The San Jose Sharks failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.
The Sharks (16-41-7) were eliminated from contention when the Vegas Golden Knights won 5-4 in overtime against the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday after San Jose lost 3-2 at the Philadelphia Flyers. They qualified the previous four seasons prior to the start of their drought, and 14 of 15 since 2003-04, a run that included five Western Conference Final appearances and a six-game loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.
San Jose is 1-7-2 in its past 10 games and has the second-worst record on the road (6-22-4) after the Chicago Blackhawks (5-26-1).
Here is a look at what happened in the 2023-24 season for the Sharks and why things could be better next season.
The skinny
Potential unrestricted free agents: Kevin Labanc, F; Mike Hoffman, F; Alexander Barabanov, F; Justin Bailey, F; Ryan Carpenter, F; Jacob MacDonald, D; Devin Cooley, G
Potential restricted free agents: Luke Kunin, F; Filip Zadina, F; Thomas Bordeleau, F; Henry Thrun, D; Calen Addison, D; Ty Emberson, D
Potential 2024 Draft picks: 9
What went wrong
Slumping at the start: The Sharks began the season 0-10-1, which was the second-worst start in NHL history after the New York Rangers in 1943-44 (0-14, one tie). San Jose went 0-8-1 in October, averaging one goal per game and allowing 3.78. In November, the Sharks went 5-5-4 and averaged 1.93 goals per game while allowing 4.07.
Injuries: San Jose coach David Quinn was put at a disadvantage from the early part of the season because of injuries to a few key players, including forward Tomas Hertl (knee surgery) and captain Logan Couture (hip/groin). Hertl, who has been out since before the All-Star break (Feb. 1-3), was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 8 for forward prospect David Edstrom and a first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Couture missed the first 45 games of the season after an injury he sustained during offseason training before returning to the lineup in January. He's out for the remainder of the season after having just one assist in six games.
Preventing goals: Goaltending has been a problem since the run to the 2019 Western Conference Final, a six-game loss to the St. Louis Blues. Mackenzie Blackwood, acquired from the New Jersey Devils on June 27, 2023, and signed a two-year contract July 1, has been in and out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. The 27-year-old is 9-18-3 with an .899 save percentage in 35 games (32 starts). Kaapo Kahkonen, who was traded to the Devils for goalie Vitek Vanecek on March 8, went 6-20-3 with an .895 save percentage. Magnus Chrona, a fifth-round pick (No. 152) in the 2018 NHL Draft, is still maturing at the top level. The 23-year-old, considered to be their goalie of the future, is 1-3-1 with an .879 save percentage in six games (five starts).
Reasons for optimism
Promising prospects: The Sharks have several young players either on the current roster or in the pipeline expected to make an even greater impact next season. Thrun, a 23-year-old defenseman, has 48 blocked shots and has averaged 19:42 of ice time in 33 games as a rookie. Rookie defenseman Emberson, 23, has 94 hits while averaging 18:33 of ice time in 30 games. It's just a matter of time before Shakir Mukhamadullin, 22, becomes a fixture on defense; he has 27 points (six goals, 21 assists) in 47 games with San Jose of the American Hockey League. Forward Fabian Zetterlund, 24, had an NHL career-high 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 64 games, and forward William Eklund, 21, had an NHL career-high 30 points (10 goals, 20 assists) in 62 games. San Jose will likely see a lot more of forwards Bordeleau, 22, who has five points (four goals) in nine games with the Sharks this season, and Will Smith, 18, who leads NCAA Division I men's hockey with 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists) in 34 games as a freshman at Boston College, in the very near future.
Draft capital: Trades before the Deadline on March 8 left San Jose with nine picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, including two in the first round, two in the second and one in the third. It will also have a chance at winning the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery and the right to select projected No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini of Boston University. If not, the Sharks could still end up with their first top-three pick since 1998 (Brad Stuart, No. 3). They chose Smith at No. 4 in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The goodness in Granlund: Mikael Granlund, now in his 12th NHL season, reached 40 points for the third straight season and first with the Sharks. The 32-year-old forward (nine goals, 31 assists in 51 games), an alternate captain, has been able to provide the necessary work ethic and leadership required of a veteran player on a rebuilding team. Granlund, who played his 800th NHL game March 9, is going to be looked at by Quinn to set the proper example entering 2024-25. He has one more season remaining after this one before he can become an unrestricted free agent.
