After a decade and a half of being one of the best Western Conference teams, the Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild. This isn’t a retool, this is a full-on rebuild, with the Sharks being the worst team in the National Hockey League. Think the 2010-2016 Edmonton Oilers.

That said, they’ve been busy in the off-season, so let’s take a look at how their season went, as well as what they’ve done so far this off-season.

How the season went

In 2023-24, the Sharks finished with a 19-54-9 record, with a league-worst 47 points. It worked out for them, as they were able to draft Macklin Celebrini. Last season also saw the Sharks finish with the fewest points in the NHL, but they finished with a 20-50-12 record and 52 points, so that’s an improvement.

A big reason for their success was Celebrini, as the rookie scored 25 goals and 63 points in 70 games, and it looks like he could be a true superstar in the league. Will Smith, the fourth-overall pick in 2023, scored 18 goals and 45 points in his rookie campaign, while 2021 first-rounder William Eklund scored a career-high 17 goals and 58 points in 77 games.

The Sharks had a fire sale before the deadline, trading Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche, Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars, Jake Walman to the Edmonton Oilers, Fabian Zetterlund to the Ottawa Senators, and Luke Kunin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. That said, they retained one veteran on the team.

Namely, former Calgary Flame forward Tyler Toffoli. In his first season with the Sharks, the winger scored 30 goals and 54 points in 78 games, the third-most goals and points in his career.

Their netminder of the future is Yaroslav Askarov, whom they acquired from the Nashville Predators early in the 2024-25 season. Last season, Askarov played 13 games, posting an .896 save percentage and 3.10 goals against average.

Drafted players

The Sharks finished with the fewest points in the league, but ended up with the second overall pick. They used it to select forward Michael Misa. If that last name sounds familiar, our 13th-best prospect in the summer update is his brother, Luke. Misa also played for the Saginaw Spirit, scoring 62 goals and 134 points in 65 games, ahead of another Flames’ prospect, Zayne Parekh.

Late in the first round, the Sharks selected Joshua Ravensbergen, a netminder who played for the Prince George Cougars. He was the second netminder off the board in the 2025 draft. With the 33rd overall pick, they selected China-born defenceman Haoxi Wang. They also had the 53rd overall pick, selecting Cole McKinney out of the U.S. National Development Team.

The Sharks selected centre Teddy Mutryn in the third round, Ilyas Magomedsultanov and Jack Sharp in the fourth round, Max Heise in the fifth round, and Richard Gallant in the seventh round.

Trades

Once the off-season began, the Sharks only made a handful of small trades. On Jul. 1, they traded a 2028 third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Alex Nedeljkovic. The following day, they sent Thomas Bordeleau to the New Jersey Devils for Shane Bowers.

Their biggest move saw them trade 24-year-old defenceman Henry Thrun to the Toronto Maple Leafs for 38-year-old Ryan Reaves, not really sure why they made this trade. The Sharks’ most recent trade was with the Avalanche, sending Oskar Olausson to the Avs for Danil Gushchin.

Free agent signings

The Sharks were busier on the free agent front. On Canada Day, they agreed to a three-year deal with William Eklund, with a cap hit of $5.6 million annually. They took a bet on Philipp Kurashev, signing him to a one-year deal worth $1.2 million. In 2023-24, Kurashev scored 18 goals and 54 points in 75 games with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Moreover, the Sharks added some more vets. They signed John Klingberg to a one-year deal worth $4 million, Adam Gaudette to a two-year deal worth $2 million annually, Dmitry Orlov to a two-year deal worth $6.5 million annually, and Jeff Skinner to a one-year deal worth $3 million.

Although not a free agent signing, the Sharks claimed Nick Leddy off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, which leads to one of the more surprising off-season moves.

Departures

Long-time Sharks’ defenceman Marc-Édouard Vlasic was bought out by the only team he’s ever played for. The Sharks used the pick acquired for Miikka Kiprusoff to select Vlasic in the second round of the 2005 draft. By buying him out, the Sharks are giving him a chance to win a Stanley Cup as a veteran defenceman for a contender.

He and Logan Couture were the last two members of the team that went to the Stanley Cup Finals back in 2026. Couture announced his retirement in mid-April, but will still be under payroll until his deal ends at the end of the 2026-27 season.

Thrun was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their only other notable departure saw Nikolai Kovalenko depart for the Kontinental Hockey League. Kovalenko was part of the Blackwood deal and scored three goals and 12 points in 29 games.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

You don’t need a crystal ball to say that the Sharks will be somewhere near the bottom of the league in 2025-26. And it makes sense, as Gavin McKenna is a game-changer for the team that gets him.

If the Sharks were to get him, it would add to an already promising centre core of Celebrini and Misa. The two other expected centre are Alexander Wennberg and Ty Dellandrea, as both Eklund and Smith have moved to the wing. Filling out their top six wingers are Toffoli and Skinner.

In the bottom six, it’s expected the Sharks will have Kurashev, Collin Graf, Barclay Goodrow, and Adam Gaudette. And on the backend, the Sharks have Orlov, Klingberg, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Leddy, Mario Ferraro, and Timothy Liljegren. Expect a few of those players to be traded before the deadline. It wouldn’t be surprising to see 11th overall pick in the 2024 draft, Sam Dickinson, push for a spot on the back-end as well.

Between the pipes, it’s time for Askarov to get some real action, likely splitting the crease with Nedeljkovic.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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