San Jose Sharks’ Mediocre Opening to Season Leaves Plenty to Be Desired

· Yahoo Sports

The San Jose Sharks may have started their 2026-27 campaign at a steady 4-3-0, but the opening two weeks certainly haven’t lacked drama. 

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Overtime thrillers, an injury scare and a whole lot of goals allowed have defined the first portion of the Sharks’ slate. 

Team Teal began the season with a bang, outlasting the Panthers for their first opening-night win since 2021, followed by overtime victories against the Kings, Blues and later the Predators. But the Stars, Oilers and Bruins routed them, and through seven games they still don’t have a regulation win to their name. 

Despite the mediocre start, it’s a substantial improvement from how San Jose has welcomed its previous four seasons. The Sharks opened on six, nine, 11, and five-game losing streaks spanning back to 2022, not grabbing their fourth win until November each year. 

But for a current team with a complete roster and postseason aspirations to boot, the start has also left much to be desired. 

Mysterious Injury Sidelines Celebrini

When superstar center and newly-minted captain Macklin Celebrini was scratched after warmups and right before puck drop for San Jose’s first road game on Monday, Oct. 5 in Dallas, Sharks faithful collectively held their breath. 

And the ambiguous nature of his condition, even more vaguely explained than a typically obscure hockey injury, didn’t exactly assuage concerns. 

Inconsistent reporting over when the injury occurred, how long Celebrini has been dealing with it and cryptic messaging about his return added to the mystery.

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How the Sharks fared against the Stars only made matters worse. San Jose was thoroughly outplayed from start to finish, lacking the requisite effort, energy and attention to detail needed to hang around a talented Dallas squad. The Sharks looked utterly lost and discombobulated without the Hart Trophy hopeful on the ice, firing a measly 13 shots on goal in their first loss of the season after back-to-back home triumphs. 

However, San Jose quickly turned the page, and its gutsy overtime win over St. Louis three days later was inspiring. While veterans Tyler Toffoli, Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse stepped up, there’s no doubt this team still isn’t good enough to sustain high-quality hockey without Celebrini in the lineup. A prime example: The 5-0 no-show versus the Stars. 

Celebrini’s Absence Exposes the Sharks’ Reliance on Him

The 20-year-old sensation’s impact on the offense is immeasurable. As the ultimate engine, San Jose has no other player who can drive offense and sustain pressure against top lines. 

Celebrini returned to action Saturday against Edmonton, but was passive and clearly in discomfort. He didn’t look like himself for the first two periods, and failed to play with the speed, rhythm and aggression he typically oozes. 

He found his footing in the third period and picked up right where he left off three nights later versus Boston, once again being the most dominant player on the ice for the Sharks with two points in the defeat, giving him eight on the season in four contests. 

At the risk of sounding like captain obvious: San Jose is essentially a different, unrecognizable team sans Celebrini. His scoring abilities aside, the Sharks’ supporting cast is better when their captain is out there. Will Smith hasn’t yet proven he can be a reliable offensive threat without his partner in crime, and the rest of the roster has more room to operate when Celebrini attracts most of the opposition’s attention. 

San Jose scored nine goals in the first two games before Celebrini was sidelined, and has drastically struggled to find the back of the net since, potting just four in the three matchups he was out or severely hampered. Celebrini did earn the third star, the team’s lone recipient of a star in the game, in a win against the Predators on Thursday, but he failed to record a point.

The 2025-26 Ted Lindsay Award finalist played in all 82 games last year, and an early preview of life without Celebrini this season wasn’t pretty. Hopefully for the Sharks, it won’t be a reality they have to experience again anytime soon. 

Smith, Askarov Marred by Inconsistent Play

As presumably long-term franchise pillars, the ceilings for Smith and goaltender Yaroslav Askarov are limitless. 

And that’s what makes their erratic play so frustrating. 

Smith made a statement on opening night, appearing to have taken a drastic jump in Year 3. Celebrini’s willingness to battle for the puck may finally be rubbing off on his roommate, as Smith’s physicality, forechecking and play along the boards were truly eye-opening and an encouraging sign. 

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His offensive gifts were on full display, but he was also more focused and engaged away from the puck. 

But in the matchups since, much like last season, Smith has had extended stretches where he leaves minimal imprints on games, disappearing for shifts and periods on end, playing like an average forward instead of the emerging star he could be. 

Similarly, Askarov has shown flashes of brilliance between the pipes. At times he’s looked the part of an elite netminder, and at others he’s been shaky and San Jose’s weak link. 

During the opening homestand, while the numbers didn’t jump off the page, Askarov appeared more poised, confident and fundamentally sound than last season. But he since seemed more cautious and hurried, allowing 13 goals with an .817 save percentage. 

Stenberg Is the Real Deal

All things considered, the No. 2 pick in this summer’s draft has been impressive just six games into his NHL career. There will inevitably be growing pains, but Stenberg has not only held his own thus far but has played a significant role in the Sharks’ success. 

In the opener versus Florida, he looked timid and nervous. But once he got over the first-game jitters, Stenberg has picked up confidence, and his play has followed. 

Stenberg’s offensive instincts are top-notch for a player at any age, let alone 19. His neutral zone play is also surprisingly sharp for a rookie. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky already trusts Stenberg to garner a spot on the top power-play unit and make the right decisions in 3-on-3 overtime scenarios — a testament to his maturity and elite hockey IQ. 

The Swedish winger notched his first career point against the Kings in his second game, finding Toffoli parked net front on a sweet pass. His first time lighting the lamp, in a loss to Boston, also came on the man advantage, sneaking towards the crease and making his stick available for Celebrini to find him from the right faceoff dot. 

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No Third-Period Lead Is Safe

While San Jose twice delivered in overtime in the first two games on winners from Luca Cagnoni and Igor Chernyshov, the Sharks only needed the extra frame to seal the victory because they blew big third-period leads in both tilts, relinquishing three- and two-goal advantages. Not to mention yielding a game-tying goal with less than one second left in regulation to the Nashville Predators on Oct. 15.

And it hasn’t been much better when the game is tied or San Jose is trailing. Opponents outscore the Sharks 12-5 in third periods through the first seven games, and they have yet to win the final frame once. 

As San Jose continues to find and establish its identity as a team, third-period collapses are a trend worth monitoring. If the travails persist, the Sharks have a major problem that curbs their potential.  

Defense and Goal Avoidance Still a Work in Progress

In a half-decade of franchise transition, one painful throughline has persisted: a lot of goals have been scored in San Jose. 

Keeping the puck out of the net has been the Sharks’ Achilles Heel for years, and while goaltending has played a part in the abundance of opponent scoring, lackluster defense has been the primary culprit. 

Over the last four seasons, San Jose has finished dead last in goals allowed per game twice, and third-worst the other two. 

This offseason, general manager Mike Grier added Trouba, Nurse, and Michael Kesselring to the back end in hopes of building a dependable blueline core to make scoring a more difficult venture for opponents. But little has changed so far, with the team currently sitting 25th of 32 teams in goals against. 

The group has been susceptible to numerous careless mistakes and defensive breakdowns, giving up goals in bunches. 

The Sharks must clean it up fast, or their turnstile defense will sink another lottery-bound squad. 

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