2023-24 season: 19-54-9, 47 points, 8th in Pacific Division, 16th in Western Conference, 32nd in league.
This season was not a special one for the San Jose Sharks. They started with 11 straight losses to start the season, which included allowing back-to-back games with 10+ goals against the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins. It was clear what their intentions were for this season right from the beginning, and it was to get Macklin Celebrini, the top prospect this year from the Boston University Terriers. He has already lived in the Bay Area, so if the Sharks do everything right this year, developing him will be their number 1 mission. The Sharks also have Will Smith, (not the Fresh Prince) who will likely start the season with San Jose as well.
What went wrong this year is that the Sharks started with a horrible losing streak that resulted in them being in last place from the beginning. They never had a good goalie all season long, as Kaapo Kahkonen was thought to be a good goalie, but has only gotten worse since being traded from the Wild. They also couldn't score, as Mikael Granlund was their leading scorer with 60 points. Their -146 was the worst in the league, as Chicago's was the 2nd worst at -111.
What went right is they either traded off aging players or traded for new young talent. For everything that went wrong off the ice, they got a lot of a return for who they sent away. They acquired Anthony Duclair for Steven Lorentz and a 2025 5th round pick, before trading him to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2024 3rd round pick and Jack Thompson. They also got Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman, Jan Rutta, and Pittsburgh's 2024 1st round pick, which they used to trade up to 11th to draft Sam Dickinson in exchange for Erik Karlsson. They also managed to pick up rejects with potential to be good, such as Ty Dellandrea, Klim Kostin, and Calen Addison, who they could develop into solid players for the future. They also got a 1st rounder and David Edstrom from the Golden Knights for Tomas Hertl and two 3rd round picks.
What I think the Sharks will have in store for next season is another last-place finish. On paper, their season could have them finish as high as 24th in the league, but Tyler Toffoli and Macklin Celebrini can only take them so far. Mike Grier was smart to pick up Toffoli, not because they need his Stanley Cup experience, but he has shown to be a leader, and as someone who was one of Darryl Sutter's favorites, he is someone who can show Celebrini that to be a real player, you need to play in both ends of the ice. If I had a say in voting for the Selke Trophy, Toffoli would've had my vote more than once. Chicago isn't developing Connor Bedard properly, and it showed, not necessarily on the stat line, but his +/- was horrendous. You can't make an excuse for a -44 no matter how bad your team is if you're being called the future face of the franchise. San Jose has a chance to learn from Chicago's mistakes from last year. What I am predicting as far as their record goes, is that San Jose will finish with a record of 20-54-8, last in the division, conference, and the league. They will steal some games, but if they do it right, they will be back in the hunt for James Hagens, the favorite to be 1st overall next season
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