SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The multiyear rebuild era for the San Jose Sharks is complete.
After making a surprising push for the playoffs that lasted to the final week of the season, the young Sharks now appear poised to make that next step back to the postseason behind budding superstar Macklin Celebrini.
“I mean obviously it’s disappointing,” Celebrini said about finishing four points out of the final wild-card spot. “We didn’t make playoffs and we were
right there. We knew we could have done it and that stings a little bit. But I think you got to look at the positives. We made a lot of big strides as a group, and we played some good hockey.”
The 39 wins for the Sharks equaled the team's total from the previous two seasons combined and revitalized a fan base that had grown apathetic during a tear down and rebuild. The Shark Tank was frequently packed with attendance increasing by nearly 2,000 fans per game thanks to 24 sellouts as the young core led by Celebrini caught the attention of the Bay Area market.
After losing the first six games of the seasons, the Sharks battled back and were in playoff position at times in March before a six-game losing streak late that month pushed them down the standings and a three-game skid in April ultimately doomed them.
The team finished with 86 points and increased its scoring by 41 goals thanks in large part to a record-setting season by Celebrini. But a leaky defense, inconsistent goaltending and the seventh worst penalty kill unit led to 290 goals allowed for the third highest total in the league.
“I think we’re still a long ways away from getting to where we want to go,” general manager Mike Grier said. “It’s not just being wild card two and losing in the first round. There’s a bigger prize here that we’re after, so we’re kind of still in the baby steps of that. Hopefully, you now, we’re starting to come out of the rebuild and take positive steps forward.”
The path to the playoffs is now visible after three straight seasons with a bottom four record — including back-to-back campaigns as the worst team in the league — helped boost the quality of the roster.
Along with Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, the Sharks have added several other building blocks through the draft in recent years with players like Will Smith, Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson and Igor Chernyshov all showing this season that they can be part of the long-term success in San Jose.
Led by Celebrini's team-record 115 points, the Sharks got 344 points from players age 23 or younger this season for the second highest total for any team in the last 17 seasons.
“I don’t know what is going to happen, but I’m excited for this organization,” said defenseman Mario Ferraro, who has been part of seven straight Sharks teams that missed the playoffs.
“It’s been a long time that we’ve had prospects and picks and guys coming in. But we’re quite ready to put a team together to make a run for playoffs and a Stanley Cup. Now you can see that those picks and those prospects and guys coming in are making a huge difference. It’s obvious the guys who are, right? It’s exciting for this organization.”
Celebrini is the biggest reason why as he established himself as one of the league's top players at age 19 with his performance throughout the season and on the big stage of the Olympics in February.
Celebrini had 45 goals and 70 assists, breaking Joe Thornton’s franchise record of 114 points set in 2006-07 and trailing Wayne Gretzky (137 in 1979-80) and Sidney Crosby (120 in 2006-07) for the most in a season for a player before turning 20.
The performance put him in the running for Hart Trophy as league MVP. Defenseman Vincent Desharnais, who played previously with superstars like Connor McDavid in Edmonton and Crosby in Pittsburgh, sees even bigger things in the future for the Sharks as a team and Celebrini as a player.
“It’s going to be exciting to see the next few years because this team’s going be a playoff team,” Desharnais said. “The boat is turned around and he’s one of the main reasons why. At 19 years old everything he’s achieved, whether it’s the Olympics, whether it is with this team and how he is off the ice as well, a good heart, a good person. I’m very excited to see what’s going to be next for him. But the sky’s the limit and there’s going to be many, many more records being broken for him.”
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
