Should the Sharks sell high on some players amidst run to playoffs? 

The San Jose Sharks find themselves sitting in a Stanley Cup Playoff spot at the midway point of January, but their future path may be in question as the Olympic break and NHL Trade Deadline approach in the coming weeks. 

As much as the success has come as a surprise, given Macklin Celebrini’s quick elevation in his second year in the NHL, it also raises difficult questions for the organization’s short- and long-term goals in 2025-26 and beyond. 

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, co-hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton dove into what the Sharks could do as critical decisions loom past the midseason mark. 

Tyler Yaremchuk: What are the San Jose Sharks going to do? I think everyone would agree that they’re ahead of schedule right now, sitting in a playoff spot. I also think you can look at some of the metrics and say they’re probably not as good as their record currently shows. 

They have a whole bunch of pending UFAs, and I think San Jose would be foolish not to sell high on a couple of these pending free agents and get some assets back.

Carter Hutton: I think so, too, especially look at their back end, too, right? There are only two defensemen signed for next year; there are UFAs, RFAs, and guys who could be moved out for pieces. You don’t necessarily want to just rip the legs out from under this, because there is value in winning. You look back to a few years ago, when they were losing every single game, and how frustrating it was for that group. That being said, I think you could really turn this into a great development program, in the sense that this is your incubator phase, right? Let’s get guys up from the AHL who are close and give them an opportunity to really see what we have moving forward. 

Then all of a sudden, your cupboard is going to be stocked with picks and cap space, and then you can really start trying to move guys or target players that are going to be a good fit on your team. If you overpay a little bit to get a guy, that’s going to be okay, because he’s going to help you in the future as you set yourself up for success. So it’s an interesting dynamic. 

I think it’s going to be interesting behind the doors with the Sharks’ brass, looking at what they prioritize. Are they prioritizing keeping this team in the hunt and playing meaningful hockey, or thinking next year, two years, we can really set up a chance to, you know, have a Stanley Cup contender?

You can catch the full Sharks segment as well as the rest of Wednesday’s show here…