San Jose Sharks 2026-27 season outlook: What questions remain after changes?

SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks players and managers have expressed different expectations for the 2026-27 season, at least publicly.

Sharks players, understandably, are thinking playoffs, especially after the way things ended in April when they lost five of seven games and missed the postseason by four points, letting a golden opportunity slip away.

“I think that’s our only mindset, is getting to the playoffs,” Sharks center Zack Ostapchuk said last month, “and even going on a little run.”

Asked about the playoffs last week, Sharks general manager Mike Grier took a more measured approach, saying, “We’re just trying to get better. (Media members) are the ones who are always trying to put the finish line and goals on things. It’s to get the team better and improve.”

The Sharks – players and management — certainly feel like they’ve become a better team in recent days, as Grier overhauled the problematic defense while potentially adding more scoring punch to the forward group.

New are winger Mason Marchment and defensemen Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, and Michael Kesselring. Gone are forwards William Eklund and Ryan Reaves, and defensemen Mario Ferraro and Vincent Desharnais, among others.

Of course, the Sharks still have Macklin Celebrini, who might soon establish himself as the NHL’s best player.

But are the changes enough for the Sharks, who finished fifth in the Pacific Division last season, to leapfrog the Edmonton Oilers or the Los Angeles Kings and their new coaches, or even the Anaheim Ducks, whose roster remains in flux? Can they become actual rivals with the Vegas Golden Knights once again?

These are questions that can only be answered after the season starts. Here are three more:

WHERE CAN THE SHARKS’ DEFENSE IMPROVE?

Wholesale changes were made on the defense corps, with Ferraro, Desharnais, John Klingberg, and Nick Leddy allowed to walk as free agents, and Shakir Mukhamadullin sent to Edmonton as part of the deal that brought Nurse to San Jose.

The Sharks feel the added size and length of Nurse, Trouba, and Kesselring will make them harder to play against around their own net and better able to kill plays. Still, Dmitry Orlov will be counted on to eat minutes, Sam Dickinson needs to show growth, and the sixth and seventh defensemen, whoever they are, can’t be a liability.

Somewhere out of their group of defensemen, the Sharks are going to have to find a shutdown pair to consistently face other teams’ top lines. Nurse is not best suited for that role and Kesselring might lack experience. So that leaves Trouba and Orlov as the best remaining options.

Still, overall, this is a defense corps that looks more mobile than last season’s group, better able to transition the puck and join the rush. Nurse and Kesselring were in need of fresh starts as well. Can they do a better job than last year’s team of helping keep the puck out of the Sharks’ net?

CAN ASKAROV TAKE A STEP FORWARD?

The goaltending tandem of Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic is back for another year. Askarov had an up-and-down 2025-26 season, his first as a full-time NHL player, and mostly faded down the stretch. Nedeljkovic, aside from a few starts and tough moments, was pretty steady all year.

But Askarov is the goalie of the future and needs to be better, as he finished the regular season with a 21-20-4 record and won just two of his last nine starts, posting an .871 save percentage in that span. In his last 20 games, Askarov, per moneypuck.com, had a goals saved above expected per 60 mark of -0.710, third-worst among the 65 NHL goalies who have played at least 20 games this past season.

Coming off an .883 save percentage in 47 games, can Askarov start to develop into a true No. 1 this season?

The Sharks signed Nedeljkovic to a two-year, $6 million extension in March to continue to provide competition to Askarov, and Eric Comrie was signed as a third goalie should anything happen to either.

All Sharks goalies will show improvement if the skaters in front of them take better care of the puck. Still, the Sharks likely can’t get below-average goaltending and expect to make the playoffs.

CAN THE YOUNG GUNS IMPROVE?

Macklin Celebrini was fourth in the NHL this past season with 115 points in 82 games. As Celebrini went, so did the Sharks, as they had a 37-18-5 record when he had a point, and were 2-17-3 when he didn’t.

The Sharks know what they’re getting from Celebrini. But where does Will Smith’s game go from here? Can Michael Misa and Igor Chernyshov play bigger minutes over an 84-game season? Can Dickinson be a top-four guy in his second year? How much can the Sharks realistically expect from Stenberg, despite his advanced skills?

Those guys will be insulated to some degree by Alexander Wennberg, Marchment, Tyler Toffoli, Kiefer Sherwood, Barclay Goodrow, and other vets, but still need to show progress for the Sharks to get to where they want to go.

“Playoffs are non-negotiable,” Sherwood told ABC7 last month. “We want to take the next step. We want to continue to develop our group, add to our identity that we’ve been building, and we want to make the Tank a hard place to play.”