Okay, the Olympics are done, the final practice day is complete, and it is time for the San Jose Sharks to hit the ice for a game once again.<\/p>\n
Thursday, the Sharks will host the Calgary Flames to start a six-game homestand. The next stretch of home games will determine a lot of what the future may hold for Team Teal. The NHL Trade Deadline<\/a> is next Friday, and with four games until then, their record will determine Mike Grier\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n Entering Wednesday, the first night the NHL has a game since the Olympics, the Sharks sit five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Many players are ready for game action, including Macklin Celebrini. The San Jose Sharks star wants to bring the lessons he learned from the best players in the world into his locker room.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned a lot while I was over there just being around our coaches, some of the best coaches in the League, and some of the best players in the world, and some of the best players that I\u2019ve ever played,\u201d Celebrini said. \u201cJust their mentality, some of the things that they preach, and I mean the message around our locker room over there, I think I can bring some of that back and just know what it takes.\u201d<\/p>\n #SJSharks<\/a> Macklin Celebrini on his interactions with his Canadian teammates: “It was fun to be around those guys, play with them. A lot of those guys I looked up to my whole childhood, and it was an honor play with them and be around them every single day. It was just like normal\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) February 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The same can be said for Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who wants to feel the SAP Center<\/a> crowd\u2019s energy when they return on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can feel it\u2019s almost like another opening night. There\u2019s a lot of energy in our dressing room. You saw it in practice, that there\u2019s a real buzz with all you guys here, with the fans,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cI said to my wife four years ago, I couldn\u2019t give away tickets. And now turning people away.\u201d<\/p>\n Due to Celebrini\u2019s success this season and overall better performance, the San Jose Sharks have seen a massive jump in attendance. After Celebrini\u2019s Olympic star status, that number has only grown,\u00a0according to the<\/a>\u00a0SF Standard.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sharks\u2019 merchandise revenue during this Olympic window is up 88% compared with the same period last year. Celebrini\u2019s Team Canada jersey sold out online in under an hour. Sharks individual game tickets sales during the NHL pause are up 47% and season ticket memberships have surged more than 400% compared with this point last season,\u201d wrote Jane Kenny.<\/p>\n But what about the rest of the San Jose Sharks roster? What\u2019s their mindset heading into Thursday?<\/p>\n \u201cGet two points. No matter what, no matter how,\u201d Yaroslav Askarov<\/a> said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow that that\u2019s over, it\u2019s a full look back to where we are here and the position that we\u2019re in. We want to push for the playoffs, and you just move from there,\u201d Sam Dickinson<\/a> said. \u201cSo just take it day by day, game by game, and see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n Sharks aren\u2019t running from the elephant in the room: the trade deadline<\/p>\n It is no secret that the San Jose Sharks will likely still make a few trades that see rostered players go by March 6. The team isn\u2019t running from it either. The deadline happens every year, and while this season feels a little different, players and coaches still have it on their minds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe elephant in the room is the trade deadline coming up as well. We understand where we are in the standings and what we\u2019ve done and how we need to play going forward,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cMike [Grier] has a good feel for that. He played this game, played in the National Hockey League. We\u2019ve had a lot of communication throughout the season, each and every day, about where the group\u2019s at and where the team\u2019s at, individually and collectively. <\/p>\n He\u2019ll do what\u2019s best for the team. He has a real good understanding of what our team might need, where he sees our team now, tomorrow and in the future. We\u2019re going to just focus on what we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n Grier was already a buyer this season with the acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood<\/a> from the Vancouver Canucks. But that doesn\u2019t mean he\u2019ll be a buyer again, and the players know that.<\/p>\n