The San Jose Sharks won't make the playoffs this season, barring a miracle. That's safe to say.
Doing a full-fledged rebuild is no easy task, and it's a calculated risk for any squad that wants to find and develop a new core to bring them back to Stanley Cup contention. The Sharks' young core needs more time to develop, so another season of learning and growing exactly what the core needs to take the next competitive step a year from now.
But here’s a thought – what if the Sharks take more than just a small competitive step in 2026-27?
What if San Jose uses its boatload of salary cap space – more than $62.6 million in projected space next season – to make a gigantic step forward by signing a superstar like Minnesota Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov? You can’t say it’s out of the realm of possibility. Indeed, there’s good reason to believe it absolutely could happen.
Why? Well, let’s say Kaprizov – rumored this past week to have rejected a long-term contract extension from Minnesota that would pay him a whopping $16 million per season – got a contract offer for the full 20 percent of the salary cap ceiling every player is eligible for. Next season, when the cap ceiling is projected to rise to $104 million, Kaprizov could theoretically get a – pause for dramatic effect – $20.8-million cap hit.
That number would definitely limit the number of bidders for Kaprizov's services. But for San Jose, that’s a number they absolutely could and should be willing to pay him to power the Sharks back into the playoffs.
Picture it – Kaprizov playing on San Jose's first line with budding star center Macklin Celebrini. That would be a duo that could drastically boost the offensive numbers for both players. With Kaprizov on board for the long haul, the Sharks would be at least a wild-card team in the Western Conference next season.
Now, you can ask yourself what predicament San Jose GM Mike Grier would be in down the line when it comes to extending Celebrini and fellow Sharks youngsters Will Smith and Yaroslav Askarov. Certainly, having three players making huge bucks and having the depth to be a true Cup front-runner is uncommon. But that would be a problem Grier would be thrilled to have – and really, you’d cross that bridge when you come to it.
Thus, outbidding teams for a Grade-A, franchise-cornerstone talent like Kaprizov would be a no-brainer for Grier. In the relatively weak Pacific Division, adding Kaprizov to the Sharks would tilt the balance of power in the division in San Jose’s favor.
NHL Teams With Cap Space And Potential Interest In Kirill Kaprizov
As speculation swirls around Kirill Kaprizov's future with the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild">Minnesota Wild</a>, several NHL teams are emerging as potential suitors should the Russian winger opt to test the market. Prior to that happening, news that he’s <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/betting/futures/kaprizov-betting-on-himself-rejects-historic-extension-eyes-career-best-performance-in-contract-year">turned down a $128-million deal</a> with the Wild has some analysts wondering if he could be traded before the end of the season.
With due respect and love for the good people and fine state of Minnesota, Kaprizov may be intrigued to move to gorgeous California and to the San Jose market, where media pressure is essentially nonexistent. With the Sharks tearing their roster to the studs and then rebuilding through the draft, they have some top-level youngsters that could potentially give them a higher ceiling.
Kaprizov is a legitimate top-10 player in the game, and he intends on being compensated accordingly. That means signing an extension that will make him the highest-paid player in the NHL – unless Edmonton Oilers dynamo Connor McDavid signs before him.
Minnesota also has enough cap space to pay him a record-breaking cap hit, but you couldn't be mad at Kaprizov if he wants to test the free-agent market and see how many teams are willing to engage in a bidding war for his services to see just how that cap hit gets.
And being a catalyst for the Sharks’ ascent to the top of the Pacific while playing alongside a generational talent in Celebrini could be too sweet a deal for Kaprizov to pass on. By choosing San Jose, he could get all the money he could ever dream of, play in a warm-weather city and help take a team to a level he’s been unable to carry the Wild to thus far.
NHL Prospect Pool Overview ’25-26: San Jose Sharks Are Fully Loaded
The San Jose Sharks are here in the NHL prospect pool overview series.
Of course, there’s still a good chance he remains in Minnesota. Having Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, Zeev Buium and a promising goalie tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt means the Wild have the talent to take the next step.
But every day that passes without an extension for Kaprizov with the Wild increases the doubt about his future there, and it takes him one step closer to getting to market and seeing his value as a legitimate superstar and needle-mover.
The Wild are the only NHL team Kaprizov has known, but San Jose has just about everything a star NHLer could want in an employer. And a match between the Sharks and Kaprizov could be precisely what San Jose needs to make the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19 and assert itself as a team to beat starting next season and lasting for many years to come.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.