Throughout the Sharks’ three-decade run in teal, No. 64 has been a rare sight. Only two players have ever worn it, and the most recent was Mikael Granlund.
Granlund arrived in San Jose as part of the deal that sent Erik Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and his path to the Sharks had already taken him through plenty of NHL stops. The Finnish forward was selected ninth overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2010 NHL Draft, launching his career in the State of Hockey. He spent just under a decade there before Minnesota sent him to the Nashville Predators during the 2018-19 season.
His time in Nashville lasted five seasons, and he helped the Predators reach the playoffs regularly. Granlund was on the move again during the 2022-23 season, when the Penguins acquired him ahead of the trade deadline. That stretch didn’t leave much of a mark, and Pittsburgh later flipped him to San Jose that summer.
Granlund then became one of the Sharks’ most reliable veterans over two seasons. He worked with the team’s younger players and stood out as a steady bright spot during a tough period for the organization. In 121 games with San Jose, he scored 27 goals and finished with 105 points.
His Sharks run ended ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, when San Jose sent him to the Dallas Stars. He spent the rest of the 2024-25 season there, then signed with the Anaheim Ducks that summer and remains with the Sharks’ state rivals today.
In Other News...
John Klingbergs Next Move Could Sting Sharks Fans
John Klingbergs run in San Jose appears to have put him back on the board as a legitimate free-agent option, and that alone makes this a notable summer development for Sharks fans. After a solid season in teal, the veteran defenseman is now free to choose his next stop, with his market shaped by both his production and the kind of role he still wants at this stage of his career.
The tricky part for San Jose is that the interest around Klingberg does not sound like it will be limited to one type of team. Clubs with different timelines and different cap situations are all in the mix, which means the Sharks could be watching a player they just had settle into a new home move on again before long. What he values most in his next contract will go a long way toward determining whether San Jose gets another year of stability from him or has to start over on the blue line. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Just Made Macklin Celebrini Their Franchise Cornerstone
Macklin Celebrinis new five-year extension gives the Sharks exactly what every rebuilding team wants most: a clear face of the franchise, and one they can build around for the immediate future. At $94 million, the deal also resets the market in a way that reflects just how quickly Celebrini has become central to San Joses plans, putting him atop the NHLs salary ladder on an annual basis.
The shorter term is what makes the contract especially interesting for the Sharks. Five years is a meaningful commitment, but it also leaves the door open to another major negotiation before too long, which means San Jose gets the comfort of locking in its cornerstone without fully answering the longer-range question of how the relationship will look when this deal runs out. [Read more 🡒]
Another Young Star Just Framed Celebrini Like A Franchise Force
Macklin Celebrinis offseason work in Vancouver left a strong impression on Gavin McKenna, who came away talking about the Sharks center as more than just a rising star. McKenna praised Celebrinis intensity and competitiveness in their training sessions, saying the young San Jose cornerstone pushed him to improve both on the ice and in the day-to-day grind that comes with a serious summer workout.
For Sharks fans, it is another reminder that Celebrinis reputation is already stretching well beyond San Jose. McKenna even described one stretch of training as a marathon of ice time, and the kind of commitment he saw helps explain why Celebrini is being framed like a franchise force before he has even settled into the next phase of his career. [Read more 🡒]