Sharks showing so much potential ahead of playoff push

The San Jose Sharks are officially ahead of schedule in their rebuild.

They’ve gone from having the worst record in the league by nine points a year ago to right in the thick of the playoff race this season, currently sitting just a few points out of a wild card spot with a 29-25-4 record.

Even if a playoff berth is ultimately not in the cards for the Sharks this season, fans can rest assured that center Macklin Celebrini is a true, elite face-of-the-franchise type ready to have them in contention for at least the next decade.

On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discussed why Celebrini and goalie Yaroslav Askarov inspire more confidence in the Sharks than can be said for other Western Conference teams like a California rival in the Los Angeles Kings.

Tyler Yaremchuk: The two teams I want to focus on are the two in the Pacific Division with San Jose and LA. The Sharks won back-to-back games over the weekend including one over the Oilers. The LA Kings, they’re 4-5-1 in their last 10. They fired their head coach Jim Hiller. Which one between the Sharks and Kings would you give the better shot to?

Carter Hutton: Not that I want to pick either, truthfully, but I’m going to go with the San Jose Sharks. I just think there’s more potential, and I think there’s just more heart. So, I think number one priority is Macklin Celebrini staying healthy. Because he is the guy that moves the needle. You look at points-wise, how quick he can produce, and then the other thing for me is Askarov is ready to take that step. I believe that he is an elite goalie. He’s kind of finding maturity on the fly right now, and he’s played well. He hasn’t been unbelievable. There’s nights where the ice is tilted, and now on the opposite end of the spectrum, when I look at the Los Angeles Kings. Yes, you get Panarin, but you lose Fiala who’s second on your point list behind Kempe. And then I worry about Darcy Kuemper, and I worry about him and that workload at his age. Is he going to be able to do that? I know Forsberg’s been good, but I give the edge to the Sharks.

Tyler Yaremchuk: That was one of the reasons that I was skeptical on them coming into the year. Darcy Kuemper was damn near Vezina worthy last season, and it got them into the playoffs, and it didn’t get them much further. They didn’t improve at all. Their blue line got slower… I hated their summer.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode below…