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Although it was expected that the rebuild would continue in 2023-24 for the San Jose Sharks, probably no one thought it would be this bad for this iteration of the roster. Not only were the Sharks the National Hockey League's worst club, they were one of the weakest teams of the 21st century.
The Sharks didn't get their first win until game No. 12, starting the year 0-10-1 and never recovering from the miserable start. They finished 19-54-9 and looked to be out of playoff contention before the calendar even flipped to November. And with Tomas Hertl and Logan Couture spending most of their time on the injured reserve — and Hertl being shockingly moved to the Vegas Golden Knights at the trade deadline — it was truly a nightmare campaign for this California club.
After spending the season in the league's basement, the good news is that there's nowhere to go but up for the Sharks. But the front office, led by general manager Mike Grier, need to make a few key decisions this summer to ensure that 2024-25 is a step forward in the rebuild. Here are three moves the Sharks must make this offseason.
Draft Macklin Celebrini No. 1 overall
The first move the team must make is the easiest. San Jose won the NHL Draft Lottery, and thus the right to select No. 1 overall come the end of June. And that decision will be simple: selecting Boston University phenom Macklin Celebrini. The 17-year-old is fresh off tearing up the NCAA and winning the Hobey Baker as college hockey's premier player.
Celebrini projects to be a difference-making top-line center at the NHL level, and he should slot into the team's top-six immediately. He should form an electric one-two punch with Will Smith, who was drafted No. 4 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and was recently signed to a three-year entry-level deal.
Ideally for the Sharks, Celebrini and Smith will run the center position for the next decade, and both players will be instrumental to determining how quickly this team can compete for a playoff spot again. Although he isn't the next Connor Bedard, Celebrini will be a must-watch in San Jose, and that's already a win for a roster that didn't have anything like that in 2023-24.
The young future is undoutbably bright in California. But the team needs someone to coach them after David Quinn was fired at the end of the season.
Find the David Quinn replacement
Quinn joined the Sharks as the franchise's 11th bench boss in July of 2022, but only made it through two seasons before he was fired. It's been a tough go for the 57-year-old, who got his start in the league as the coach of the New York Rangers in 2018-19. He was let go midway through his third campaign with the Blueshirts.
The Rhode Island native also failed to make it through three seasons with the Sharks, and Grier had seen enough after the squad failed to win 20 games in 2023-24. It was a 13 point drop from the year before, and something had to give. As the team looks to take a step forward next season, it's clear Grier didn't believe Quinn was the man to get them back to postseason contention.
But someone has to be. And that's one of the key questions facing the front office this season, especially as most NHL teams have found their new coach already. Dan Bylsma is headed to Seattle, Craig Berube is with Toronto, Lindy Ruff is back with Buffalo, Travis Green in New Jersey, etc. It's time for San Jose to decide who will steer the ship.
As ClutchPoints pointed out earlier in the offseason, three candidates that make sense — all former players — are Joel Ward, Jeff Halpern and Marco Sturm. It'll be interesting to see who ends up being chosen, and when that decision is made.
Figure out which UFAs to re-sign, which to target in free agency
Along with a busy 2024 NHL Draft, in which the Sharks have two first-round picks, and finding a new coach, Grier has his work cut out for him with the roster as currently constructed. There are a plethora of both pending unrestricted and restricted free agents, and the front office needs to decide which players to re-sign and which to let go.
As The Athletic's Eric Stephens reported earlier in May, the list of players who will “definitely not be back” include Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman and Kevin Labanc. All three pending UFA forwards struggled mightily last season and will not get another chance in San Jose.
But the decisions will be more difficult for players like Luke Kunin, Filip Zadina and Jacob McDonald, who have carved out roles but could end up being expendable. Overall, the Sharks are looking at seven UFAs and another seven RFAs, so obviously, a lot of decisions need to be made. There's a chance that all seven of the UFAs — Barabanov, Hoffman, Labanc, McDonald, Justin Bailey, Ryan Carpenter and Devin Cooley — end up being let go.
It'll be intriguing to see what route the Sharks front office will go at the draft, as it will affect the rest of the offseason plan. Will Grier select a forward with the team's second first-round pick (No. 14 overall), or go with a defenseman or goaltender instead? That decision could have a domino effect in determining which players get another contract in San Jose.
Although it was a miserable 2023-24 campaign from start to finish for the Sharks, there is a silver lining. And their names are Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. These two players will be relied on to help transform this club from a bottom-feeder to a playoff contender in earnest. And with a new coach and a revamped roster, how long will it take before a once perennial powerhouse can again compete for Lord Stanley? We'll find out soon.
