Holding a 14-30-6 record through 50 games this season, the San Jose Sharks currently sit as the worst team in the NHL in points percentage. At the same time, the lack of success this year comes as no surprise, following San Jose’s awful 2023-24 year and their status as a rebuilding team.
But while the season has been painful, with the Sharks now riding a four-game losing skid and coming off multiple losses where they blew a lead, the team is still slowly heading in the right direction. So below, we take a look at five reasons for optimism, despite the team being in the midst of another tough year.
MACKLIN CELEBRINI’S ROOKIE SEASON
Obviously, much of the focus for the Sharks this season revolves around Macklin Celebrini.
From the time he was drafted, Celebrini immediately became the most exciting thing about the Sharks. While expectations for his first NHL season were high, Celebrini has been everything fans could’ve hoped for. Through 38 games, Celebrini has scored 14 goals and 34 points across 38 games, an 82-game pace of 30 goals and 73 points. With those totals, he’s slightly outpacing 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard.
The Sharks were looking for a player to build around, and Celebrini has left no doubt he’s the guy. His early success just raises the question as to just how high his ceiling could be.
SHARKS HAVE A TOP DEFENSEMAN IN JAKE WALMAN
Since trading Erik Karlsson in 2023, the Sharks really haven’t had a top defensemen they could count on to take on a big role and produce offensively. Even with Karlsson, he certainly had unresolved defensive issues, which were overlooked in his 101-point, Norris-Trophy winning season. Enter Jake Walman.
At the time the Sharks acquired Walman this summer, it was already a bit of a head-scratcher as to why the Detroit Red Wings were so eager to part with him. Not only did the Sharks give up nothing to get him, they even acquired a second-round pick from Detroit just to take the player. Though there weren’t any huge expectations for Walman in San Jose, it seemed likely that he’d be a serviceable defender who improved a thin blue line.
Skip forward about seven months, and the trade has been a complete robbery. Walman has taken on a huge role with the Sharks, with his nearly 23 minutes per game standing as the most ice time of any player on the team. Despite playing just 37 games this season, his 27 points already marks a career-high as well.
Walman has been tasked with facing tough matchups every night, and has performed better than anyone could’ve expected. His plus-five rating also stands tied for best on the team.
The Sharks’ blue line still feels like it holds quite a few players who aren’t likely to be around long-term. Walman, on the other hand, looks to be a piece who the Sharks could build around as they aim to come out of their rebuild.
WILLIAM EKLUND HAS TAKEN A STEP
Though Celebrini has rightfully gotten much of the spotlight, William Eklund also deserves some praise.
The 2021 seventh-overall pick has seen a big jump in his production, improving upon his pace from last season. After posting 45 points in 80 games during the 2023-24 season, Eklund has already managed 36 points across 45 games this year: an 82-game pace of 62 points.
Taking another step this season, Eklund looks to be well on his way to establishing himself as a long-term, top-line winger. With Eklund as the best left winger in the Sharks’ system, it seems a Celebrini/Eklund tandem is one that we could see together for a long time to come.
YAROSLAV ASKAROV LOOKS TO BE THE SOLUTION IN GOAL
Acquiring Yaroslav Askarov from the Nashville Predators this past summer made sense for San Jose. As they’ve been building through the draft, they hadn’t really added any high-end goaltending prospects.
The Sharks paid a big price to get Askarov, sending Vegas’ 2025 first-round pick and prospect David Edstrom to Nashville in return. So far though, the deal looks to be well worth the price for San Jose.
Askarov started the season in the AHL, where he was utterly dominant with the Barracuda. The netminder posted a .938 save percentage with three shutouts across 14 games, before making the jump to the NHL. So far, Askarov has adjusted well with the Sharks, holding a .912 save percentage in nine games.
With some standout NHL performances already at just 22 years old, Askarov has come as advertised.
SHARKS HAVE A MAJOR TRADE CHIP, AND CAN COUNT ON ANOTHER TOP PICK
While the Sharks may already be icing some top young talent, it’s still important to factor in what comes next.
While San Jose has quickly gotten younger in recent years, 32-year-old Mikael Granlund stands out as the Sharks' biggest trade chip at the top of the forward group. Since being acquired as part of the Erik Karlsson trade in 2023, the forward has been an excellent fit in San Jose, emerging as one of the team’s most valuable players.
However, Granlund is set to hit free agency, and San Jose has a decision to make. Subtracting Granlund from the roster would be a blow, and likely forces an even bigger reliance onto Macklin Celebrini down the middle. At the same time, Granlund’s 40 points in 48 games make him one of the better available UFA forwards heading towards this year’s trade deadline.
I’ve created a list of Top-50 Free Agents for 2025 at HockeyComparables.com, and Granlund is one of two Sharks on the list, which can be viewed below:
But considering both Sean Monahan and Adam Henrique fetched first-round picks last year, we can expect that Granlund could bring back a good return.
The focus with the Sharks should rightfully be around the young talent they’re currently icing – but the prospect of bringing back another first-round pick at the trade deadline to add more draft capital would still ultimately help the team build for a bright future.
That’s also not to mention that for a second year in a row, their season of suffering is likely to result in another top pick. There seems to be a gap between the top four prospects in this year's NHL Draft and the rest of the pool of players, so the Sharks have a great chance to continue building with another top pick. Obviously, another terrible season wasn’t ideal even if it results in a top pick, but the Sharks were never going to be around the playoff race anyways this year, and locking in another good draft position is a huge plus.
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On another note, I also wanted to provide an update on my writing status at HockeyBuzz. As has been the case with the other teams I cover, I’ve had to step back from any kind of regular posting on the website (as has likely been clear from the lack of posts in recent months).
I will still be popping in for occasional articles, but I wanted to note that I won’t be returning to any kind of regular writing schedule at HockeyBuzz. I previously let site ownership know of this plan, in the case they wanted to add a second team writer to cover the Sharks.
I’d like to thank all readers who have been following my Sharks coverage here since April 2020. For anyone interested, I’ll be putting out more contract-specific articles at HockeyComparables.com over the coming months, and any followers on Twitter are always appreciated:
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