The Sharks could not have ended their 2025-26 season any better, as Macklin Celebrini made franchise history and nine total Sharks players found the scoresheet in a 6-1 complete blowout victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
The Jets struck first just three and a half minutes into this one on a breakaway goal by Cole Koepke. A bit later, the Sharks evened the game at one on a power play goal by Igor Chernyshov for his ninth goal of the season, assisted by William Eklund and Macklin Celebrini. Later in the opening period, the Sharks went ahead on Will Smith's 24th goal of the season, assisted by Macklin Celebrini and John Klingberg. This second assist of the contest gives Celebrini 70 assists and 114 points on the season, tying Joe Thornton for the Sharks franchise record for most points scored by a player in a season.
Early in the second period, Collin Graf went coast to coast and scored a sweet goal for his 21st of the season to extend the Sharks' lead to two. The Sharks added two more goals in the final two minutes of the second period to make it a 5-1 contest. These last two goals of the second period began with Michael Misa scoring his ninth goal of the season off of his own rebound, assisted by William Eklund and John Klingberg, followed by William Eklund's 15th goal of the season, assisted by Mario Ferraro and Kiefer Sherwood. Just over a minute into the third period, Macklin Celebrini officially made Sharks franchise history, as he scored his 45th goal of the season to make it a five-goal game, assisted by John Klingberg and Will Smith. Celebrini is now the Sharks franchise leader for points scored in a season with 115, and also holds sole possession of the second-most goals scored by a Sharks player in a season in franchise history. In terms of goals scored in a season in Sharks history, Macklin Celebrini only trails Jonathan Cheechoo, who scored 56 goals and won the Rocket Richard Trophy during the 2005-06 season.
Alex Nedeljkovic started in the crease in the Sharks’ season finale and was absolutely phenomenal, compiling 25 saves on 26 shots against. After giving up the first goal early in this one, Nedeljkovic completely shut the door on the Jets in the last game of the campaign. In addition, John Klingberg was back in the Sharks lineup to play his 700th NHL game and likely his final game in teal, amazingly recording three assists tonight. Ty Dellandrea, Philipp Kurashev, and Pavol Regenda also drew back into the Sharks lineup for their season finale, while Vincent Desharnais, Tyler Toffoli, and Alex Wennberg were healthy scratches. Earlier today, Eric Pohlkamp signed his two-year entry-level contract, which will officially start for the 2026-27 season now that his collegiate season is complete.
And with that, the Sharks finished their 2025-26 season with a 39-35-8 record and 86 points, heading into the offseason with the ninth-best odds to win the draft lottery and likely to land a top-ten pick in the draft this year. Despite falling short of the playoffs, this season has been a major success for this Sharks team, having taken the biggest jump up the standings of any team in the NHL from the very bottom to being in the playoff hunt until their last few games of the season.
The primary reason for the Sharks' significant improvement this season compared to the past six has been the play of their teenage superstar and face of the franchise, Macklin Celebrini. Celebrini has set countless Sharks franchise and NHL records in his sophomore season, placing himself up there with some hockey royalty. With the kind of season he just had, Celebrini will certainly be named a finalist for the Hart Trophy for league MVP. He has also earned every bit of the Sharks' next captaincy as soon as next season and is only getting better from here. It was also great to see Will Smith elevate his game in his sophomore campaign and Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, and Igor Chernyshov display flashes of greatness in their rookie seasons as well. While it has been up and down at times, the Sharks’ goaltending has been solid, and the mid-season acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood has worked out in the Sharks’ favor so far. This Sharks team has laid the foundation for what’s to come, and if they can bolster their defense and make some tweaks to their depth scoring this offseason, they should safely be a playoff team next season.
While the Sharks aren’t in them this year, I am looking forward to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and would be happy to see any of the current playoff teams except for the Kings, Golden Knights, and Oilers go on deep runs. In addition, I would be okay with any current playoff team except for any of the Sharks’ Pacific Division rivals or the Mammoth hoisting the Stanley Cup this year.
Overall, this season has been the most fun I have had watching the San Jose Sharks since their last playoff run in 2019. While I am a bit sad that this season is over, I am definitely excited and optimistic for what’s in store for Team Teal going forward.
Sources: NBC Sports California, NHL App
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