SIMULATE OFFSEASON: A Conservative 2025 Offseason Could Lead To A MASSIVE 2026 Spending Spree

SIMULATE OFFSEASON: A Conservative 2025 Offseason Could Lead To A MASSIVE 2026 Spending Spree

we completed the simulated off season now we look ahead to see where the Sharks stand and why it sets them up for a massive 2026 off season you’re Locked on Sharks your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks part of the Locked on Podcast Network your team every day hello welcome to Locked On Sharks the premier hockey podcast covering your favorite team in the Bay Area my name is Jade Young caretaker of the reef also the co-host of Locked on NHL i want to thank you for making Lockdown Sharks your first listen proudly a part of the Lockdown Network we cover your team every day if you want to be an everydayer all you have to do is just follow along wherever you get podcast or you can watch on YouTube as well and today uh we kind of recap all the moves that we’ve done this week in our simulated off season uh in case you’ve missed it Monday uh we kind of took care of business at home made some trades tuesday we did a full mockdraft uh and then on Wednesday we dove into free agency uh today we’re going to kind of recap what we’ve done this week look at where this puts the Sharks in terms of cap space and uh the health of their cap sheet over the next couple seasons and why I think this off seasonason sets them up for a big time off season uh next year so let’s start with kind of just a nice recap so uh again I I’ve gone through all this the last three days right of kind of putting this plan together what I think the Sharks kind of the approach my career is going to take right of and the goal for me was just improve the overall talent on the roster but still maintain flexibility and not commit yet to some long-term pieces and give your young players a chance to grow and develop which is better NHL players around them so um as a reminder um you know this is just what I think i’m an idiot right a self-proclaimed idiot as as I’ve said multiple times but just my approach to it so um let’s start out with some of the maneuvers I made when it came to trades uh and then we’ll kind of look at some of the signings and and my at least 23man roster so um from the so I traded big moves trade-wise i traded Mason Marchment for Mason Marchment from the Dallas Stars for a third and a fourth uh I traded for uh Leon Bisahis from the Chicago Blackhawks for a seventh round pick as they wanted to kind of clear a cap space i sent Henry Thrun to the New York Rangers uh where of course David Quinn is now a assistant coach there uh and the Sharks try to kind of alleviate some cap space and then I offer sheet to Jack Quinn um for two years at $4 million which cost me the Sharks 2026 second round pick um I also signed made of course made some signings uh resigned Jack Thompson to a two-year deal at 1.125 million resigned Daniel Guushin to a one-year deal at 925,000 palenda to a one-year deal at 775,000 ressigned both the uh AHO goalies and Georgie Romangh and Gabe Kerier um as well as gave uh Nikolai Kovalinko a one-year extension uh at 1.25 million and Jimmy Schultz a one-year deal at 800,000 i extended William Mean on July 1st to a with an eight-year deal at $ 8.5 million i know some people feel it’s a little rich guys i don’t think you’re prepared for what uh contracts are going to be looking like here in a couple seasons with the cap space going up as high as it’s going so we’re trying to get out of front of it uh and then uh in free agency I signed Chris Reer as kind of the third goalie uh mostly play in the AHL but if you need him to play in the NHL he can kind of come up uh I signed Pew Sudter to a four-year deal at 4.5 million matt Gres to a three-year deal at 3.75 million and Nick Pervix to a three-year deal at $3.5 million of course all those uh coming from Evolving Hockey and I added a little kind of rounded up added a little like the Sharks are bad tax um to most those those kind of contracts there so um so that’s where the leaves me right now at least when it comes to uh comes to the opening night roster so again I have William Ecklan Cabrini Tower to Foley Mason Marshm Will Smith Jack Quinn Alex Wberg Pew Sudter Colin Graph Barkley Goodro Ty Dandra Nikolai Kovalinko with Carl Grundstrom as the extra Lone Couture of course uh contract hanging out defensively mukban Gres um Mario Faroh Perix Sam Dickinson uh who I think will at least get a nineame trial uh and then the Sharks will make a decision on him uh so Dickensson and Lilligrin and then Vlastic and Darnese as your extras uh defensively and with Ascrov and Bruis uh there the Sharks would be over the the cap floor at 78 million uh they’d have about $17 million in in projected cap space with roster size of 23 and they’d have 48 contracts handed out out of a possible 50 so they would have some flexibility there heading into the season where if they want to make some trades want to bring on some extra guy like they can kind of it just gives them flexibility especially too as a reminder uh retention comes off so uh the Sharks will have a retention slot open up they’ll have plenty of cap space where if they want to be a middleman um when it comes trade deadline and get a nice juicy Pete like just gives them some like plenty of options or if a player becomes available Mike Greer will be able to easily easily uh jump in on that so we also did a seven round mock draft uh so with it at least with my off seasonason right I traded away a third and a fourth to get Mason Marshm i got a fifth back um from the Henry Thun trade and then I turned around and I traded the seventh round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks so as a recap I got Michael Misa of course at number two um and again we are going to spend dive next week like Monday expect deep dive Michael Misa um like profile like we’re going to spend a whole 30 minutes of just diving into Michael Misa and what to expect with him etc etc um Henry Busich at pick number 30 um pick 33 I got William Moore charlie Trethway at 53 man’s goose the goalie at 115 in the fourth round owen Martin 139 in the fifth and Tommy Lafern uh in the fifth round from the Blazers uh I reached out to our good friend Stephen Ellis he gave me a B so I will I will take that uh he did say Misa does a lot of the work in my in his uh grading but I will take a B uh in in this from from Steve and Ellis so uh I I I think again my whole goal for this was to try to uh again just improve at least this offseason improve the talent NHL talent um add some which I I think the Sharks did in my offseason right uh Mason March like legit NHL player who can score 20 goal se like 20 goal seasons right uh Jack Quinn definitely a swing um but I think the talent’s there and I’m gonna bet on the how many times do guys leave Buffalo and then immediately kind of get better um and there’s a reason why he was the eighth overall pick uh in the draft like I I I believe in Quinn and I think um I think for a second round pick I feel like that’s a tra a move that would work out for San Jose uh Pew Sudter I think is just a guy who can plug hole plug a hole wherever you need at least among the Fords and you know Gres and Pervix I think are just going to be kind of solid guys who help that puck moving uh ability that the Sharks just struggle at right now and still gives guys like Muka Mullan a chance to continue to grow in their role uh and still have some flexibility for guys like Kenyon and Thompson and whoever else to to kind of make their marks eventually kind make their and then Sam Dickinson of course uh give him an opportunity to make the NHL next year so that was kind of my plan and I I and finding a some more goalie depth and I I believe in Brris um who’s been a guy kind of as a a backup goalie i know he’s coming off a knee injury uh I do wonder if the Blackhawks kind of shut him down especially after the Spencer Knight trade and I I think Chris Terger is a a type of goalie again if you need him to play for a week or two he’s not going to kind of I don’t think he’s going to embarrass you and he’s a guy who’s played a lot of NHL games he’s played a lot of AHL games and I think he would be a really nice kind of perfect three I the Arendelle role like the the veteran who can play some NHL games and play in the AHL and just going to kind of be a good soldier and and be a good teammate so that’s kind of what I I envision at least for my offseason moves so uh we’re going to talk about kind of what this means for the Sharks now with their cap situation their cap sheet uh and how it does maintain a lot of flexibility for San Jose um they want to start to get aggressive basically at any point mike Greer can kind of put his foot on the gas and start getting aggressive because of the way at least I set up the Sharks offseason so we’ll get to that here in just one second looking for a snack that’s both delicious and nutritious crack into a good source of protein with Wonderful Pistachios wonderful pistachio is one of the highest protein nuts each 1 oz serving has six grams of protein giving you over 10% of your daily 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subscribe uh to Locked on Sharks wherever you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well uh we have the draft next week uh we’ve done a lot of work towards that free agency right after that uh and then we can start looking ahead to the 25 26 season cuz uh it’s going to be here sooner than you think kids so uh make sure again you’re following along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well so we made all these moves right um with the goal of improving this team right and the goal this year I think realistic goal is to kind of make that ducks like jump right instead of being one of the you know three worst teams in the NHL can you kind of be like playing 500 hockey playing you know maybe not maybe not in a playoff position like don’t expect the playoff position but can you kind of be going from like picking first second or third to picking like 10th in the draft next year right and that that’s kind of the goal um and then setting yourself up to start being more aggressive so after all the simulated moves I made what would the Sharks cap situation look like and who would be kind of under contract and who would we expect to be starting to kind of get off the books here soon so um the Sharks under my simulated offseason uh again with a cap ceiling of $95.5 million uh would have a projected capital of 78 and a half basically uh with $17 million in cap space and that also includes 5 million of of dead cap that’s like the Martin Jones contract um there’s you know the Tomas hurdle and Carlson retentions in there as well um so and the Nikolai Kovaleink or not Kovaleinko uh Kenha no not Kenhijhoff Kaja no it was Kenhoff Khijoff uh buyout as well so which is like less than a million dollars type of thing but then you look ahead to because we we know the 2627 cap is kind of already set at 104 and then the 2728 cap is projected to be at 113 and a half so like the cap’s just going to like aggressively go up here over the next couple season i mean it’s going up almost $10 million from 25 to 26 like the 25 26 season to 26 27 season um that that’s almost a Mitch Mner you could throw in there kids um I know somebody somebody’s getting very angry right now so under that the Sharks are projected to have 11 out of 23 players signed but that doesn’t include guys like Sherneshave and Cam Lun to like Camelin we expect to be a full-time NHL by the end of next year right um Shern we expect to kind of be crack in the NHL you know maybe a guy like Quint Musty like that that doesn’t kind of project for some of those guys but again all those guys are ELC contracts under a million dollars um the Sharks even with my $8.5 million William Ecklan extension that people thought was way too much they’re going to have 52.5 million in cap space going into next off season and yes they’ll have 22 people under contract and they’re going to you know of course continue to fill this out not to resign player like they’ll have a lot of UF RFAS that they’re going to have to you know kind of start to make decisions on etc etc but still like $52 million in cap space for next off season um and yes we we know the Will Smith and Celebrity Extensions are going to be hanging over um the franchise ne you know uh because July 1st 2026 both those players are eligible to sign extensions uh and I would assume Mike Greer is probably going to be uh pretty quick with getting that done for both those players because um they’re going to uh yeah they’re going to be well worth it right especially the way that we’re projecting both those guys to continue their growth and development and how important we feel like they’re going to be as especially a guy like Selbrini is going to be as you know the one of the pillar or actually both guys are pillars and um of the franchise and where it’s heading so we we do expect like those those guys are going to need new contracts and stuff soon but still like there’s a a ton of of cap space coming up uh for San Jose so um who’s projected to kind of be starting to come off the books and who’s going to be still on the books and all that stuff so let’s start with the forward group um so 26 27 after the end of the 2526 season right uh Wenberg Mason Marchman and Carl Grundstrom uh will all be UFAS um so you can you know Sharks will have be able to make some decisions if they want to potentially trade those guys um at the trade deadline if you know they the season doesn’t go as expected or go as expected I guess and and this isn’t a playoff caliber team yet um and you feel like you can maybe get some some pieces for some of these guys right um those are potential guys there cotor will have one more year left on his deal at 2627 and you can pencil in a lot all that money going towards uh one of Will Smith and andor Cellabrini um with some more added on top you’ll have uh you know DAR Kovaleinko and Colin Graph will all be RFAS and Colin Graph I think the way he’s projecting and we expect a big season from Graph will be you know eligible for a really nice extension you know maybe not you know it’s way too early to to project especially with what Colin Graph does or doesn’t do this season but you know I I think it’s fair to say very healthy extension for Colin Graph will definitely be in the works there um so like you you’re going to have plenty of uh you know still plenty of roster turnover and still a lot of potential holes to fill um even if guys like Shernov and Musty are ready to kind of make that jump and Quinn you know Cam Lun is ready to be an NHL you know full-time NHL player as he’s on the Colgraph U road to success of you know kind of starting this expected start season in the the AHL and kind of ran out his game and then be a full-time NHLer the the follow you know the second half of the season um just in the forward group yes there’s a lot of young players up and coming but there’s still going to be a lot of holes to fill and if the Sharks as we’ll talk about in the third segment want to be aggre super aggressive they’re going to have plenty of opportunities to be super aggressive uh this upcoming off season or the following off season and then you look at the defense and um under my plan um Pervix and Grez are the only two guys who are signed you would assume Sam Dickinson at that point would probably be ready to play in the NHL or maybe at least start in the AHL but would you’d expect him to be playing NHL games in the 2627 season um and then you have Vic whose contract will expire Ferraru whose contract expires Lagrin whose contract expires Deon whose contract expires and Shakir Mukmulan who’ll be an RFA um from that you would expect to also get a healthyish um sort of of contract and maybe it’s you know the Ferraro type of contract for for Mukuma Madulan you know with kind some you know probably like $4 million at four seasons or something like that if Mukaton has the kind of season we expect him to have but um there’s going to be plenty of opportunities on the back end right and then the Sharks will have to look for another goalie behind Ascrov and and Ascarov might be also looking for an extension as well so you know like I think with the way that I’ve set things up here and the way that Mike Greer has really worked to kind of reset this cap uh his cap sheet there’s there’s still going to be a lot of turnover and there’s still going to be a lot of opportunity and there’s still a lot of opport especially opportunities for younger players but I I think that’s when you’re going to start to see Greer really get aggressive with trying to kind of get this rebuild into the next phase and especially if the Sharks have that Ducks type of jump right and if they go from picking second in the draft to picking 10th in the draft right and they’re playing 500 hockey and you know they’re they’re in it until the trade deadline type of thing right so let’s discuss that next all right before we finish up do of course want to thank you for making it Locked on Sharks your first listen for your second listen check out the Locked Onl podcast there’s no offse uh we’re still bringing you daily leaguewide stories that matter the most with local coverage uh you love from Locked On find locked on NHL on YouTube wherever you listen to podcast all right um and I I think though the my biggest takeaway right is yes the Sharks have all the cap space in the world and yes they’re going to have to start to pay some of their guys but the way that Greer has set himself up with and myself a little bit in this but anyway the way Greer has has set the roster up right where next off season this 26 27 off season the Sharks will be in a position to be extremely aggressive whether it’s via trade or free agency or what have you um because they’re going to they still have plenty of of of draft picks right even with me giving a 2026 as second round pick to the Buffalo Sabres the Sharks will still have their own top 10 projected we’ll say top 10 projected 2026 pick uh which in a what’s supposed to be a pretty awesome draft class yeah the Oilers pick which we project to still be kind of you know late first round because the Oilers are still probably going to be pretty good but um right I mean we just saw them lose and you think that they’re they’re going to have to make some decisions on guys and they don’t have a goalie um so maybe maybe all right um you still have the the ABS pick and again the ABS are probably still going to be pretty good uh so you still have three picks in the the top two rounds and you have methods to get more ammunition if you you know trade Wenberg trade Ferraro trade whoever right um you still have ammunition to get more kind of restock the pipeline or at least the the draft picks here um you know at the trade deadline or during the season and I think though like especially if Celibbrini and Smith and Ascarov I think those three in particular right if if Celebrity continues to make the jump that we we expect Celebrity continues to progress away and Smith especially if he can play well and become that second line center or you know at least hold the keep it warm until projected second overall pick Michael Misa enters the fray and Misa is probably you know assuming my assumption is with Misa we’ll we’ll talk about more next week that he spends a year in college and then he signs uh his ELC after his season is over and plays some NHL games at the end of next season that’s kind of my my expect my kind of expectation with Misa um assuming those guys right kind of continue to to to do what we expect them to do and and if Ascrov can be the guy that we kind of expect and maybe he has that Dustin Wolf type uh effect on the Sharks this season I don’t see why Mike Greer doesn’t start getting super aggressive right and doesn’t start kind of using up some of this stuff to try to make this team better sooner um and like looking early look at at um the 25 20 or the 26 off season uh unrestricted free agents there there’s a lot of big names at the top and of course most these guys are probably not going to get to uh free agency of course you know Conor McDavid um pretty good last time I checked pretty good uh do I expect him to become a free agent no I don’t um but you have Kyle Connor to put up 40 goals this year and we know the the Jets sometimes like kind of do weird things um Jack Eel again you never know with Vegas man especially if they’re trying to get Mitch Mner like who knows what they do i assume they would keep Eel and maybe Mark Stone is out but still you have Paneran a guy who can score a bajillion goals uh you have Martin Nis um with Colorado maybe there’s it’s just not a good season with Colorado he’s 26 gonna be 20 like you know uh you have Adrien Kempe Alex Tuck uh Nick Schmoltz like Carell Capri off i I don’t expect Capri I think Minnesota will pay him all the money in the world to keep him um like there’s you know Connor Garland like there’s some names here that you’re like okay like you can you can you know look at it still i think they’re going to have to try to you know find some some answers on the blue line especially with all the kind of contracts that are expiring but all the pieces the Sharks have right and that’s where again I think Mike Greer we know Mike Greer likes to make a trade maybe this year it’s more about just trying to kind of raise the level and then next year you go get a a big time defensive piece to pair especially with Sam Dickinson who you expect to be you know in the NHL in the 26 27 season um we’ll see but like I think Mcgre is really setting himself up gathering as much assets as he h can right and then you that 26 27 season is where you really kind of start to to I would say consolidate your assets um see what you got after this season and then really consolidate and try to to start putting together especially if you feel like you have your core pieces in Misa and Celebrating and Smith and Dickinson and Ascrov and Eklan etc etc um and then you start making those playoff pushes and then you start tweaking the roster and okay how do we how do we get better and do we need to add here and add there but um you know I I think I think it’s safe to say like I I do think it’s safe to say um no matter like what Greer does and we know Greer is going to have to do stuff this off seasonason i I do think it’s safe to say like the dark dark days are are over for San Jose of like you know like the tanking and stuff and I know as much as people want to tank for McKenna I I I just don’t see this team being in the driver’s seat we’ll say i don’t I don’t see them being in the driver’s seat for the McKenna sweep stakes they could still be you know a spectator and they could still uh you know maybe they’re in the back seat maybe they’re the Uber’s coming to pick them up whatever analogy you want to use um but I don’t see them like in the pole position i don’t see them in the driver’s seat for for McKenna and you know because then what happens is it’s like well if we get McKenna well you know Landon DuPont the the following year the 27 draft he’s really good too we should just take like and then by the time you’re kind of done tanking like Ekkan’s like 30 you know um like it’s it’s going to be time to go there’s always going to be another prospect to to quote unquote tank for right um so I I I really do like I the doing this whole exercise kind of made me I think really appreciate one the work that Mike Greer’s done um over the last couple seasons to kind of start to gear himself up for you know the big moves that the Sharks will need to make here um and two just the like I see I like the ability I think for Greer to just whenever he feels and something that we talked about with uh with Joe from Locked on Sabers last off season was it’s never too if you feel if you you feel like you have the guys right and I number 71 here uh feels like you got a the guy right if you feel like you got the guys it’s never too early to start getting aggressive and you know like I I I try to put together a pretty conservative plan but there is a lot of opportunities for Mike Greer to get really aggressive very quickly if he believes that he’s got the guys and I think he believes that he’s got the guys and more guys coming here really soon so um that’s gonna be it for me today we’ll uh we’ll be back tomorrow make sure you’re following along wherever you get podcast and of course you can watch on YouTube as well follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at Lockdown Sharks follow me on uh Twitter and Blue Sky Fryhole till tomorrow bye friends

Could the San Jose Sharks be gearing up for a major splash in 2026? JD Young’s simulated offseason reveals a strategic approach that sets the stage for future aggression. From extending William Eklund to an 8-year, $8.5 million deal to drafting Michael Misa second overall, every move aims to balance talent acquisition with cap flexibility.

Young breaks down the Sharks’ projected salary situation, highlighting a potential $52 million in cap space for the 2026-27 season. This financial freedom could allow GM Mike Grier to target high-profile free agents like Kyle Connor or Jack Eichel, accelerating the rebuild if young stars like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith develop as hoped.

The host analyzes upcoming contract expirations, noting how they create opportunities to reshape the roster. With only a few long-term commitments on defense, the Sharks have room to promote prospects like Sam Dickinson or add established talent.

Young argues that while the Sharks may still struggle next season, the era of intentional “tanking” is likely over. He praises Grier’s work in positioning the team for future success, suggesting that aggressive moves could come sooner than expected if the right opportunities arise.

Tune in to hear Young’s detailed analysis of how the Sharks’ current moves could lead to a transformative 2026 offseason and potentially accelerate their return to contention.

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