The San Jose Sharks are heading into 2026-27 as one of the more interesting long shots in the Western Conference.
A year ago, they were still buried in the aftermath of a rough rebuild. Now, after missing the 2026 playoffs by four points and putting together a 39-35-8 season, they look like a team that has at least turned the corner.
That record marked a 19-win jump from 2024-25, and their 34-point improvement in the standings was among the biggest in the NHL. They were still hanging around the wild-card race in April, which says plenty about how far Ryan Warsofsky’s group moved in a single season.
Even so, the early market still has them priced as a long shot. Top bitcoin casinos and sportsbooks have San Jose around +5000 to win the Western Conference, sitting behind the usual heavy hitters like the Colorado Avalanche, Edmonton Oilers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Dallas Stars. That number tells you the Sharks are still fighting perception, even if the roster now looks a lot different than it did not long ago.
The biggest reason for that shift is Macklin Celebrini.
Celebrini didn’t just break through in 2025-26. He exploded.
The 20-year-old center finished with 45 goals, 70 assists, and 115 points in all 82 games, placing fourth in the NHL in scoring, tying for fourth in goals, and setting a new Sharks record for points in a season, passing Joe Thornton. He was the engine everywhere for San Jose, leading the team in goals, assists, points, shots, game-winning goals, even-strength scoring, and power-play production.
He also played more than 21 minutes per night and finished plus-8 on a team that still gave up 3.54 goals per game.
In July, the Sharks backed that up with a five-year, $94 million extension. That was a clear message from general manager Mike Grier: this is the face of the franchise, and the plan is to build around him.
Will Smith is another big part of that picture. He scored 24 goals and totaled 59 points in 69 games last season, and his puck skill gives San Jose another high-end young offensive weapon. The Sharks do not have to force him into the exact same lane as Celebrini every night, but the two give the lineup a much different look than it had before.
There is more support around them now, too. Tyler Toffoli brings veteran scoring.
Kiefer Sherwood adds speed, physical play, and a 23-goal season. Collin Graf is still in the mix as a young player who could take on more offense.
And the prospect pipeline is loaded with names that could matter soon: Michael Misa, Ivar Stenberg, Quentin Musty, Igor Chernyshov, and Filip Bystedt all give the organization more future firepower.
The offseason work was just as important on the back end.
San Jose’s defense and penalty killing were major problems last season, and the Sharks spent the summer trying to fix that. Jacob Trouba arrived in free agency on a four-year deal, bringing edge, experience, and the kind of defensive responsibility the roster badly needed.
Darnell Nurse came over from Edmonton, giving the Sharks size, speed, and playoff experience. Michael Kesselring also joined after a trade with Buffalo, adding another mobile option who should compete for real minutes.
Those moves matter because they show the Sharks are no longer just collecting bodies. They are adding NHL-tested defenders with size and bite.
Mason Marchment is another notable addition. The 31-year-old winger signed a five-year contract after giving Dallas effective, physical production. He can score, annoy opponents, and help make life easier for the young skill players around him.
The one area that still hangs over everything is goaltending. Yaroslav Askarov remains the biggest variable.
He has the talent to swing games, but San Jose needs more consistency after bottom-tier team save numbers last season. Eric Comrie gives them another experienced option, but Askarov’s development may end up setting the ceiling.
Of course, the Western Conference is still a brutal climb. Colorado has Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Edmonton still runs through Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Vegas knows how to handle a full season and the playoffs.
Dallas remains deep and structured. Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Winnipeg are all in the mix as well.
That leaves San Jose with a narrow but real path. They do not have to win the division to matter.
They need to get into the playoffs, tighten up defensively, and let Celebrini create havoc in a seven-game series. The 2019 St.
Louis Blues are the reminder that a team can miss the postseason one year and make a deep run the next, though San Jose would need a similar jump in defense, goaltending, and confidence to make that kind of leap.
The Sharks also have to survive the usual ups and downs that come with young players over an 82-game season. Celebrini was elite in 2025-26, but opponents will be built around stopping him now.
Smith has to keep growing. The veterans have to help without slowing down the next wave.
That is why the market still sees them as a long shot, but not a joke.
San Jose has changed fast. Celebrini is already one of the league’s best players.
Smith looks like a legitimate top-six center. The blue line is stronger.
Marchment adds a different layer to the forward group. And the franchise finally looks like it has a competitive base instead of just a distant future.
Winning the West would still be a major surprise. But at +5000, the Sharks are no longer just a team to file away for later. They are at least worth a serious look.
In Other News...
Sharks Just Became Part Of The Oilers Offseason Reset
Edmontons offseason reset took a sharp turn when management under general manager Stan Bowman moved to shore up the net, signing Frederik Andersen and leaning into a three-goalie setup with Devon Levi and Tristan Jarry. The Oilers also worked through a broader reshaping of the roster, adding Colton Dach, Jason Dickinson, Kasperi Kapanen and Connor Murphy after a stretch that already had brought a coaching change from Kris Knoblauch to Mike Babcock and a public back-and-forth with the Vegas Golden Knights over former coach Bruce Cassidy.
San Jose got pulled into that overhaul when the Oilers dealt defenseman Darnell Nurse to the Sharks, a move that helped Edmonton create the cap room it needed to keep retooling. For the Sharks, it is another notable addition to a blue line that has been part of a lot of leaguewide conversation this summer, and it gives the deal a little extra intrigue beyond Edmontons goaltending fix and roster churn. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Just Landed A Bigger Spotlight For Celebrinis Biggest Matchups
The Sharks are getting a much bigger stage in the upcoming NHL season, with their schedule now dotted by a healthy run of nationally televised games. For a team trying to draw more attention around its young core and rebuild its profile, that matters, and it gives fans around the league more chances to see San Jose in some of the NHLs most visible windows.
There are marquee matchups mixed into the slate, too, with familiar Pacific Division opponents helping fill out the broadcast calendar. The list includes high-interest meetings against the Kings and Vegas, a sign that the NHL sees enough intrigue in the Sharks schedule to put them in front of a national audience more often than a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks May Have One Rookie Who Changes Their Usual Plan
Ryan Warsofsky has usually handled rookies with a steady hand, easing them in with limited ice time and a gradual path to bigger responsibilities. For the Sharks, that has often meant patience over urgency, letting young players adjust to the NHLs pace and physicality before asking too much of them too soon.
Ivar Stenberg, though, looks like a different kind of case. His time in the Swedish Hockey League has already given him a long run against seasoned pros, which is why theres a growing sense he could be ready for NHL minutes right away. Even so, San Jose may still lean on its familiar development plan at first, leaving open the question of how quickly Warsofsky is willing to break from his usual script. [Read more 🡒]