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The Other 31: San Jose Sharks

Our guest today is Sheng Peng, Sharks beat writer for San Jose Hockey Now. The Sharks entered the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1991-92 and were dreadful (39 points their first season and 24 points their second). They first qualified for the playoffs in Year 3, and beat the Detroit Red Wings in the first round. Over their first 27 seasons in the league, San Jose made the post season 21 times, missing out on just six occasions. Since then the organization has fallen on hard times, currently suffering a seven-year playoff drought, while previously they had never missed the playoffs more than two consecutive years. However, things are turning around for the Sharks. They drafted franchise cornerstone Macklin Celebrini first overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and just signed him to a massive five-year, $94 million contract, with an $18.8M AAV, which (ever so briefly) made him the highest paid player in the NHL. San Jose missed out on the 2026 playoffs by four points and they have added more veterans this offseason. Are the Sharks ready to break out of rebuild mode and compete for post season glory once again?

An ALLCITY Network Production