As the San Jose Sharks prepare for the 2025-26 NHL season, much of their roster is set, but they still have some decisions to make. As always, they’ll be figuring out who fills the final few roster spots, but when it comes to the more established players, the team still offers storylines to watch. Right now, their main unanswered questions relate to who will fill the team’s leadership void and how the coaching staff will divide the playing time in net. Both of these issues reflect the team’s promising future, and this season would be a good time to get a firmer grasp on where the franchise stands with them.
Sharks Looking For Next Leaders Amid Vacant Captaincy
Thanks to the retirement of Logan Couture, the Sharks appear ready to start a season without a captain for the first time in over 10 years. They will pay a lot of attention to who could be next to fill that position as the season progresses.
Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)
The Sharks seem to have two main options for their next captain. The first would be to use Tyler Toffoli as a bridge to their next era. At 33 years old, Toffoli likely won’t be a Shark for an exceptionally long amount of time, but he has a lot of qualities a team looks for in a captain. During his first season in San Jose in 2024-25, he led the team in goals while displaying critical veteran leadership after other veterans were traded away. He is under contract for three more years and will be a key voice on the team regardless of whether or not he wears the C. The Sharks could give him the captaincy, recognizing his stint with the title would be relatively short, before a younger player such as Macklin Celebrini is ready to assume the role on a long-term basis.
In this possibility, we see the Sharks’ other most likely choice — to simply go without a captain for a season or two before naming Celebrini captain. Even as an 18-year-old rookie, he showed professionalism and leadership far beyond his years. Now that he has a full season of NHL experience, he should be even more comfortable serving as a leader and perhaps San Jose’s most important player. At the same time, the Sharks are in a transitional period, and maybe they don’t need a captain at this time. They might not see the point in giving Toffoli a short captaincy when Celebrini feels like such an obvious pick for the longer future.
Sharks Need to Determine Split of Goalie Starts
Barring injuries, the Sharks will start the season with Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic as their goalies. They’ll need to figure out how to best distribute their time in net.
Related: Sharks Have Reasons for Optimism & Pessimism Heading Into 2025-26
Askarov is the clear goalie of the future for the Sharks, but he’s never made more than 13 NHL appearances in a season. With his new contract taking effect, the team wants to give him an opportunity to become a full-time netminder at the highest level. On the other hand, they are faced with the challenge of not giving him excessive pressure too early. The Sharks’ defense projects to be weak once again, and Askarov may find it difficult to backstop that unit on a nightly basis. As such, they’ll look to give Nedeljkovic some starts to ease Askarov’s burden. They already have some precedent for doing so, having relied largely on veterans in net rather than Askarov last season. But given Askarov’s increasingly important presence in San Jose, they’ll need to strike a balance between giving him starts to let him develop and not overloading him with too much work as the goalie on a bad team.
Given their struggles, the Sharks can afford to put their young players out on NHL ice and let them make mistakes and go through difficulties. However, they risk making the early seasons of their careers too challenging, and that may not be clearer anywhere than in the decision they need to make regarding their goaltenders.
Sharks’ Choices Will Play Out During Season
The Sharks might not solve either of these problems before the season starts, instead coming to clearer conclusions based on their play. Captain and goalie are both crucial roles on a winning hockey team, and the lack of definitive answers around either of them adds layers of intrigue to the Sharks’ season. Their high-level prospects and promising future already made them an interesting watch, but an NHL season always carries plot twists. Now the moves they haven’t made yet become a part of their storyline.
