Season Preview – 32. San Jose Sharks

It may come as no surprise to San Jose Sharks fans, as the Sharks are looking to be a bottom tier team once again this year. After a rough 2023-2024 season, the Sharks were lucky enough to win the 2024 Draft Lottery to select top prospect Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick in the 2024 Draft. Remarkably, General Manager Mike Grier still made some savvy moves during the offseason that will assist in the rebuild. However, with new faces set to draw in, and a new head coach adjusting to the NHL, they will still end up securing another high draft pick in this years draft.

Season Expectations

GM Mike Grier has made it clear to the entire league, the Sharks are in a complete rebuild. This process can take anywhere from five to ten years for different franchises, yet at this point, Grier has done a tremendous job heading into his third full season at the helm. Expectations have been outlined as such: stock the cupboards with potential, develop prospects properly, trade any expiring assets, and maintain a balance between young and veteran players. There is zero expectations for winning as of now, the way a true rebuild should be.

With that being said, Sharks fans have fully embraced the direction of the franchise, particularly when the reward is adding prospects like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith and Sam Dickinson. With another bumpy season set to transpire, the main focus should continue to be on the prior mentioned expectations set within the franchise. As long as Grier continues to maintain this direction of the rebuild without rushing for any short-term fixes, the Sharks will continue to add top prospects through the draft and trades, especially considering this 2025 Draft is looking to have top heavy elite talent.

Projected Lines

There are a few questions outlining the potential lines the Sharks will ice this season, with one of the biggest ones surrounding captain Logan Couture. From the sounds of it, we most likely won’t see Couture suit up for the entirety of the 2024-2025 season, with some wondering if he will ever return at all. With this being the case, we can anticipate Couture being scratched for the cap purpose of staying above the floor, allowing Grier to maintain flexibility with trading expiring contracts. It is also difficult to project with any certainty who will find chemistry during camp or throughout the season, yet going off the expectations within the franchise, we can guess there will be a balance of veterans playing with younger players.

With new head coach Ryan Warsofsky entering his first season behind the bench at the NHL level, we might see the following lines to start the season:

Tyler Toffoli – Macklin Celebrini – Mikael Granlund
William Eklund – Alexander Wennberg – Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow – Will Smith – Luke Kunin
Nico Sturm – Ty Dellandrea – Carl Grundstrom

Jake Walman – Ty Emberson
Mario Ferraro – Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun – Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Mackenzie Blackwood
Vitek Vanecek

Scratches: Logan Couture, Klim Kostin, Matt Benning

Line 1
In order to insulate Celebrini in his transition to the NHL, Tyler Toffoli and Mikael Granlund will serve as ideal line mates. Toffoli has a finishing touch that will catalyze Celebrini’s playmaking abilities, while Granlund has a two-way game suited to protect Celebrini from offensive errors he will be making. There is a possibility that Granlund starts in the middle and Celebrini starts on the wing, yet it makes the most sense for Celebrini to start adjusting to the NHL center position from the beginning.

Line 2
The idea of having an All-Swedish line makes perfect sense when it comes to chemistry. William Eklund has shown his ability to lead on the rush and his continued development will be assisted by the offensive mind of Alexander Wennberg. Fabian Zetterlund has shown tremendous growth since being acquired from the New Jersey Devils and is set to make an even bigger impact in the top-six this season. This line will be counted on to provide secondary scoring, and will do so efficiently.

Line 3
Will Smith will make an ideal third line center this season, ensuring he is receiving more favourable matchups from opposing teams. Smith’s ceiling is high, and if the Sharks surround him with work horses like Barclay Goodrow and Luke Kunin, he will have the right examples to build his work ethic around. Smith will also having the freedom to be as creative as possible on the ice.

Line 4
This line is going to be a thorn in the side of many opposing teams this year. Nico Sturm and Carl Grundstrom are absolute hounds on the forecheck and won’t stop no matter what the scoreboard says. Ty Dellandrea should play center since he has to potential to play higher in the lineup, adding flexibility to both Grier and Warsofsky’s decisions.

Pair 1
One of the better moves Grier made this offseason was acquiring defensemen Jake Walman for free. Walman brings an attitude and skill the Sharks have been lacking on their defense since the departure of Brent Burns. While Walman will not provide Norris numbers like Burns did, he will surely stabilize the top pair next to a developing Ty Emberson. We will most likely see a reality where both top-four pairings rotate depending on matchups.

Pair 2
Mario Ferraro has been apart of trade speculation for the last season and a half. While his numbers are okay, he is better suited in a limited role rather than shouldering the burden of a defensive core. Jan Rutta’s defensive-first mentality is better suited for a player like Ferraro, and playing together in a limited top-four role should help Ferraro find stability and rise Rutta’s value for the looming trade deadline.

Pair 3
This pair is the epitome of young player matched with a veteran. Henry Thrun has shown flashes of top-four potential, yet is still lacking the consistency for that role. With Marc-Edouard Vlasic as his partner, Thrun can take more chances and learn from a vet who has seen it all.

Goalies
The Sharks have struggled to find a bonafide starter since Martin Jones and have been left in tandem scenarios that have produced little success or consistency. Yet, Mackenzie Blackwood has shown flashes of brilliance and is set to receive most of the starts this year, sharing time with Vitek Vanecek. There is a strong possibility that Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov also receive time between the pipes as the Sharks continue to evaluate their future in net.

Scratches
Logan Couture remains a scratch and not on long-term injury reserve (LTIR) due to salary floor constraints, though the possibility is he is moved to LTIR once the season begins. Klim Kostin and Matt Benning will likely find roles as injury subs throughout the season, and possible full-time contributors once more players are traded out. We will likely see Thomas Bordeleau on NHL ice as well, but due to his contract being two-way, he will be up and down from the minors throughout the season.

Keys To Success

In order for the Sharks to have a successful season under their rebuilding expectations, they will need to focus solely on developing the potential of William Eklund, Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini. Ryan Warsofsky will have to find his footing as an NHL bench boss, and he has limited pressure and the front offices support to do so. Grier will also need to make some more creative trades before the trade deadline to continue to stock the cupboards and allow internal growth to transpire. Mikael Granlund, Luke Kunin, Nico Sturm, Klim Kostin, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta and Mackenzie Blackwood, all make ideal candidates to be traded.

Potential Downfall

The worse thing that can happen this season for the Sharks is starting off hot and convincing themselves they are able to compete this year. Even though this will likely mean the young players are providing meaningful contributions, the Sharks brass must stay patient and look towards the future and not the present. One good stint during a season should never dictate a change in plans, and even though it is unlikely to happen, we saw this unfold last year with the Philadelphia Flyers. Also, if Grier plays his cards wrong, he may be left with expiring contracts after the deadline that will provide no added value to benefit the rebuild.

Future Outlook

The future is extremely bright in San Jose with another elite prospect on the horizon in the 2025 Draft, the hopeful development of Eklund, Smith and Celebrini, and establishing a culture for sustained success from veterans like Tyler Toffoli, Jake Walman and Barclay Goodrow. If the Sharks are able to stay level headed and be guided by patience, they will be able to continue to establish the foundations for their return to competitiveness.

Final Thoughts

Predicting the Sharks to finish last in the NHL this year may one of the more obvious guesses of the 2024-2025 season, though it still signals hope for the franchise. There are many positive storylines Sharks fans can grasp onto this season; Macklin Celebrini’s chase for the Calder Trophy, Ryan Warsofsky being the right man to lead the team, Mike Grier continuing to make brilliant moves, and securing another elite prospect in the 2025 Draft. The Sharks are in the midst of pain for current season success, yet the gain for the future could never be more exciting.