San Jose Sharks

Pacific Division, Western Conference · 22 reports in the 2024-25 edition.

This is the 2024-25 edition — an archived read, written from that season alone. Read the 2026-27 club page →

The club

2023-24 · 82 games · 218 for, 255 against

How it played

Shot attempts share, five-on-five: 43.8% 31st of 32
Expected goals share, five-on-five: 40.8% 32nd 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: -20.1 29th of 32
Goaltending goals prevented beyond what the chances allowed were worth: -24.5 29th of 32

San Jose Sharks scored 20.1 fewer goals than their chances were worth and got 24.5 fewer saves than the chances they faced warranted — 45 goals of the record that the underlying play does not explain. Both halves regress.

Roster shape

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

Average age: 28.0; weighted by points
From 33 and up: 7.1%; of skater points
From under 26: 36.5%; of skater points
Homegrown: 20.4%; drafted by this club
Continuity: 59.4%; of last season's five-on-five minutes

The read

the numbers, and the eye

Last in the league at creating chances and last at preventing them — the only club in this edition that finished thirty-second at both ends.

Who this names 16 of 22 on the roster · 83% 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: Mackenzie Blackwood, Klim Kostin, Jan Rutta, Givani Smith, Nico Sturm, Colin White.

What the Quant Says

19-54-9, 47 points, last in the league by five.

181 goals for and 331 against — a differential of minus-150, the worst in this edition by thirty-nine goals, and 331 against is thirty-one more than any other club conceded.

2.132 expected goals per 60 at even strength, 32nd. 3.092 against, 32nd. San Jose is the only club in this edition that finished last in the league at both ends of the ice, and it also had the lowest offensive-zone start share in hockey and the fewest power-play minutes.

At five-on-five: 119 goals scored against 139.1 expected, and 226 conceded against 201.5. Twenty goals of finishing lost and twenty-five of goaltending — forty-five goals below what the chances were worth, on top of the worst chances in the league.

William Eklund finished minus-45, the worst figure of anybody in this edition. Mario Ferraro was minus-38, Fabian Zetterlund minus-34 and Luke Kunin minus-30. Four of the ten worst plus-minus figures in the edition belong to this roster.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic has played 1,296 games and every one of them for San Jose — the third- longest one-club career in this edition, behind Alex Ovechkin and Anze Kopitar. He is 37 and played 16:17 a night.

Tyler Toffoli, Cody Ceci, Jake Walman, Alexander Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow, Vitek Vanecek, Ty Dellandrea and Carl Grundstrom all arrive. Eight men brought in to a club that lost by three goals a night.

What the Scout Says

The worst club in this edition by every measure it can be sorted on, and eight new bodies brought in to change it.

William Eklund is 21 and had 45 points on a minus-45. Mikael Granlund had 48 assists on a club that scored 181 goals. Marc-Edouard Vlasic played his 1,296th game, all of them here.

Last in chance creation, last in chance suppression, last in offensive-zone starts, last in power-play time, last in the standings. There is nothing to salvage from the season, and the core the club is actually building around — Eklund, Zetterlund, Thrun, Bordeleau, Ferraro — is 26 or younger.

Who this names 6 of 14 forwards · 57% of their five-on-five minutes details

Not named here: Thomas Bordeleau, Ty Dellandrea, Barclay Goodrow, Carl Grundstrom, Givani Smith, Nico Sturm, Alexander Wennberg, Colin White.

What the Quant Says

181 goals, 31st in the league, on the worst rate of chance creation at even strength in hockey — 2.132 expected goals per 60, 32nd.

At five-on-five San Jose took 43.8 per cent of the shot attempts, 31st, and 40.8 per cent of the expected goals, 32nd. No club in hockey took a smaller share of the chances when the sides were even.

It also had the lowest offensive-zone start share in the league, 43.4 per cent. Last in starting position, last in chances created, last in chances conceded.

And it scored 119 goals at five-on-five against an expectation of 139.1 — a shortfall of 20.1, 29th in the league. Bottom of the league at making chances, and then twenty goals below what the few it made were worth.

Mikael Granlund had 12 goals and 48 assists for 60 points, Fabian Zetterlund scored 24, William Eklund had 45 points at 21 and Luke Kunin 18 on 83 penalty minutes. Tyler Toffoli arrives having scored 33 goals across New Jersey and Winnipeg — more than anybody on this roster managed.

What the Scout Says

A hundred and eighty-one goals, and the man who scored the most of them anywhere on this page did it for somebody else.

Tyler Toffoli is 6-0 and 205 and scored 33 goals across New Jersey and Winnipeg, taking 321 attempts at a median of 28 feet with 35 per cent of them from inside twenty, 223 of those on goal, converted at 14.4 per cent against a career 11.55. He has 260 career goals in 812 games and a career plus-87, the largest positive figure on this roster.

Fabian Zetterlund scored 24 on 306 attempts at a 32-foot median and finished minus-34. William Eklund took 47 per cent of his attempts from inside twenty feet at 5-10 and 185, which is the second-closest chart on the club, and had 45 points at 21.

Mikael Granlund is 5-10 and 193 and had 48 assists in 69 games. Alexander Wennberg's median attempt was 18 feet with 54 per cent from inside twenty, the closest chart here. Klim Kostin is 6-4 and 232 and has converted 17.78 per cent of 135 career shots.

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

What the Quant Says

San Jose allowed 3.092 expected goals per 60 at even strength, 32nd in the league, and conceded 331 goals, 32nd. That is thirty-one more than any other club in hockey conceded.

At five-on-five it conceded 226 goals against an expectation of 201.5 — twenty-five more than the shots called for, and the club's goaltending came in 24.5 goals worse than the chances it faced, 29th in the league. Worst at giving up chances and fourth-worst at stopping them.

Mario Ferraro played 78 games at 22:52 and finished minus-38, with his ice at 53-92 against an expectation of 54.35-71.10 — twenty-one goals of goaltending below what the shots called for, the worst figure on the club. His career is now a minus-95 in 330 games.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic played 57 games at 16:17 in his eighteenth season. Jan Rutta played 69 at 19:43 and finished minus-21. Henry Thrun played 51 games at 20:00 at 22 and finished minus-22.

Cody Ceci arrives from Edmonton with 79 games at 20:01 and a plus-12, and Jake Walman from Detroit with 12 goals in 63 games from the blue line.

What the Scout Says

The worst chance suppression in the league, and a defenceman who has played 1,296 games in one building watching it.

Mario Ferraro is 5-11 and 200 and played 78 games at 22:52, with a career minus-95 in 330 games — the second-worst rate of anybody in this edition with two hundred games. He is a small, hard defenceman who defends by skating and finishing checks, and he has taken the hardest minutes on a bad club for five straight seasons.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic is 6-1 and 205, 37, and has 293 career assists and 1,296 games, all for San Jose. Jan Rutta is undrafted, 6-3, and took 78 per cent of his attempts from beyond forty feet. Henry Thrun is 6-2 and 211, 23, and played 20:00 a night in 51 games.

Cody Ceci is 6-3 and 210 and finished plus-12 in Edmonton, with 786 career games and a career minus-4. Jake Walman is 6-1 and 218 and scored 12 goals in 63 games from the Detroit blue line, on a career 6.53 per cent across 383 shots.

Who this names 2 of 2 goaltenders details

What the Quant Says

The club's goaltending came in 24.5 goals worse than the chances it faced, 29th in the league, and those chances were the worst in hockey to begin with.

Mackenzie Blackwood went 10-25-4 with an .8988 and a 3.45 in 44 games, facing 1,383 shots, with 2 shutouts. The 3.45 goals-against average is a function of the club in front of him: he faced more than thirty-one shots a night and his career line across 196 games is a .9041.

Kaapo Kahkonen played 31 games and is now in Colorado. Magnus Chrona played 9 and Devin Cooley 6, and neither is on the roster.

Vitek Vanecek arrives from New Jersey, where he went 17-9-3 with an .8898 in 32 games — the sixth-lowest save percentage of any goaltender who played twenty-five games. His career .9051 across 163 games includes a .9107 and 33 wins in New Jersey two seasons ago.

Two goaltenders with career save percentages of .9041 and .9051, behind the worst chance suppression in the league. Neither number will survive the season.

What the Scout Says

Two goaltenders with nearly identical career numbers, behind the worst defensive club in the league.

Mackenzie Blackwood is 6-4 and 225 and faced 1,383 shots in 44 games — more than thirty-one a night. He is large and takes up the net rather than moving around it, and the deep, patient game he plays is the right one behind a club that gives up as much as this one does. A career .9041 across 196 games, with a .9178 and a .9146 in his first two full seasons in New Jersey.

Vitek Vanecek is 6-2 and 184 and went 17-9-3 with an .8898 in New Jersey, the sixth-lowest save percentage of any goaltender who played twenty-five games. He is quick and small for the position and plays higher in his crease than Blackwood does. A career .9051 across 163 games and 91 wins, including 33 in a season two years ago.

Neither man is a solution and both have been better than last season suggests. On a club that conceded 331 goals, the crease is the last thing that needs fixing.

The roster

Evidence 0 Full 20 Light 2 No record

No measured season behind two of them: Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. Their pages carry an older stat line and a judgment, and nothing from 2023-24.

Mackenzie Blackwood

G · San Jose Sharks

Thirty-one shots a night, the fourth-most in this edition, and a 3.45 to go with them.

Thomas Bordeleau

C · San Jose Sharks

Four of his six career goals have come on the power play, from 43 games.

Cody Ceci

D · San Jose Sharks

Fourteen penalty minutes in 79 games at twenty minutes a night, and one power-play goal in 786 games.

Ty Dellandrea

C · San Jose Sharks

Thirteenth overall in 2018, and 151 games in four seasons.

William Eklund

LW · San Jose Sharks

Minus-45, the worst figure of anybody in this edition, and five game-winners on a club that won nineteen games.

Mario Ferraro

D · San Jose Sharks

A career minus-95 in 330 games, the second-worst rate of anybody in this edition with two hundred of them.

Barclay Goodrow

C · San Jose Sharks

Five hundred and nine career penalty minutes in 572 games, coming back to the club that gave him his start.

Mikael Granlund

C · San Jose Sharks

Forty-eight assists on a club that scored 181 goals.

Carl Grundstrom

RW · San Jose Sharks

The best chance share on this roster, earned in Los Angeles at eleven minutes a night.

Klim Kostin

C · San Jose Sharks

Six-four and 232 pounds, with the fifth-highest career shooting rate of anybody in this edition.

Luke Kunin

C · San Jose Sharks

The lowest chance share of anybody in this edition who played a thousand minutes at five-on-five.

Jan Rutta

D · San Jose Sharks

Undrafted, a career plus-28, and the second-lowest chance share in this edition over a thousand minutes.

Givani Smith

RW · San Jose Sharks

Two hundred and fifty career penalty minutes in 155 games, and nine goals.

Nico Sturm

C · San Jose Sharks

Undrafted out of Germany, 6-3, and 66 career penalty minutes in 269 games.

Henry Thrun

D · San Jose Sharks

Twenty minutes a night at 22, on the worst club in the league.

Tyler Toffoli

C · San Jose Sharks

Thirty-three goals and a career plus-87, arriving on a club that scored 181.

Vitek Vanecek

G · San Jose Sharks

Ninety-one career wins against 42 losses, on a career save percentage of .9051.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic

D · San Jose Sharks

One thousand two hundred and ninety-six games, every one of them for San Jose.

Jake Walman

D · San Jose Sharks

Twelve goals from the blue line in 63 games, at 11.1 per cent.

Alexander Wennberg

C · San Jose Sharks

Two hundred and forty-four career assists against 91 goals, and the closest shot chart on the club.

Colin White

C · San Jose Sharks

Zero points in 28 games across two clubs, from a man who had 41 at 22.

Fabian Zetterlund

LW · San Jose Sharks

Twenty-four goals and not one of them a game-winner, in 82 games.

How they were used

2023-24 · 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.