undrafted free agent, and Graf surprised them with 21 goals and 25 assists through 81 games.
San Jose Sharks manager Mike Grier is checking all the boxes of a rebuild, but he’ll need to do a little more this offseason to get over the hump in the Pacific Division.
The Sharks have the forward talent to compete with the best teams in the Western Conference. However, their defensive structure is weak.
Their top point-producers on defense were Dmitry Orlov (37 points) and John Klingberg (27 points). That’s not enough to become a Stanley Cup contender. Some may point to them building their defensive core from within, with youngsters Sam Dickinson (14) and Shakir Mukhamadullin (12) playing meaningful minutes.
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Still, the Sharks should get a veteran to stabilize their defensive core. They could try a trade for Dougie Hamilton (New Jersey Devils) or try and get Darryn Raddysh (Tampa Bay Lightning) from free agency, but at least one significant investment in the D-core should set the San Jose Sharks straight. Even an addition like John Carlson or Jacob Trouba (Anaheim Ducks) would work.
The defense might’ve exacerbated the issue, but the San Jose Sharks had major problems in net this season as well. In a year full of lackluster goaltending, the Sharks duo ranked no. 30 in goals against (290).
Alex Nedeljkovic was a hot mess in the net, with a 2.87 goals against average and a .896 save percentage. Yaroslav Askarov, however, was expected to be the goaltender of the future for San Jose.
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The Sharks acquired Askarov from the Nashville Predators for a 2025 first-round pick. So far, the return on investment hasn’t been there. Askarov has a .886 SV% with the Sharks, including a .883 SV% and 3.63 GAA this past season.
The hope is that San Jose will get a quality veteran to pair with Askarov and unlock his potential. However, time might be running out for Askarov as well. This might be a make-or-break year coming up for the 23-year-old goaltender.
The San Jose Sharks have worked out most of their free agent decisions. They signed pending UFAs Alex Wennberg (three-year, $18 million) and Kiefer Sherwood (five-year, $28.75 million) to long-term deals, and they already figured out a major RFA decision with William Eklund (three-year, $16.8 million).
Still, they have two RFA extensions to decide on. The first one should be to Collin Graf, an undrafted pick-up in 2024 who came out of nowhere to have a 20-goal, 20-assist season. As a result, he’s earned himself a major payday.
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A good comparable contract could come from a division rival. Los Angeles Kings winger Alex Laferriere put up as much production as Graf did this past season, with 21 goals and 23 assists through 82 games. The Kings signed him to a three-year, $12.3 million deal that runs through 2028. I bet Graf gets a similar deal.
The second one is Shakir Mukhamadullin. The 24-year-old defenseman has been subpar in NHL action with San Jose. Through the past two seasons (80 games), he’s had just 21 points with a plus/minus of minus-10.
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At 24 years old, it’s tough to gauge how much potential he still has left. His skating still hasn’t come along yet, and at this point, I don’t think the Sharks will retain him, especially with Hobey Baker Award finalist Eric Pohlkamp breaking through. They might sign a quick RFA contract, just like last season, and dangle him for a veteran defenseman