THN's series on key issues facing every NHL team continues with this look at the San Jose Sharks. We're focusing on Macklin Celebrini, San Jose's goaltending and their status as the league's worst team.
Macklin Celebrini is selected with the 1st overall pick of the 2024 NHL draft by the San Jose SharksThis is the latest edition in THN.com’s series looking at important issues facing each NHL team.
In today’s file, we’re examining three major questions facing the San Jose Sharks.
1. Will star rookie Macklin Celebrini lead his team in scoring like Connor Bedard did for the Chicago Blackhawks last year?
Bedard came into the NHL with high expectations as the top pick in the 2023 NHL draft, and he fulfilled them as an 18-year-old by posting 22 goals and 61 points in 68 games with the Blackhawks and winning the Calder Trophy. Now, Celebrini is in a very similar situation. Like Bedard, Celebrini also will be dealing with a distinct lack of high-end talent and depth around him, but Celebrini is seen as a generational player who’ll be his team’s leading scorer right away.
To that end, who on the Sharks do you think will top Celebrini in points this year? Captain Logan Couture? He’s nearing the final stretch of his career, and he may not start the season on the ice as he recovers from a serious injury. Will Smith? He’s a rookie just like Celebrini, and his acclimation may be slower than Celebrini’s. William Eklund? He had a solid rookie NHL season, but the 21-year-old needs more time to get into his prime.
Do you see where we’re headed here? San Jose is the island of misfit toys at this point in its competitive cycle, and Celebrini is the best pure talent they’ve got. He’s going to play on the top line and power play, and he’s likely going to be somewhere in the area of a point-per-game player. That almost assuredly will make him San Jose’s best producer of offense this season, and many seasons to come.
2. Could newcomer Yaroslav Askarov take the starting goalie duties in the NHL by the end of the season?
San Jose GM Mike Grier has focused on transforming the Sharks’ goaltending in the past year, signing the 27-year-old MacKenzie Blackwood away from New Jersey last summer, then trading for another former Devil, the 28-year-old Vitek Vanecek, last season. But the remodelling of the goaltending picture didn’t stop there, as Grier traded for former Nashville top prospect Askarov this summer.
Askarov is only 22 years old, but he’s extremely confident in himself, and his individual stats at the American League level (including a .911 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average in 44 appearances) made him an attractive option for the Sharks. Now, they’re a three-headed goaltending beast, and there’s going to be legitimate competition between the three netminders.
Will Askarov wind up making the starter’s job his own? Stranger things have happened, but Vanecek and Blackwood are going to aim to make the most of their opportunities, so Askarov isn’t going to be handed the No. 1 spot. Also, bear in mind they’re going to be playing behind one of the worst lineups in the league (more on that below). All three goalies will be challenged nightly to be at their best. And Askarov could wind up being the main man in San Jose, but Vanecek or Blackwood could also win the No. 1 job.
3. Are the Sharks still the NHL’s worst team on paper? If so, is that a bad thing?
The Sharks were in full tank mode in the 2023-24 season, and they were rewarded for it by the hockey gods with the draft lottery win that brought them Celebrini. And this year – and despite veteran additions including defensemen Jake Walman and Cody Ceci, and forwards Tyler Toffoli, Carl Grundstrom, Ty Dellandrea, Alexander Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow – San Jose is probably going to be near the bottom of the NHL standings once again.
As per the second question above, we’re going to argue that it’s not a bad thing if the Sharks struggle again this coming season. Eighty-two more games of pain will almost certainly lead to another top draft pick, and if Grier can use it to acquire, say, a cornerstone prospect on defense, he’s going to add another core piece who can thrive for San Jose down the line.
Perhaps San Jose shocks the league and climbs out of the Pacific Division basement. Perhaps the Sharks overachieve and impress observers with their tenacity and spunk. Again, stranger things have happened. But on paper, at least, San Jose simply doesn’t have enough depth of proven talent to make us believe they won’t be the 32nd-best team in the league. The Sharks’ road ahead has more than its share of rocks, but Grier is doing the right thing with his patience, and two or three years from now, that should pay off with a return to the post-season.