For Sharks fans, what’s left to look forward to?
SAN JOSE – It’s a fair question that at least some followers of the San Jose Sharks must be asking themselves right now:
What is left to look forward to this season?
Following their competitive but ultimately disappointing two-game road trip over the weekend, the Sharks (15-39-6) will carry a seven-game losing streak into Tuesday night when they host Joe Pavelski and the Dallas Stars.
The Sharks lost 3-2 to Dallas in a shootout on Saturday and 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.
“It’s frustrating because I thought it was an extremely good road trip by our team, and the way we played the last two games,” Sharks center Nico Sturm said after Sunday’s game. “I was proud of the boys with the adversity that we faced and how we showed up.”
Then after Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders, the Sharks will have 20 games left to play, a stretch that might be tougher to watch than the first 62 games were.
Two of their top players are injured and others might be on the way out soon.
Still, there are a handful of things Sharks fans can look forward to over the last six-plus weeks of the regular season. Here are seven.
THE TRADE DEADLINE: Everyone around the Sharks is curious to see who stays and who goes as general manager Mike Grier’s roster turnover continues.
The mystery is not which pending unrestricted free agents are traded before noon (PST) on Friday, but if any players with term are shipped to other teams.
Other teams, naturally, figure to have interest in pending UFA Anthony Duclair, who scored again Sunday and now has five goals in nine games since the all-star break. But will the Sharks also consider trading center Mikael Granlund, who is signed through next season, or defenseman Mario Ferraro, who has two years left on his deal?
Those players, like Duclair, might bring decent returns that could aid the rebuild. They’d also gut the team more than it already is with Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture out indefinitely.
THE RETURN: The Sharks will seek future assets in any trade they make. But will any of the players the Sharks bring in play an NHL game before the end of the regular season?
Last year, Fabian Zetterlund, Jacob Peterson, and Henry Thrun all played for the Sharks after they were acquired before the deadline. The year before, it was Kaapo Kahkonen.
THE CALLUPS: Following last year’s trade deadline, the Sharks recalled a handful of players from the Barracuda, including forwards William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, Danil Gushchin, and Tristen Robins, and defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov.
The same thing figures to happen again this season, depending on what roster spots are available. Forward candidates include Gushchin, Robins, Bordeleau, Ethan Cardwell, and veteran Nathan Todd. If defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin can get healthy, he figures to get another look at the NHL level.
The Barracuda are still trying to make the AHL playoffs, but the math isn’t in the team’s favor. San Jose enters this week 14 points out of a playoff spot with 18 games left to play.
THE NEW GUYS?: Forwards Quentin Musty (Sudbury) and Kasper Halttunen (London) and defenseman Jake Furlong (Halifax) could go on long playoff runs with their respective CHL teams. Or those teams could get eliminated early, and the Sharks prospects could join the Barracuda.
It’s a neat thought, but don’t count on it. London, Sudbury, and Halifax are among the best teams in their respective leagues and there’s no guarantee they’ll be in San Jose before April 20, when the Barracuda’s regular season ends. The OHL and QMJHL playoffs begin at the end of this month.
THE ‘RACE’ FOR 32ND: The Sharks enter the week in 31st place in the NHL’s overall standings with 36 points, one point ahead of the last-place Chicago Blackhawks.
As Sharks fans are well aware by now, the team that finishes in last place has a 25.5 percent chance of winning the draft lottery, whereas the team that finishes 31st has a 13.5 percent chance.
Whichever team wins the lottery will almost certainly select 17-year-old center Macklin Celebrini with the first overall pick. A freshman at Boston University, Celebrini, the former Jr. Shark, enters this week with 48 points in 30 games and could be someone who steps into the NHL next season.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING: The Sharks and their fans have an interest in how the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils finish the regular season.
As a condition of the Erik Karlsson trade, if the Penguins make the playoffs — or miss the playoffs and fall between 11th and 16th in the draft order — the Sharks will get their first-round pick. If the Penguins, after the draft lottery, land between first and 10th in the order, then they can elect to transfer this pick to their 2025 first-round selection (a safe bet).
As a condition of the Timo Meier trade, the Sharks will get the Devils’ first-round pick this year if New Jersey makes the Eastern Conference final. But going into Monday, the Devils were seven points out of a playoff spot with 21 games left. Going on a big run, and then following that with two playoff-round wins seems unlikely.
If the Devils do not make the Eastern Conference final, then that draft pick is a second-rounder this year. If the season ended today, that would be the 44th overall pick.
WILL SMITH WATCH: Believe it or not, Will Smith, the Sharks’ top prospect, could be on the team’s roster in a month, or less.
Going into this week, Smith leads all NCAA Division I players with 54 points, 37 assists, and a 1.69 points-per-game average. His Boston College Eagles (27-5-1) are ranked No. 1 in the country, have won eight straight games, and just captured the Hockey East regular season title.
Still, the 16-team NCAA Tournament, which begins March 28, is fickle. One bad game and even the best teams’ seasons can abruptly come to an end.
Chances are, though, that Boston College will make the Frozen Four, and the Eagles’ season won’t end until April 11 or 13. When that happens, Smith will have a decision to turn pro or commit to returning to school for another season. He and the Sharks will sit down once the BC’s season ends to hash it out.
If Boston College makes the national title game, Smith could still turn pro and play with the Sharks in their final two regular season games – April 15 and 18 in Edmonton and Calgary, respectively.