It will be a long few seasons for the San Jose Sharks.

The days of consistently being a contender are long gone, and what the Sharks were left with was a league worth 47 points thanks to a 19-54-9 record. Included in the horrific season was a 11-game winless streak to start the season, the second-longest in both franchise and league history.

In 33 of 82 games, the Sharks allowed five goals or more, and had 18 games with six or more goals. In early November, they allowed 10 goals in back-to-back games, not great.

With a bad season, came a high pick, and the San Jose Sharks selected Macklin Celebrini with the first-overall pick. Thanks to trading 2022-23 Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson prior to the start of the season, the Sharks also had an additional first-round pick, selecting left-shot defenceman Sam Dickinson.

In the second-round, the Sharks selected Igor Chernyshov and Leo Sahlin-Wallenius, before picking Carson Wetsch in the third-round. Their last four picks saw them select Christian Kirsch, Colton Roberts, Nate Misskey, and Yaroslav Korostelyov.

Celebrini is obviously the best player in the draft, as he scored 32 goals and 64 points in 38 games with Boston University, winning the Hobey Baker Award. He was only 17. Dickinson was one of the best defencemen available in the 2024 draft, scoring 18 goals and 70 points in 68 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights. The Knights won the league, with Dickinson playing 18 postseason games, scoring four goals and 13 points en route to an appearance in the Memorial Cup final.

The rebuilding Sharks also made some free agent signings. The most notable of which was signing former Calgary Flame Tyler Toffoli to a four-year deal worth $24 million. They also agreed to extensions with Carl Grundström and Ty Dellandrea, both were acquired in a trade prior to the 2024 draft. Grundström signed to a two-year deal worth $3.6 million, while Dellandrea signed to a two-year, $2.6 million deal.

Another notable signing for the Sharks early into free agency was centre Alexander Wennberg, who signed a two-year deal worth $10 million, or $5 million annually. Last season with the Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers, he scored 10 goals and 30 points in 79 games, along with a goal and an assist in the postseason.

Other than that, the Sharks also made some minor moves, re-signing Luke Kunin, Ty Emberson and Justin Bailey to one-year deals. Henry Thrun re-signed, agreeing to a two-year deal worth $1 million annually, while Brandon Coe and Thomas Bordeleau also re-signed. On top of that, they signed depth pieces Lucas Carlsson, Jimmy Schuldt, and Andrew Poturalski.

Of course, the Sharks also signed a handful of recently drafted players to entry-level contracts, as Macklin Celebrini, Sam Dickinson, and Igor Chernyshov each agreed to their first NHL contract.

A bad team usually doesn’t have many good players to lose in free agency, as they are usually traded prior to the trade deadline. The most notable departure for the Sharks is Egor Afanasyev, a prospect who the Sharks acquired prior to the 2024 draft for their 2019 first-round selection, Ozzy Wiesblatt. He agreed to a deal with HC CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League.

Aside from that, netminder Devin Cooley signed with the Calgary Flames, Jacob MacDonald signed with the Colorado Avalanche, and Jack Studnicka. Notable players like Kevin Labanc, Mike Hoffman, and Filip Zadina all remain as unrestricted free agents.

The most notable San Jose Sharks trade came on Jun. 25, trading “future considerations” to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2024 second-round pick and Jake Walman, acquiring his full cap hit of $3.4 million. Walman is a top four defenceman, this is a great get for the Sharks.

That pick was then moved with their 14th-overall pick acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Erik Karlsson deal to pick up the 11th-overall pick. The Sharks made another minor move at the draft, on top of picking up Carl Grundström and Ty Dellandrea for depth defenceman Kyle Burroughs and a 2025 fourth-round pick respectively.

They also traded their 2019 first-round selection, Ozzy Wiesblatt, to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Egor Afanasyev. Wiesblatt scored four goals and 17 points in 50 games last season with San Jose Barracuda and the Milwaukee Admirals, being loaned to the latter team to end the season.

Although it doesn’t fit into any of the categories, they also claimed Barclay Goodrow off waivers from the New York Rangers. Undrafted, Goodrow spent parts of six seasons with the Sharks, going on a deep run with the team during the 2019 postseason. He won two Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, before signing with the Rangers before the start of the 2021-22 season.