2026-27 NHL team preview: San Jose Sharks

LAST SEASON

The Sharks haven’t made the playoffs since 2019, and nobody expected anything different last season. But after years of high picks – namely Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Michael Misa – most expected at least a solid leap forward. The season started horribly, with the club sitting 31st at the end of October with a 3-6-2 record.

But by the Olympic break, the Sharks were just five points out – Celebrini’s MVP-caliber season had given the club some new life. That put the Sharks in a fascinating position heading into the Trade Deadline. After half a decade of being sellers, were they going to get a bit more aggressive and force their way into the playoffs? The team ended up mostly staying pat, trading Timothy Liljegren to the Washington Capitals for a draft pick and swapping a pair of minor leaguers.

In the end, the Sharks missed the playoffs – but that’s where everything got interesting. The club climbed up in the NHL Draft lottery, securing the second overall pick. They then made a couple of high-profile trades, which included landing Michael Kesselring and a first-round pick from Buffalo. General manager Mike Grier then sent William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen and prospect Brandon Svoboda to the Ottawa Senators for another first-round pick, before landing Philly’s first-rounder three days later in a deal that sent Buffalo’s pick, among others, the other way. That led the Sharks to have three first-round picks, giving them one of the best draft days of any team.

Was the year a success? Absolutely. They got stronger, proved they could contend and still landed some huge long-term assets. By all accounts, Grier did the most with what he had and deserves full credit for what he pulled off leading to the draft in Buffalo.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Ivar Stenberg, LW
Mason Marchment, LW
Darnell Nurse, D
Jacob Trouba, D
Michael Kesselring, D
Andre Gasseau, C
Tye Felhaber, LW
Alex Barré-Boulet, LW
Brett Leason, RW
Phillip Sinn, D
Eric Comrie, G
Ilya Samsonov, G
Kyle Keyser, G

Departures

William Eklund, LW (Ott)
Mario Ferraro, D (Wpg)
John Klingberg, D (Retired)
Shakir Mukhamadullin, D (Edm)
Vincent Desharnais, D (Wsh)
Ryan Reaves, RW (Retired)
Colin White, RW (NJ)
Kasper Halttunen, RW (Ott)
Pavol Regenda, LW (SHL)
Jeff Skinner, LW (Sui.)
Yegor Afanasyev, LW (KHL)
Jakub Škarek, G (DEL)
Gabriel Carriere, G (AHL)
Laurent Brossoit, G (ANA)

OFFENSE

Macklin Celebrini reached true NHL superstar status last year, finishing with 45 goals and 115 points, 56 more than the second-highest Shark, Will Smith, who had 59. Celebrini’s rise forced him onto Canada’s Olympic team, where he had an impressive 10 points in six games as one of the tournament’s most lethal forwards. Celebrini is now one of the biggest faces of the NHL (figuratively and literally), with new fans becoming heavily attached to him. Celebrini is just getting started, but he’s already a top-five player in the league and should continue to climb up the scoring charts.

But he can’t do it all himself. Smith is going to need to step it up as a third-year NHLer, and there’s little reason to believe that won’t be the case. He would have likely finished somewhere in the 65-70-point area had he played the full 82-game schedule, which would have been incredibly impressive as a second-year forward. He’s been so productive at every level and that’s not going to change; he’s a strong two-way forward, too.

Sticking with the young core, Michael Misa had his ups and downs as an 18-year-old rookie, but he still produced at just under half a point-per-game. He’ll be given more responsibility this year, but don’t be surprised if the Sharks still choose to ease him in a bit while giving Alexander Wennberg tougher matchups. Wennberg had 55 points last year – his best output in nearly a decade – with his skill shining quite frequently. If he can crack the 50-point mark again, that would be an absolute win. He’s only done it twice, though, so we’ll see how sustainable it is.

Igor Chernyshov had 19 points in 28 games with the Sharks last year, making an excellent first impression. That’s a full-season pace of 56 points, something that feels fully attainable in his first full season. The young Russian winger’s skating is still a work in progress, but he’s smart and skilled enough to make that more of a non-issue.

Returning forwards Collin Graf and Tyler Toffoli should remain important offensive contributors. Toffoli is more of a bottom-sixer now on this team, but one who can play on the power play and is fully capable of fitting in anywhere in the lineup. Graf, meanwhile, had 21 goals and 46 points last year and is projected to remain around there again as an important secondary scorer. Mason Marchment, meanwhile, is typically good for around 45-50 points a year and should achieve that as a top-six forward this year.

This is by far the deepest San Jose’s forward crop has looked in more than half a decade – and that’s without talking about Ivar Stenberg (more on him later). The Sharks finished 17th in goals-for per game last year at 3.04 despite being 26th in shots (25.8). Look for both numbers to get substantial boosts – and they’ll need to do so to offset the ugly 3.54 goals against per game they operated at.

DEFENSE

This… is where things start to fall a bit. The Sharks moved on from the likes of Mario Ferraro and John Klingberg, both of whom played more than 20 minutes a night. Vincent Desharnais was quite solid defensively, too. Given the Sharks were already one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year, that’s not ideal.

In come Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba – two no-nonsense defenders coming off poor seasons. Nurse’s offense continued to fall, and his defensive GAR of -1.4 wasn’t ideal. Neither was Trouba’s -5.2 defensive GAR – sure, the offense was there, but he was ugly defensively.

Could a fresh start be what both players needed? Nurse wasn’t a total pylon last year, but the noise surrounding his ugly contract made the fit with the Edmonton Oilers a poor one. If he can get back to his pre-salary bump play, he’ll be a totally serviceable blueliner capable of playing 22 minutes a night and dealing with tough matchups. But there’s so little room for him to fall any further at this point. The same goes for Trouba. For now, the two should eat a ton of minutes and serve as mentors for some of the younger guys.

Speaking of old geezers, 34-year-old Dmitry Orlov is coming off his most productive season to date with 34 assists and 37 points. He played more than 21 minutes a night last year but could see that eased back a bit with Nurse and Trouba joining the fray. Given Orlov’s age, that might not be a bad thing. He played all 82 games last year, so he’s still reliable. Defensively, he’s definitely not at the top of his game anymore, though as a second-pair guy, he’ll be more than serviceable.

On the opposite side of the age bracket, look for 20-year-old Sam Dickinson to play significantly more this year. He had just one goal and 14 points last year, which isn’t ideal for an offensive defenseman, but also perfectly understandable out of a junior-aged rookie blueliner. Turns out, it’s hard to be a 19-year-old NHL blueliner – any growing pains were to be expected. Dickinson started the year by bouncing in and out of the lineup, but he ended up with 82 games played and some power-play time. By all accounts, he should be a top-four blueliner this year – give him a few years to show his true offensive potential, though.

Kesselring will likely play on San Jose’s third-pair – and if he remains healthy, he’ll be an excellent addition. The 6-foot-5 defender played between 15-17 minutes a night in Arizona/Utah, but that fell to 13:24 with the Buffalo Sabres. He only had two points in 34 games, but a fully healthy Kesselring has proven capable of 25-plus points a year without playing heavy minutes. If the Sharks are looking for a bit more offense, Luca Cagnoni has been one of the more productive AHL defenders in recent years. He’s a high-volume shooter who loves to move the puck, and he’s also a bit feisty for a 5-foot-9 blueliner. He’s a great skater who can do some highly dangerous things with the puck, which could lead to him earning power-play time.

Is this a great blueline? Not in the slightest. Everyone needs to take a step up – especially the high-cost additions. If not, it’s going to be another ugly year defensively for the boys in teal.

GOALTENDING

Yaroslav Askarov entered the 2025-26 season as the top goaltending prospect in the world. Finally – the 2020 first-round pick was going to prove himself at the highest level. Instead, Askarov had some of the worst numbers of any goalie with at least 40 games played last year. He was near the bottom of the league with a -5.9 goals saved above expected at 5-on-5. Maybe it was nerves; maybe he fell victim to playing behind a young core. Or, maybe, the Nashville Predators thought he wasn’t the right man for the job all those years ago and bailed while they still could. Hopefully for the Sharks, it was simply the struggles of being an NHL rookie goaltender and not something worse.

Alex Nedeljkovic is a solid veteran presence and actually played some of his best hockey down the stretch last year. He was definitely the better of the two goalies, which, depending on your long-term view of Askarov as the starter, could be either a good or bad thing. Nedeljkovic registered a 4.7 GSAx last year despite rumors that he was one of the top goaltenders on the trade block. The Sharks clearly didn’t feel confident enough to let Nedeljkovic go at the Trade Deadline while the team was still in playoff contention. Honestly, good call.

Since then, Grier has added two others to the mix: Eric Comrie and Ilya Samsonov. Between them, they have 584 regular-season games under their belts, with Samsonov leading the way at 200. But, ironically, he’s the least likely to play NHL games this year after signing a two-way deal with the Sharks (and subsequently not getting added to the team’s training camp roster). Comrie boasted the best goals saved above expected at 5-on-5 of the group of 7.15, while Samsonov spent the past year in the KHL. Comrie was signed to seemingly serve as the third goalie, but don’t be surprised if he pushes himself into a bigger role before too long.

COACHING

Ryan Warsofsky came into a no-win situation as a rookie coach in 2024-25. The team won 20 games with one of the least experienced rosters in the game – but that was to be expected. Warsofsky managed to earn an extra 19 victories in 2025-26, bringing the team to fifth place in the Pacific Division. Given he’s the youngest head coach at 38 years old, that was huge.

And he’s well-respected, too. Warsofsky showed his coaching prowess when he served as head coach of the American World Championship team, which won gold for the first time in nearly a century in 2025. Nobody had USA pegged as a winner, but he got the most out of that squad and turned them into champions. Could he do that with the Sharks before long? He’s a player’s coach that seems to have good relationships with his players; that goes a long way to getting full buy-in.

ROOKIES

Despite Misa and Chernyshov appearing at the team’s prospect tournament earlier this month, they’re not rookies. Stenberg, however, is a serious contender for the Calder Trophy. He was instrumental in Sweden’s success at the World Juniors, had a standout effort at the World Championship and was easily the best junior-aged player in the SHL. By all accounts, he’s ready to step into a top-six role immediately and contribute thanks to his high hockey IQ and raw skill.

On defense, both Cagnoni and Eric Pohlkamp should see some action. They’re smaller defenders, but they’re highly skilled and capable of driving the play from the point. San Jose made some moves to beef up the blueline this year, but the pair should see some extended action throughout the campaign.

Two forwards hoping for a chance to crack the big club at some point include Quentin Musty and Filip Bystedt. Musty spent all of last year in AHL, where he put up an impressive 21 goals and 45 points in 61 games as a rookie with the Barracuda. Musty has always felt like a high-risk, high-reward winger because he truly needs to be in a scoring role to thrive. Fortunately, he got that opportunity last year, and the Sharks must be happy with his development. Bystedt, meanwhile, had 60 points in 65 games with the Barracuda. The Swedish forward boasts an impressive shot and does a great job of getting himself into scoring lanes. He’s not a great skater, and hasn’t really improved over the past three years. But in a middle-six role, you can do a lot worse. Both Musty and Bystedt are currently injured, but don’t be surprised to see them with the big club later on.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. Can the goaltending be trusted? Neither Askarov nor Nedeljkovic looked like true No. 1s last year. You don’t need a clear-cut guy to win games, but you need consistency – something that plagued San Jose’s options last year. If that changes, the Sharks will absolutely be in the playoff conversation. It’s hard to feel truly confident with the Sharks’ goaltenders, but don’t give up on Askarov too quickly. He’s a big, athletic goaltender who, for the most part, hasn’t had to deal with a ton of adversity wherever he’s played. Maybe last year was the learning lesson he needed, and he’ll be completely fine moving forward. If not, San Jose’s in trouble – at least, until Joshua Ravensbergen is ready (and he’s not close).

2. Will Nurse improve the team’s blueline? Nurse’s $9.25-million cap hit might feel light now, given what we’ve seen this summer. But Nurse has never come close to living up to his contract and saw his ice time fall below 21 minutes for the first time in nearly a decade. While the first power-play unit isn’t completely out of the conversation, it feels like Cagnoni will secure the gig if he ends up making the team full-time. If there’s one positive to take out of the Nurse acquisition, it’s that he actually played some impressive hockey with Canada at the 2026 World Championship to close the season. Beyond that, though, expectations are low for a guy who almost certainly will play top-pairing minutes this year.

3. Can Misa take a big step forward? The 2025 second overall pick made the Sharks out of training camp and finished with 21 points in 41 games. He dealt with injuries early in the season, but still found himself on pace for around 40 points over a full season. Misa will be back full-time with the Sharks this year and could end up being the team’s No. 2 center behind Celebrini. It feels like 50 points is definitely not out of the question – that would be a win for all parties involved.

PREDICTION

The Pacific is shaping up to be the weakest in the NHL this year. The Vegas Golden Knights are the obvious favorite, while Edmonton and the Los Angeles Kings should remain in the conversation. The Wildcard battle within the West will be fascinating, with the Anaheim Ducks, Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets all likely challenging for the two final spots. While they’ll definitely be in the Wildcard race, don’t count them out of the conversation for second in the Pacific. If the club’s own zone play takes a step forward, San Jose will absolutely be a force to be reckoned with. If not, they’ll have to outscore their problems – and that’s easier said than done. Playoff success is a totally different conversation here, but the goal should be getting themselves there first. That seems very attainable with the forward crop the way it is.