SAN JOSE — At some point late last season, David Quinn figured that his job with the San Jose Sharks was as much about trying to lift the spirits of his players as it was about X’s and O’s and development.
“It was really managing the morale when you’re in the situation we were in,” the ex-Sharks coach said last year after an NHL-worst 19-54-9 season. “You’ve got to coach the team you have, you’ve got to coach the situation you have. It was morale driven.”
One wonders if Quinn’s replacement, Ryan Warsofsky, will soon reach that same point.
After a nine-day break, the Sharks, again in last place in the NHL’s overall standings, return to practice Tuesday afternoon, looking for ways to improve as another dreary season starts to wind down.
Similar to recent years, the Sharks’ final 25 games will likely include plenty of roster upheaval and only a handful of victories. But even if the losses pile up, the Sharks’ front office will continue to evaluate who to roll with for next season and beyond.
“We’re all on the same page in the understanding of what guys are playing for, who’s going to be here for the future, and who we don’t think should be here,” Warsofsky said on Feb. 8. “That’s what the next 25 will tell us as well.”
Here are six burning questions for the rest of this season.
WHO GETS TRADED?: The Sharks (15-35-7) have five pending unrestricted free agents in forwards Nico Sturm and Luke Kunin, defenseman Jan Rutta, and goalies Vitek Vanecek and Alexandar Georgiev. All will likely be moved to contending teams if general manager Mike Grier’s price tag is met.
It would be a huge surprise to see all five still in San Jose past the March 7 trade deadline, but Grier is keeping his options open regarding trading or re-signing those players. Of course, the least appealing option is letting them walk away for nothing.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the deadline will be whether Grier moves any of his players who have some term left on their contracts. Trading either Mario Ferraro or Jake Walman, both signed through the 2025-26 season, could bring the rebuilding Sharks a sizeable return, but it would also leave a significant hole on the roster.
WHERE DO THEY FINISH?: The Sharks are on track to finish with the NHL’s worst record for a second straight year, which would again give them the best chance to win the draft lottery this spring. San Jose lost 10 of its last 11 games before the 4 Nations Face-Off break, and the team’s upcoming schedule does not provide many respites.
Per tankathon.com, the Sharks have the league’s third-toughest schedule to finish the regular season, with their opponents combining for a .566 points percentage. The Sharks, who have won just six of their 28 games away from home so far, begin a seven-game road trip on Sunday.
In 2023, the Sharks traded Timo Meier at the deadline and went 4-14-4 down the stretch. Last year, after dealing Anthony Duclair and Tomas Hertl to playoff-contending teams, the Sharks went 4-14-2 to end the season. Since dealing Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci to the Dallas Stars on Feb. 1, the Sharks are 0-2-1.
The Sharks have 37 points, four less than the 31st-place Chicago Blackhawks and eight less than the 30th-place Nashville Predators. As Sharks fans are aware, the team that finishes with the fewest points, after tiebreakers, will have the greatest chance – 25.5% — of winning the draft lottery. Defenseman Matthew Schaefer is widely considered the top prospect available this year.
WHO GETS RECALLED?: Depending on whether the Sharks trade one or more roster players and who or what is part of the return, some players from the Barracuda will likely get a look with the big club. But who will those players be since NHL teams are only allowed four non-emergency recalls after the trade deadline?
Forwards Andrew Poturalski, Collin Graf, Ethan Cardwell, Danil Gushchin, and Colin White, defensemen Jack Thompson and Shakir Mukhamadullin, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov have all spent time with the Sharks this season. Who else deserves a look? Luca Cagnoni, tied for fourth among all AHL defensemen with 34 points, is one candidate, and Thomas Bordeleau, a pending RFA, is another. Will first-round draft pick Filip Bystedt get a taste of the NHL?
WILL CELEBRINI SET NEW RECORDS?: Macklin Celebrini has a chance to set some new Sharks rookie scoring records.
With 25 games left, Celebrini needs 15 goals to match Logan Couture’s rookie record of 32 (set in 2010-11) and 11 assists to match Pat Falloon’s record of 34 (set in 1991-92). Falloon also holds the Sharks record for most points in a season by a rookie with 59.
Those marks are not impossible to reach for Celebrini, who is now the Sharks’ top-line center and is averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game. In the Sharks’ last eight games before the break, he had eight points (four goals and four assists).
SMITH IN AHL PLAYOFFS?: Could we see Will Smith join the Barracuda for the Calder Cup playoffs?
Asked about that possibility in January, Grier didn’t dismiss the idea, saying he and the Sharks’ training staff would have to see how Smith was feeling following the grind of a six-month NHL season.
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After a slow-ish start, Smith is playing some of his best hockey of the season, as he had two goals and six assists in nine games before the break. He would provide a clear boost to a Barracuda team looking to make a deep run.
Still, while playoff experience is valuable for any player, seeing Smith in a Barracuda uniform would be a surprise.
WILL SAN JOSE SEE HISTORY?: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is 15 goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894. The Capitals play 11 more games before they come to San Jose on March 15.
Could Ovechkin be within striking distance of the record by then? Maybe. Ovechkin, with 26 goals in 39 games this season, can heat up quickly and will be well-rested after the break, and the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals should have at least a few chances at empty-net goals.
Ovechkin has four multi-goal games this season. Wouldn’t it be something if he was within a hat trick of tying Gretzky’s record by the time the Capitals played the Sharks? On March 20, 1994, Gretzky, playing with the Los Angeles Kings against the Sharks in San Jose, scored his 801st goal, tying him with then all-time leader Gordie Howe.
