- San Jose won 19 more games last season and missed the playoffs by four points
- Mike Grier added Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, Mason Marchment and Michael Kesselring
- Read below for what Grier said about not rushing his young defensemen
The Sharks are done being the punchline of the Western Conference.
San Jose went 39-35-8 last season, a 19-win and 34-point jump after finishing with the worst record in the NHL two years running. The Sharks ended up four points behind the Kings for the second wild card.
Macklin Celebrini is why. The 2024 first overall pick put up 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games in his second season, then signed a five-year, $94 million contract on July 29 that carries a league-high $18.8 million cap hit starting this year.
The response from the front office was a July 1 spending spree. Jacob Trouba took four years and $33 million as a free agent. Darnell Nurse arrived from Edmonton for Shakir Mukhamadullin and prospect Zack Sharp. Mason Marchment signed for five years and $33.75 million, and Michael Kesselring got three years and $13.5 million after coming over from Buffalo in June.
Mike Grier laid out the thinking that week, per NHL.com’s Derek Van Diest.
“We were looking to improve our team, and I think we did that. I think this week in general has been a good week for the organization for the short term and the long term. I think we improved our group.”
The blue line needed every bit of it. San Jose gave up 3.54 goals per game last season, third worst in the league behind Vancouver at 3.83 and Toronto at 3.60.
Asked what Trouba and Nurse do for the prospects lined up behind them, Grier talked about buying time.
“Having these two guys on our back end will allow us to not have to rush any of our young ‘D’ prospects and also not force them into roles they’re not ready for. It gives them some time and gives Verhoeff, Lin and (Eric) Pohlkamp some time underneath, to not rush them up here.”
On the contract itself, the Sharks GM said Celebrini could have squeezed a lot harder than he did.
“With what he’s done in his first couple of years in the NHL and in the Olympics and World Championships, he would have had every right to ask for the max 20 percent (of salary cap). We’re very thankful he was willing to give us some flexibility and take a little bit less and leave some money on the table to help us continue to grow our team.”
Secondary scoring is still the hole. Will Smith finished second on the team with 59 points in 69 games, a full 56 behind Celebrini. Marchment had 45 points in 68 games split between Seattle and Columbus.
Help is close. San Jose has the best pipeline in hockey, with Michael Misa, Igor Chernyshov, Collin Graf, Sam Dickinson and Luca Cagnoni all in the mix. The Sharks then used three first-round picks in 2026 on Ivar Stenberg (No. 2), Keaton Verhoeff (No. 9) and Ryan Lin (No. 21).
Graf was asked where the young group’s head is at after coming up short.
“We were pretty close last year; we miss it (playoffs) by a couple of points or whatever it was, and we brought guys in to keep building towards that playoff goal. Eventually we want to try and win the Stanley Cup and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
San Jose has not played a playoff game since 2019. Preseason hockey returns to The Tank in a month.
