The Sharks are more likely to finish in the lottery than in playoff contention, but in fantasy there are only two things we’re concerned with: scoring and overall improvement. In both cases, the Sharks get passing marks.
With Will Smith expected to skate with Macklin Celebrini all season, it gives the Sharks a very formidable – if not young – scoring duo. We may decry their youth, but remember that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both stepped in as first-line players right away despite their relative inexperience. Celebrini will spearhead the Sharks offense, and that he can already win over 500 face-offs at a near-50 percent rate is encouraging and diffuses any notions that he can’t play center right away.
With the additions of Jeff Skinner, Adam Gaudette, Philipp Kurashev and the continuing improvement of Celebrini and Smith, it’s doubtful the Sharks finish at the bottom of the league again in producing offense. They’ve added some necessary speed – the Sharks were one of the slowest teams last season, per NHL EDGE – and players who can finish.
The big wrinkle right now at camp is Michael Misa, the second overall pick from 2025 who’s getting a chance to win a roster spot as the No. 2 center. With Celebrini setting the precedent, the Sharks are not shy about throwing a young player into the deep at the hardest forward position.
Part of the decision to play Misa right away is probably out of necessity; the Sharks lack a reliable top-six scoring center because their next best option is Alex Wennberg. The pass-first pivot has scored more than 40 points just once in his career and a 46.3 percent win rate in the dot in his 11-year career.
Misa will have no shortage of NHL-caliber wingers to play with. The only question is if the Sharks feel he’s ready for the challenge. Should Misa make the team, and even with the notion that the Sharks can send him back to junior at any time, he’s worth drafting with your last pick in redraft leagues and worth drafting as a long-term hold in keeper leagues. THN Yearbook & Fantasy Guide has pegged Misa for 47 points, which would rank fifth among Sharks forwards.
After Celebrini and Smith, the next target should be William Eklund. He didn’t make a big jump in his sophomore season but his numbers improved across the board, most noticeably going from a team-worst minus-45 in 2023-24 to minus-7 last season, third-best on the team among forwards with at least 25 games played. Scoring 20 goals and close to 70 points is not out of the question.
The Sharks should also improve significantly on defense with veterans Nick Leddy, Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg. All of their individual numbers will dip – there’s no doubt about that – but they’ll be able to stabilize a back end that was in flux for much of last season. If the Sharks can spend less time defending and spend more time holding on to the puck, their overall play will improve.
Klingberg, in particular, will be interesting because he’s the best fit to run their power play. They’ve lacked a proper QB since Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns, and last season resorted to playing rookies or five forwards. Klingberg has had his health issues in the past and this will be his sixth team (!) in four seasons with only 25 games played (!) over the past two seasons. When healthy, however, he is capable quarterback. In the last rounds of your draft, should Klingberg be available, he’s a low-cost pick for power-play points from defenseman, which is usually valued at a massive premium.
Timothy Liljegren will likely be the second choice, though he barely moves the needle and didn’t fare much better when he was the Leafs. Nick Leddy and Shakir Mukhamadullin will also get looks, but none come close to the potential impact Klingberg can make. For what it’s worth, THN Yearbook & Fantasy Guide projects Klingberg to finish with 26 points, and Leddy and Liljegren fail to score more than 20 each.
In net, after a carousel of goalies last season, Yaroslav Askarov will be their No. 1 for now and going forward. The rookie netminder had some really strong games but posted a save percentage of .871 or worse in five of his final six appearances. You’ll get inconsistency with young goalies, but Askarov will still have fantasy value due to volume. He’ll face a ton of shots and save his fair share of them. Alex Nedeljkovic will spell him for stretches, but it’s unlikely that he takes over barring a disastrous season from Askarov.
Prediction:
With Celebrini and Smith playing together all season, I expect nothing short but career highs for both players. Celebrini is a known commodity and will go very high in drafts, but Smith might still be overlooked and should be rostered in nearly all leagues by the end of the season. THN Yearbook & Fantasy Guide projects Celebrini to finish with 70 points and Smith with 54, but I think they will blow past those projections easily.
I think Misa sticks around for a little bit but ultimately finishes the season in junior where he will lead Team Canada at the World Juniors and make a run at a roster spot next season. Askarov gets a lot of starts and shows enough that the Sharks feel comfortable with him long term. His fantasy value will depend on volume, and though there will be some bad games, the Sharks will stick with him as part of GM Mike Grier’s long-term vision.
To continue their rebuild, the Sharks once again pawn off their veterans on expiring deals for futures. They will not make the playoffs but will surprise and stay in the wild card race for most of the season.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.