Summer Coolers – San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks may be ready to make the jump. After finishing 39-35-8 and making a legitimate push toward the playoffs, San Jose enters 2026-27 with one of the NHL’s most exciting collections of young talent. Macklin Celebrini exploded for 115 points in his second NHL season, while Will Smith, Michael Misa and other young players give the Sharks enormous upside. GM Mike Grier has also spent aggressively, adding veteran muscle and experience around that young core. Neil Smith and Vic Morren believe San Jose could follow the same path Anaheim did a year ago and emerge as a legitimate wild-card contender.

IN THIS EPISODE:

[00:00:00] San Jose finishes 39-35-8, falling short of the playoffs but taking a major step forward under Ryan Warsofsky, who begins his third season behind the bench.

[00:00:25] Almost every major statistic improves. The Sharks jump from 32nd to 17th offensively and from 26th to 16th on the power play.

[00:00:45] The defense improves only slightly from 32nd to 30th, making goals against the biggest remaining concern.

[00:01:00] Vic compares San Jose to Anaheim from a year earlier—a young team loaded with enough emerging talent to make an unexpected playoff breakthrough.

[00:01:15] Celebrini leads the way after an extraordinary 115-point second NHL season, while Smith, Misa and Collin Graf give the Sharks an impressive young foundation.

[00:01:35] San Jose also gets significantly more experienced on defense by acquiring Darnell Nurse and signing Jacob Trouba.

[00:01:50] Those additions are expensive. Nurse arrives with his full $9.5 million contract, while Trouba signs for four years at $8.25 million annually.

[00:02:00] Mason Marchment also receives a five-year deal worth $6.75 million per season as San Jose uses its available cap space aggressively.

[00:02:15] Celebrini receives the biggest contract of all—$18.8 million per season beginning the following year, making him the league’s highest-paid player.

[00:02:30] Neil believes the investment makes sense because San Jose may already possess the best young player in hockey.

[00:02:45] Michael Kesselring arrives from Buffalo to further strengthen the defense, while Eric Comrie comes from Winnipeg to provide goaltending help.

[00:03:00] San Jose does lose William Eklund, who is traded to Ottawa for the ninth overall draft pick.

[00:03:15] The Sharks ultimately hold two first-round selections, adding even more talent to an already impressive prospect system.

[00:03:30] Ivar Stenberg becomes another high-end prospect to watch as San Jose continues assembling what could become one of the NHL’s deepest young talent pools.

[00:03:45] Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp head to Edmonton in the Nurse trade, while Mario Ferraro signs with Winnipeg and Vincent Desharnais joins Washington.

[00:04:00] Vic believes the Sharks can make the playoffs this season, although improving defensively remains essential.

[00:04:15] Neil agrees that San Jose should at least contend for a wild-card position, but points out one difference from Anaheim’s breakthrough.

[00:04:30] Anaheim had veteran championship coach Joel Quenneville guiding its rise. San Jose remains committed to Warsofsky, who has done a good job but does not possess Quenneville’s championship résumé.

[00:04:50] That puts pressure on Warsofsky to prove how much he can get from an extremely talented roster now carrying legitimate expectations.

[00:05:00] Another major question involves Celebrini’s leadership. After three seasons and an impressive Olympic performance, could he already be ready to become captain?

[00:05:20] Neil says his performance on the ice suggests he absolutely could. Celebrini has already demonstrated he can thrive alongside older elite players.

[00:05:40] The unanswered question is whether he is ready for the responsibility inside the locker room.

[00:06:00] Neil says only Warsofsky, Grier and those closest to Celebrini can truly evaluate whether his maturity and leadership are ready for the captaincy.

The Sharks are no longer simply rebuilding. Celebrini has become a superstar, the prospect pipeline remains loaded, and Grier has surrounded the young core with expensive veteran help. If San Jose can improve defensively, Neil and Vic believe this could be the year the Sharks return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.