The bad news for the San Jose Sharks is that, despite finishing with the worst record in the NHL for the second straight season, they did not get the No. 1 overall pick and will not have a chance to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer to add to their rebuild.
The good news is, in a weird way, that should help clarify their offseason a little bit.
By dropping from No. 1 down to No. 2 overall, they should know they are going to be in a position to draft arguably the top forward in the draft, which is likely to be Michael Misa. Combined with Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund and some of their other emerging young prospects, they are going to be in a pretty good position offensively when it comes to emerging stars. There is going to be a strong core of forwards in place long-term.
That should open the door for them to spend big in free agency and on the trade market on their defense, which needs major help from both a short-term and long-term perspective.
The UFA market is not exactly great when it comes to the defense, but there are some intriguing players in Aaron Ekblad and Vladislav Gavrikov potentially available. They also have multiple first-round picks in 2025 and 2026 (they have Dallas’ first-round pick in 2025 and Edmonton’s in 2026) that could be dangled as trade bait for younger, cost-controlled players still under team control.
They are going to have a chance to add another potential star forward in the draft. They need to use free agency and the trade market to address the defense.
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