Sharks Enter 2026-27 With Veteran Armour and a Generational Star

San Jose finished 39-35-8 last season, coming within four points of a playoff spot on the strength of a genuinely historic season from Macklin Celebrini. GM Mike Grier used that momentum to make real changes, bringing in proven veterans to shore up a defence that ranked 30th in goals against per game. The pieces are more credible now than they have been in years.

Last season in review

The 2025-26 numbers tell a story with a clear hero and a clear problem. Celebrini's 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) were more than the team's next two scorers combined. Will Smith (59 points) and Alexander Wennberg (55 points) were solid contributors, but the drop-off after those three was steep. Collin Graf's 21 goals were a bright spot from the bottom of the lineup.

The defence was the real wound. San Jose surrendered 292 goals, the third-worst total in the league. Yaroslav Askarov went 21-20-4 with an .884 save percentage in his first full NHL season, numbers that were not good enough. Alex Nedeljkovic was steadier at .896 but played fewer games. The team had no shutouts all season. Offensively, 251 goals for was passable but heavily dependent on one player. That is not a sustainable formula.

Ins and outs

• In: Jacob Trouba (signed four-year, $33M contract as a free agent, July 1)
• In: Darnell Nurse (acquired from Edmonton Oilers for Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zachary Sharp, July 1)
• In: Mason Marchment (signed five-year, $33.75M contract as a free agent, July 1)
• In: Michael Kesselring (acquired from Buffalo Sabres with a first-round pick for a first-round pick, June 17; signed three-year, $13.5M contract)
• In: Ivar Stenberg (No. 2 pick in 2026 NHL Draft; signed three-year entry-level contract July 2)
• In: Eric Comrie (signed two-year contract July 1)
• Out: William Eklund (traded to Ottawa Senators)
• Out: Shakir Mukhamadullin (traded to Edmonton Oilers)
• Out: Mario Ferraro (signed with Winnipeg Jets)
• Out: Vincent Desharnais (signed with Washington Capitals)
• Out: Ryan Reaves (retired after 16 NHL seasons, September 2026)
• Extension: Macklin Celebrini (five-year, $94M extension, $18.8M AAV, begins 2027-28)
• Extension: Collin Graf (three-year, $12.75M contract)
• Extension: Ryan Warsofsky (multi-year extension as head coach)
• Camp note: Quentin Musty and goaltender Kyle Keyser are expected to miss a couple of months; Cam Lund is out at least a month after injuries were announced at the start of training camp.

The big question

Can the defence actually fix the goals-against problem? Trouba and Nurse are credible additions on paper, but both are in their early 30s and neither is playing the hockey they were five years ago. If the blue line improvements are real, San Jose has a genuine playoff case. If they are not, Celebrini will be dragging the same leaky boat.

X-factor

Will Smith is the name to watch. The 21-year-old posted 59 points in his second NHL season and saw his points per 60 minutes at five-on-five climb from 2.00 to 2.30. If he takes another step in year three, San Jose suddenly has two dangerous offensive weapons at the top of the lineup instead of one, and the entire team becomes harder to defend against.

Bold prediction

Celebrini and a healthier defence push the Sharks into a wild-card spot, ending the seven-year playoff drought in Warsofsky's third season behind the bench.

The outlook

San Jose opens at home against Florida on Oct. 1. The pieces are in place for a genuine playoff push, and for the first time in years, the roster around the franchise player actually looks like it belongs in that conversation. The Celebrini era is no longer just a rebuild talking point. It is the present tense.