San Jose Sharks

Pacific Division, Western Conference · 22 reports in the 2026-27 edition.

The club

2025-26 · 82 games · 218 for, 255 against

How it played

Shot attempts share, five-on-five: 46.9% 28th of 32
Expected goals share, five-on-five: 47.4% 26th of 32
Power play expected goals per sixty: 6.69 28th of 32
Penalty kill expected goals allowed per sixty: 7.67 22nd of 32

Where the record lies

Finishing goals scored above what the chances were worth: +10.1 9th of 32
Goaltending goals prevented beyond what the chances allowed were worth: -20.2 29th of 32

San Jose Sharks scored 10.1 more goals than their chances were worth but got 20.2 fewer saves than the chances they faced warranted — the two pull against each other, and both regress.

Roster shape

Points-weighted, so these are the ages and origins of the production rather than of the sweaters.

Average age: 26.5; weighted by points
From 33 and up: 13.9%; of skater points
From under 26: 48.4%; of skater points
Homegrown: 36.8%; drafted by this club
Continuity: 59.4%; of last season's five-on-five minutes

The read

the numbers, and the eye

115 points from a 20-year-old, the 29th-ranked goaltending, and the lowest continuity in the league — 59 per cent of last season's minutes are gone.

The eye and the numbers

Sighted

The book

11th of 32

The numbers

25th of 32

The book places it 14 spots higher than the numbers do. Every report underneath was written with these numbers on screen and the book departs from them anyway, which makes the gap a judgment rather than an oversight.

Both bars rank this club among the 32 in the edition. The report bar is the mean of its players' grades, weighted by the five-on-five minutes each of them played; the numbers bar is their expected-goal share on the same weighting. It counts 18 of the 22 reports on this roster — the rest have no five-on-five record long enough to weigh — and it reads the roster as it stands rather than the club's own last season.

Who the words reach 21 of 22 · 97% of the five-on-five minutes who is left out (1)

The bars above counted every man on the roster with enough ice time to weigh. The paragraphs name whoever they name, and no rule says who that should be — so this says who it was, over the write-up as a whole. Each section below reaches far fewer than this, which is the figure that matters: the section is where the selection happens, and the count sits under each one. The share is of the five-on-five minutes played by the 18 men on this roster who have a measured record.

Not named: Zack Ostapchuk.

Who this names 8 of 22 on the roster · 48% of their five-on-five minutes details

Both columns above are searched, and a name counts on the same terms the page links it: in full always, by surname only when one man in the edition wears it. Nothing here says who ought to be named — only who was, so the weighting can be seen rather than guessed at.

Not named here: Nolan Allan, Yaroslav Askarov, Igor Chernyshov, Eric Comrie, Ty Dellandrea, Sam Dickinson, Adam Gaudette, Collin Graf, Alex Nedeljkovic, Dmitry Orlov, Zack Ostapchuk, Kiefer Sherwood, Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg.

What the Quant Says

A generational forward and very little else settled. Macklin Celebrini scored 115 points at 20, and San Jose finished 28th in shot-attempt share, 26th in chance share, and conceded 282.

The scoring flattered the club — 10.1 goals above expectation, 9th — while the goaltending gave back 20.2, 29th. 28th on the power play despite the eighth-most man-advantage time, and 26th on the kill while taking the ninth-heaviest shorthanded workload. Continuity is 59.4 per cent, last in the league by 4 points: nearly half of last season's 5-on-5 minutes belong to men who are no longer here.

What the Scout Says

The most exciting young forward group in hockey, and a roster that has spent the last year buying the things those forwards cannot do for themselves. Macklin Celebrini is the best young player in the sport and it is no longer an argument — the release is genuinely elite, he changes the angle late, and he protects the puck through contact at a weight that should not allow it. Will Smith manipulates defenders in tight and passes through seams most players do not see. Michael Misa already knows where goals come from, which is the part that usually takes 3 years.

All 3 of them are light, and the club has responded by acquiring men who are not. Mason Marchment is 6 foot 5, difficult to move off the wall, and forechecks with genuine weight. Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring all clear a crease. Barclay Goodrow forechecks, kills and blocks shots and has 2 rings from doing exactly that. This is a rebuild that has correctly identified what it is short of, and it has not yet found a goaltender.

Who this names 10 of 13 forwards · 83% of their five-on-five minutes details

Not named here: Ty Dellandrea, Barclay Goodrow, Zack Ostapchuk.

What the Quant Says

Macklin Celebrini scored 45 goals and 115 points at 20, on 287 shots from a median of 33 feet — and while he was on the ice at 5-on-5 the goals went 46 for and 67 against. That is the season in one line: a generational forward on a club that could not keep the puck out behind him.

Will Smith added 59 points at 21, Michael Misa 21 in 45 games at 19, Collin Graf 21 goals undrafted taking 60 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet, Igor Chernyshov 9 goals in 28 games at 20. Alexander Wennberg takes 64 per cent of his attempts from inside 20, a median of 15 feet, and finished minus-25. The club scored 251 and finished 10.1 goals above expectation, ninth — the young scoring is real, and it was flattered.

What the Scout Says

3 genuinely gifted young forwards and a supporting group that shoots. Macklin Celebrini scores from further out than almost anyone who scores that much, and it works because the puck leaves before the goaltender has finished setting — a release rather than a location, which is worth saying because a checking series gives you the outside on purpose. Will Smith is the same profile a size smaller: extraordinary hands, scoring from range on release rather than ice, and moved off pucks by grown defencemen. Michael Misa is the best-positioned shooter on the roster at 19 and is a teenager among men on the wall.

The men brought in to help are the ones who go to the hard ice. Mason Marchment wins the front of the net and has more skill than a man his size is usually credited with. Collin Graf goes to the net, arrives on time, and finishes what gets to him — undrafted, and a top-6 winger inside 2 seasons. Tyler Toffoli is one of the more reliable finishers of his generation and still shoots from the right places, finding his ice by reading it half a second early. Kiefer Sherwood forechecks relentlessly and finishes every check. Adam Gaudette finds a soft spot and shoots from it and does nothing else. Igor Chernyshov has the most efficient page on the roster in far too small a sample to trust.

Who this names 6 of 6 defencemen · 100% of their five-on-five minutes details

What the Quant Says

20th in even-strength expected goals against, which is better than the goals conceded suggest. Dmitry Orlov played 1,442 5-on-5 minutes at the 65th percentile and finished minus-28, with the goals 53-72 in his favour — the plus-minus is measuring the club, not him.

Sam Dickinson is 20 and played 72 games at 16:45. Everything else has turned over: Mario Ferraro to Winnipeg, Shakir Mukhamadullin to Edmonton, Vincent Desharnais to Washington, John Klingberg off the roster. Jacob Trouba arrives with 906 games and 78 per cent of his shots from beyond 40 feet, and Darnell Nurse with 798 games and 104 penalty minutes. Nolan Allan played 43 games and has no 5-on-5 record at all. This is a blue line being rebuilt around a 20-year-old with veterans bought to absorb minutes.

What the Scout Says

Rebuilt in one summer, and rebuilt heavy. Jacob Trouba takes 23-minute nights with unusual discipline for the reputation that follows him, and whatever he is now he is an upgrade on what was here. Darnell Nurse has the size and the feet that have carried him 800 games, and his decision-making under a forecheck has been argued about for a decade. Michael Kesselring is 6-5, clears his crease, finishes checks and defends the front of his net properly, at one of the higher penalty rates in this edition — on a club building around very light forwards, that is a specific and useful thing to own.

Dmitry Orlov still has one of the better first passes on any blue line and will be somebody's deadline acquisition. The 2 young ones are the point of it: Sam Dickinson's skating and first pass are already NHL quality and there is room on the frame; Nolan Allan defends and makes the first pass and was not drafted to do anything else. This is a blue line assembled to let 3 small forwards play — which is a coherent plan, and the first coherent one this club has had in some years.

The roster

Evidence 18 Full 3 Light 1 No record

No measured season behind one man: Nolan Allan. His page carries an older stat line and a judgment, and nothing from 2025-26.

Nolan Allan

D · San Jose Sharks

43 games, 8 points, and no 5-on-5 record at all.

Yaroslav Askarov

#30

G · San Jose Sharks

47 appearances, a .8829, and .865 over the last 10.

Macklin Celebrini

#71

C · San Jose Sharks

115 points at 20, and 46 goals from a median of 33 feet.

Igor Chernyshov

#92

LW · San Jose Sharks

9 goals in 28 games, and the 69th percentile.

Eric Comrie

G · San Jose Sharks

102 games across 10 seasons, and a .8899.

Ty Dellandrea

#10

C · San Jose Sharks

The thirteenth pick in 2018, and the nought-th percentile.

Sam Dickinson

D · San Jose Sharks

20 years old, 72 games, and a median shot from 52 feet.

Adam Gaudette

#81

RW · San Jose Sharks

17 goals in 11 minutes a night, and the 10th percentile.

Barclay Goodrow

#23

C · San Jose Sharks

731 games, undrafted, and the 2nd percentile.

Collin Graf

#51

RW · San Jose Sharks

Undrafted, 21 goals, and 60 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet.

Michael Kesselring

D · San Jose Sharks

190 games, no goals last season, and 50 penalty minutes in 34.

Mason Marchment

#27

LW · San Jose Sharks

6-5, undrafted, and plus 17.

Michael Misa

#77

C · San Jose Sharks

19 years old, and 62 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet.

Alex Nedeljkovic

#33

G · San Jose Sharks

219 games, and the best save percentage in a bad crease.

Darnell Nurse

#25

D · San Jose Sharks

798 games, 104 penalty minutes, and 7 goals.

Dmitry Orlov

D · San Jose Sharks

949 games, 34 assists, and minus 28.

Zack Ostapchuk

#63

C · San Jose Sharks

6-4, 58 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet, and 4 goals.

Kiefer Sherwood

#44

LW · San Jose Sharks

Undrafted, 23 goals, and 34 per cent of his shots from beyond 40 feet.

Will Smith

C · San Jose Sharks

59 points at 21, and a median shot from 29 feet.

Tyler Toffoli

#73

C · San Jose Sharks

969 games, 309 goals, and 15 minutes a night.

Jacob Trouba

#65

D · San Jose Sharks

906 games, and 78 per cent of his shots from beyond 40 feet.

Alexander Wennberg

#21

C · San Jose Sharks

64 per cent of his shots from inside 20 feet, and minus 25.

How they were used

2025-26 · 82 games

Measured from shift charts at five-on-five, not projected. Units are built from the strongest partnership outward and ordered by how much they were used; the percentage is the share of the first player’s five-on-five ice time spent alongside each linemate. A low number means the club never settled on a combination. Players who have gone are marked — either to another club, or off an NHL roster altogether, which covers retirement and an unsigned summer alike.