SAN JOSE - The Sharks are heading into training camp with a very different kind of squeeze.
With the new collective bargaining agreement cutting preseason games down to four over seven days from Sunday to Sept. 26, San Jose will have less practice time, fewer exhibition reps and a shorter runway to sort out its roster before the season opener on Oct. 1 against the Florida Panthers. For a team with plenty of new faces, that leaves little margin for hesitation.
That matters because the Sharks’ biggest problem from last season is still staring them in the face. San Jose finished 30th in the NHL in goals allowed per game at 3.54 and tied for 28th in 5-on-5 goals against with 190. They missed the playoffs by four points, and keeping the puck out of the net more often might have changed that picture.
Coach Ryan Warsofsky’s main job this camp is obvious: tighten the defense, get the group organized and do it fast. That also means the roster likely needs to shrink to a workable number sooner rather than later so the team can actually start building the systems it plans to use.
Macklin Celebrini put the focus plainly last month.
“I think we really have to take pride in our defense,” Sharks center Macklin Celebrini said last month. “I think we have enough talent to score and produce offense.
“But that’s going to be a big thing for us if we want to make the playoffs and take the steps that we want to take, is to limit some of those mental errors and defend as hard as we can.”
The forward group looks largely settled unless injuries shake things up, but the blue line and goaltending picture still have some moving parts.
Up front, the Sharks appear to have their deepest group since the last playoff team in 2019. The additions of Mason Marchment and Ivar Stenberg give Warsofsky more ways to mix and match his top nine, and there’s a real chance some capable players end up as healthy scratches once the season starts.
The forwards who look locked in are Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, Adam Gaudette, Barclay Goodrow, Collin Graf, Mason Marchment, Michael Misa, Zack Ostapchuk, Kiefer Sherwood, Will Smith, Tyler Toffoli and Alexander Wennberg.
In the mix are Igor Chernyshov, Ivar Stenberg and Brett Leason. The longshots are Andre Barre-Boulet, Filip Bystedt, Ethan Cardwell, Tye Felhaber, Andre Gasseau, Patrick Giles, Jimmy Huntington, Cam Lund, Quentin Musty and Carson Wetsch.
Dellandrea’s spot may draw some skepticism from fans, but he’s in the middle of a new two-year, $3.25 million deal and earned Warsofsky’s trust before an injury sidelined him for three months last season. He also brings penalty-killing value and is one of the few forwards who can take faceoffs on the right side.
Chernyshov and Stenberg both seem likely to make the 23-man roster to start the year, though both are waivers exempt, which leaves a sliver of room for another winger to force his way in with a strong camp. Leason, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound winger, spent most of last season in the AHL but has 226 NHL games on his résumé.
One of the more interesting forward questions is who opens the season alongside Celebrini. Smith looks like the leading candidate, but the other wing spot is still up for grabs.
The defense has been completely reshaped since last season, with Michael Kesselring, Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba replacing Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy and Vincent Desharnais. The size and physicality should give San Jose more edge, and the group should help the transition game as well.
The bigger question is whether the Sharks have a true shutdown pair. Trouba is expected to handle the right side of that assignment, but the left side is less settled, with Nurse and Trouba both possibilities there. Kesselring gets a fresh start after an injury-hit 2025-26 in Buffalo, and the Sharks are hoping Sam Dickinson can keep progressing in his second NHL season.
Camp will also feature a battle for the sixth and seventh defense spots. The 5-foot-9 Luca Cagnoni has already gotten NHL looks in each of the past two seasons and seems to have an edge.
Nolan Allen is no longer waivers-exempt, so the Sharks may be reluctant to expose him if they believe he deserves a spot after a strong AHL season. Eric Pohlkamp impressed at the Rookie Faceoff but has only one game of pro experience, while Libor Hajek has 110 NHL games and spent the last three seasons in the Czech league.
In goal, Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic are the clear front-runners to open the season, with Eric Comrie in the mix after signing a two-year deal. Kyle Keyser and Ilya Samsonov are the longshots.
The Sharks have to be mindful of the length of the season and the reality of injuries, which is part of why Comrie was brought in. Still, unless something unexpected happens, Askarov and Nedeljkovic should begin as the tandem.
Askarov’s next step matters. His traditional numbers and advanced metrics were not strong in his rookie season, and if San Jose is going to push for the playoffs, it needs more from him. Nedeljkovic, meanwhile, is coming off a solid season and is entering the first year of a new two-year, $6 million deal.
A three-goalie start is possible, but it would come at the expense of one fewer skater, and the more likely outcome is that Comrie and Samsonov end up on waivers when the timing makes sense.
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