The San Jose Sharks’ playoff hopes are on life support! So it’s time for an emergency subscriber mailbag!
Knewbs3: Why trade William Eklund instead of prospects like Quentin Musty and Filip Bystedt?
Flying Frenchman: Is management happy with Ryan Warsofsky?
Ohheytravis: Is Warsofsky on the hot seat?
Tim Graveline: If the San Jose Sharks win the Draft lottery, should they take a BPA forward like Gavin McKenna or trade back for a defenseman?
For Zubair, what’s an album that best represents this Sharks season?
Zeke: Which San Jose Barracuda forwards have a legit shot at the NHL?
Rphillips: Is our organization’s ability to develop defensemen a concern?
(22:39) Bob Horenstein: What does the defense look like next year?
Dave: Following how patient the Colorado Avalanche were, shouldn’t we allow GM Mike Grier that kind of rope?
Dylan Smallwood: Does Alex Tuch fit the San Jose Sharks long-term? What player type do the Sharks need next year? Do you see Michael Misa or Sam Dickinson starting next season in the AHL?
(40:23) Stephanie K: How much did Doug Wilson Jr.’s drafting hurt the San Jose Sharks’ current team?
Downriver: What skills do Shakir Mukhamadullin, Dickinson, and Luca Cagnoni need to develop to be NHL’ers? Do you see Pohlkamp as NHL-ready for a contending team?
Finny Damphousse: What are you all sipping on? Alcohol or non-alcoholic.
Giant Shark Tooth Necklace: Is there a specific player you would have liked to have seen the Sharks trade for at the Deadline to help with the playoff push? Did Grier make the right call to wait until the off-season to make any major moves?
(56:33) James R: Is there a defenseman in this year’s class that could reasonably step into an NHL lineup next season? How comfortable do you feel running back the same goaltending tandem next season?
Yetis: The organization has a glut of NHL/AHL forwards in Musty, Bystedt, and Kasper Halttunen. Who is most likely to go?
Rob S: Does Mukhamadullin want to return to the Sharks? Can Mario Ferraro develop his puck-moving beyond what it is now?
Sven_: Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized Dan Boyles or 1 Dan Boyle-sized duck?
James Murphy: Shouldn’t the Sharks have called up Luca Cagnoni earlier to run the power play?
Spon: Are the Sharks pushing Dickinson too hard and too soon?
Megabite: Any chance Nedeljkovic is not going to return?
BiscuitBoy: Is Yaroslav Askarov’s glove hand fixable?
Stefan Schwartz: What do you think about the D by committee route for the Sharks, since true No. 1 D are hard to come by?
FaultySynapse: What will the Sharks’ depth chart look like if they pull the trigger on a No. 1 defenseman in a trade?
(1:14:25) Just Steve: How do you think the Sharks have handled Mukhamadullin and other prospects?
Michael K.: What are the Sharks’ options on defense next year if Pohlkamp or Cagnoni aren’t ready?
Cole Seavey: Should the Sharks be in the chase for Auston Matthews?
Jigglz: Do you ever see yourselves doing a live, in-person recording of the Pod with an audience?
(1:27:36) Sarge: The Sharks have the No. 9 pick of the 2026 Draft. The top-4 defensemen are gone, leaving Daxon Rudolph on the board. Should San Jose take Rudolph or a forward like Oscar Hemming? How angry will Sharks fans be if they pick the non-defenseman?
NotAlexKorolyuk: Which stars would you like to see on the Sharks over the next three years, be the most fun?
Ken Meehan: What three moves should the Sharks make this summer to “guarantee” a playoff spot next year?
Bellizar: If the Sharks pick Albert Smits, is he NHL-ready?
Kyle Johnson: As a non-season ticket holder, how do you go about getting prospects scrimmage tickets? I want to get them before they sell out.
Chris Geer: If the Sharks don’t win the Lottery, should they package a good prospect like a Bystedt etc. with their pick to go up higher in the Draft?
Radioheadliner (the other James R.): What would Kevin Woodley or Thomas Speer say about Askarov’s ability to stop shots up high?
Fin Coe: If Warsofsky keeps his job, are there any Assistant Coaches that could be in the hot seat?
Keegan, will you be repping your Sharks fandom at your wedding?
Sheng, are there any colleagues of yours whose work you think we should follow?
Zubair, what sticks do you rock?
Joe E: What’s going on with the San Jose Barracuda?
Ricky LaFleur: In Mike Grier’s opening presser, his mission statement was that we were going to be hard, heavy, and difficult to play against—basically the complete antithesis of what we are. Why do you think he’s deviated from his original blueprint?
Gary To: For top power play quarterback next year, would you prefer a youngster like Dickinson or Cagnoni to QB the PP or should they re-explore the five-forward PP? Or acquire a bridge PP1 QB?
Kevin: Do we see the Sharks emptying the war chest for one star difference-maker on defense or multiple solid d-men?
Jon Swenson: Could the San Jose Sharks ask Tyler Toffoli to waive his NTC this off-season?
7 Comments
Album to represent the Sharks this season:
The Kids Are Alright, by The Who
That’s me! I wrote the Sharks related “shit”
No one touches the Ikea Line. Eklund-Wennberg-Sherwood is a solid second line.
I honestly think we are worse next year. I think we lose a lot of role players who are secretly really important to this team and we just call up a bunch of young guys who are inexperienced.
We need D-men, we’ll get Ryan Lin or Daxon Rudolph in round one this year.. it’ll take 2-3 years for him. I want to see Cags & Pohlkamp together in the show.. I’m ok signing a John Carlson (he’s old) but for 2-3 years til our RHD prospect from this years draft is ready. Ferraro or Leddy & Vinny D or ok to re-sign, Kling is gone… Muk?? 🤷 He may request a trade who knows! I am totally against trading prospects until they have NHL games. Then you see what you got, and potential. There are so many ways we can lose a trade trying to get d-men, just look at Carlo. Defense is a SYSTEM so u look at Warso & assistant coaches!! Leafs lost Marner, and they’re bottom 5 in league one year out! That’s why puck possession guys like Eky are so important, or underrated…. We need to push guys down the depth chart, after next year in favor of our pipeline. You need older guys like Reggie in playoffs, but he’s getting press boxes in favour of other players. Our younger players are not playoff ready, so we have tons of roster duplication and it’s out of whack…. we’re caught in the “rebuild chasm” where you need a couple more difference makers to get over the hump. Look at Deli & Gaudette for example…
The Sharks found out what kind of team they had. A team that's just outside the playoffs Askarov needs to improve next year. Add two better puck moving defensemen. We could use another tough forward or defenseman that can fight and protect Celebrini and the skill players. Then bring up who is ready from the Cuda.
Right now, the core of the next 2-3 years on offense looks like Celebrini, Smith, Chernyshov, Eklund, Sherwood, Wennberg, Misa, Graf, Musty, Gaudette(?), and Ostapchuk. Lots of youth there, but hopefully they develop quickly. I'm guessing Bystedt and maybe a couple other offensive prospects (Lund, Cardwell, etc) either get traded or stuck as forever AHL players.
On defense the "future" is a big question mark, but it hopefully involves Dickinson, Pohlkamp, and Mukh. Wish we hadn't traded Iorio. Cagnoni may just continue to be too small for the NHL. Wallenius and Wang might make it at some point, but that's a total unknown as well. Hopefully we manage to get two solid defensemen in the first round of the draft this year.