The dust from the off-season is nearly gone, and the question hanging over San Jose is a simple one: where do the Sharks fit now?
There’s at least a case that this could be the first time since 2019 the Sharks reach the playoffs, but the broader picture still matters. How much have they actually climbed compared with the rest of the NHL? On August 24, that’s the lens for these off-season power rankings, which were also reviewed by three NHL scouts.
Even with opening night still a moving target, the board isn’t finished. Some notable names could still change teams before the season begins. Center Dylan Larkin and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck could be traded, while winger Cutter Gauthier remains one of the top RFAs still without a deal.
At the bottom, Vancouver sits at 32. The Canucks are portrayed as a club finally acknowledging what it is: a rebuilding team. Their quiet summer fits that reality.
Seattle comes in at 31, a franchise described as going nowhere fast. That stagnation, the rankings suggest, is part of why star sniper Jason Robertson turned down a move there.
Calgary lands at 30 after doing very little to fix the NHL’s most anemic offense. Dustin Wolf gives them a solid base in goal, but the broader roster still needs real difference-makers.
Chicago checks in at 29. Patrick Kane and Bo Byram are expected to help, but the Blackhawks may have to get through the early part of the season without injured Connor Bedard, who is likely out for about a month.
Detroit is 28, and the looming Dylan Larkin trade request makes the outlook even tougher. The note here is blunt: it’s shaping up as a difficult season in Motown.
Toronto rounds out this stretch at 27. Sergei Bobrovsky is called a future Hall of Famer, but at 37 and coming off what might have been the worst season of his career, the gamble is expected to backfire and undercut what was otherwise an excellent off-season.
In Other News...
Michael Misa Faces A Huge Sharks Test In Year Two
Michael Misa is headed into his second NHL season with the San Jose Sharks carrying the kind of expectations that come with being the second-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The Sharks took a careful approach with his rookie year, using healthy scratches and a measured workload to help him adjust to the league, and now the club is ready for a much bigger return from one of its most important young pieces.
The next step is no longer about easing him in, it is about expanding his game and his responsibility in a lineup that needs top-end talent to keep progressing. Misa is positioned to take on a far larger role this season, and how quickly he settles into it will shape a lot of the Sharks plans as they look to see whether his second year can look more like a breakthrough than a learning curve. [Read more 🡒]
Why Shakir Mukhamadullin's Sharks Exit Still Raises Tough Questions
Shakir Mukhamadullins time with the Sharks came up again in a recent interview, and the former San Jose defenseman sounded appreciative of his relationships in the organization even as he reflected on a stretch that never fully settled in. After being traded to Edmonton, Mukhamadullin quickly put a new deal in place with the Oilers, signing a two-year contract extension that keeps his next big contract decision a few years away as he heads toward restricted free agency in 2028.
What makes his exit linger, though, is that his account pointed to some friction behind the scenes in San Jose and a situation around the injured list that helped complicate the picture. For a team that has spent plenty of time trying to sort out young players, roster spots and development timelines, Mukhamadullins departure is another reminder that not every separation is as simple as a trade call on paper. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Misa Could Be Key To The Sharks Next Big Step
Michael Misa is one of the young NHL sophomores drawing early attention as the league looks ahead to the 2026-27 season, and the Sharks are very much part of that conversation. The broader view of the group also includes Danila Yurov, Gabe Perreault and Zayne Parekh, but Misa stands out because of where San Jose is in its build and how much weight the organization hopes its emerging talent can eventually carry.
For the Sharks, the appeal is not just that Misa is expected to keep developing, but that his growth could line up with the next meaningful step for the club. The evaluation around him is still projection rather than certainty, with his role and ceiling tied to how quickly he translates his previous-season promise into impact at the NHL level. [Read more 🡒]