The San Jose Sharks made a couple of nice moves this summer in the quest to come out of the Western Conference basement in 2024-25. The obvious one was drafting Macklin Celebrini first overall back in June; he will quickly become the face of this franchise as it eventually comes out of the rebuild. He'll be joined by a couple of veterans in Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg and Barclay Goodrow up front — the latter who is no stranger to playing in San Jose.
Along with the acquisitions of Jake Walman and Cody Ceci on the back end, and the presumed debut of former No. 4 overall pick Will Smith, the Sharks should be much-improved next season. But after winning a miserable 19 games in 2023-24, that shouldn't be too hard. The question is, will this roster be able to surprise in an ever-weakening Pacific Division?
That's up in the air, and unlikely, as the squad still has a couple of glaring roster concerns. But with the youth revolution on the way — Celebrini, Smith, William Eklund, Fabian Zetterlund, etc. — it's only a matter of time before the Sharks go back to competing for postseasons.
That's probably a couple of years off, but if a few of these veterans can make an impact, there's a great chance San Jose at least doesn't finish last in the West. Here are three such players who have an opportunity to be game-changers in 2024-25.
Can Logan Couture come back healthy?
Of course, Logan Couture has never been considered a sneaky player throughout his career with the Sharks. The complete opposite, actually. He's been the face of the franchise for years and is a proven playoff performer.
But the reality is that the 35-year-old is dealing with a rare and unpredictable ailment, which he detailed earlier in 2024.
“I was dealing with osteitis pubis,” Couture explained in January. “Some days were terrible. Some days, I couldn't get out of bed.”
Osteitis Pubis is defined as “inflammation in the joint between your left and right pubic bones (your pubic symphysis). It causes pain and swelling in your groin or lower abdomen,” per the Cleveland Clinic.
Although Couture's season was derailed by the injury — he ended up playing in just six regular-season games — he said in April that he hoped to get back on the ice sometime in July, although there's been no evidence of that as we approach the dog days of summer.
At this point, Couture's future is up in the air; he made it clear that his goal is to be ready for Sharks training camp, but he wants to also ensure his life away from hockey is pain-free. That's more than reasonable considering all he's given to the franchise, including leading them to the 2016 Stanley Cup Final with a ridiculous 30 points in 24 postseason games.
All of those things considered, Couture can now pretty safely be defined as a sneaky veteran. There's a very real chance he retires, but if he can overcome the ailment that's plagued him and return to the lineup in 2024-25, he could join a promising forward core that should score a lot of goals next season.
Couture could center any of Smith, Eklund, Toffoli, Zetterlund, or even Mikael Granlund if the latter moves to the wing, and he'd also be a lock to get back on the top powerplay group. He is just a year removed from a 27-goal, 67-point campaign in 2022-23, and this is a heart and soul player who will forever live on in Sharks lore.
Couture's health is the most important thing at this point in his career, but if he does come back, expect he'll do it strong.
Barclay Goodrow looking to build on postseason success with Rangers
There's no way to sugar coat it: Barclay Goodrow was absolutely terrible for the New York Rangers last year. In the regular-season, that is. He managed just 12 points in 80 games and was beginning to feel the ire of Blueshirts faithful near the end.
But the 31-year-old turned it on in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, exploding for six goals and eight points in just 16 games as the Rangers came within two wins of advancing to the Finals for the first time since 2014. At the end, Goodrow decided to return to San Jose, the team that first took a chance on him as an undrafted player a decade ago.
Out of the bright lights at Madison Square Garden, Goodrow is primed for a bounce back season. Although he's not quite the player he once was — and he never was a lights out contributor at the best of times — he should get an opportunity to mentor the youth revolution in California. Although he's projected to play a fourth-line role, if he can earn a place higher up the lineup, there's a great chance he easily eclipses his measly 12 points from a year ago.
Cody Ceci could benefit from a change of scenery
After the St. Louis Blues offersheeted two Edmonton Oilers youngsters, the Oil immediately made a couple of moves to potentially match the sheets given to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway. One of those moves was trading Cody Ceci to San Jose.
The 30-year-old had his ups and downs in Edmonton, there's no doubt about it, but he still managed 25 points in 79 games. He added another five points to help the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final, most notably scoring the first goal of Game 7 in Round 2 against the Vancouver Canucks.
Daily Faceoff projects Ceci starting the year on San Jose's top pairing alongside Mario Ferraro, and he could thrive with additional responsibility on a new team. Although the Sharks' blue line isn't nearly as strong as the Oilers, it's been improved this summer, and Ceci should be a stabilizing force.
He's unlikely to earn a spot on the top powerplay unit, but he should be a massive help at both ends of the rink as the Sharks look to take the next step forward in 2024-25.
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