While adding another forward likely isn't at the top of the San Jose Sharks' agenda for the offseason, Mike Grier has shown a tendency to bring in a couple of players who are looking to rejuvenate their careers on a low-cost deal. We've seen it with Filip Zadina, Klim Kostin, and Philipp Kurashev to name a few, and while none of them have worked out, they were worthwhile experiments. As the Sharks move closer and closer to the playoffs, Grier's low-risk, potentially high-reward gambles will lessen as the roster becomes more uniform year after year. With that being said, there's one player who could be the ultimate example of a low-risk, high-reward player on the market this summer: Patrik Laine. Laine isn't the player he was early in his career anymore, but he doesn't need to be. The Sharks only had two players surpass the 20-goal threshold last season, Macklin Celebrini (45) and Will Smith (24). The Sharks need more depth goal scoring to be a serious contender and that's one thing Laine can certainly do, provided he stays in the lineup. Laine's time in Montreal didn't go well, to say the least. He had a decent first season, but he was injured early in the 2025-26 season left on the injured reserve despite being healthy at the end of the campaign. The biggest concerns with Laine are his ability to remain in the lineup and his consistency. Despite being relatively healthy early in his career, he hasn't appeared in more than 60 games in a season since the 2019-20 campaign. Assuming he plays at least 50 games, Laine is good for a minimum of 20 goals per season, but he's very unlikely to ever reach the 30 or 40-goal plateaus again unless something changes drastically. Playing alongside a player like Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, or even Alexander Wennberg, Laine could be able to find some success in San Jose. With that being said, history shows that he'd likely miss 25 or more games during the course of the season. It's a risk, but given his NHL future is in doubt at this stage, he'll likely take a short-term, low-cost contract to try to prolong his career in North America. Especially if the Sharks opt to move a forward or two to address their hole on the blue line, Laine could be a logical player to take a risk with. Since Laine missed almost the entire 2025-26 season, his statistics from the 2024-25 season will be included in parentheses below. 2025-26 STATISTICS (2024-25) Games Played - 5 (52) Goals - 0 (20) Assists - 1 (13) Points - 1 (33) Shots - 6 (116) Shooting Percentage - 0% (17.2%) Time on Ice - 12:36 (14:18) Plus/Minus - -3 (-14) Laine is certainly a player who could theoretically make a difference for the San Jose Sharks, however given his recent track record, there's just as high of a possibility that he doesn't play enough to show his value to the team. He's an inconsistent player who shows flashes of what he was in Winnipeg at times, but at this stage in his career, he's a player who can be counted on for 20 goals when he stays somewhat healthy. There's a higher likelihood that Laine works out better than many of the other players Grier has taken a flyer on in recent memory, however it's astronomically far from guaranteed.
