{"id":557050,"date":"2026-04-21T03:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/557050\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T03:19:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T03:19:57","slug":"sharks-rumors-where-san-jose-is-looking-to-upgrade-after-7th-straight-missed-postseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/557050\/","title":{"rendered":"Sharks rumors: Where San Jose is looking to upgrade after 7th straight missed postseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharks rumors: Where San Jose is looking to upgrade after 7th straight missed postseason<\/a> appeared first on ClutchPoints<\/a>. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The San Jose Sharks<\/a> took a significant step forward in 2025-26, but it wasn\u2019t quite enough to break a long playoff drought that has now reached seven seasons.<\/p>\n

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Still, the team went from a 20-win, dead last finish in 2024-25 to competing for a Stanley Cup Playoff berth right until the bitter end this year, so by all accounts, the campaign was a success.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons the Sharks were so much better this season \u2014 besides a historic 115-point showing from superstar Macklin Celebrini<\/a> \u2014 was a revamped defensive unit; general manager Mike Grier brought in veterans Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg in free agency, which made a significant positive impact.<\/p>\n

Expectations will be even higher in 2026-27 after San Jose won 39 games and finished just four points out of a playoff spot, and as hockey insider David Pagnotta reported late last week, management is looking to make the blue line even better<\/a> this summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to look to focus on D, and regroup that D-core,\u201d Pagnotta said on a recent episode of Daily Faceoff\u2019s DFO Rundown Insider Edition.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s obvious that the blue line is going to look a lot different in the fall, as four everyday players will be unrestricted free agents on July 1 \u2014 Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Mario Ferraro and Vincent Desharnais.<\/p>\n

The only defensemen under contract for next season are Orlov, Shakir Mukhamadullin and Sam Dickinson, and it\u2019s likely that that trio will all be back.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey want a veteran piece that\u2019s controllable,\u201d Pagnotta continued, while pointing to a player like New Jersey Devils\u2019 Dougie Hamilton or Toronto Maple Leafs\u2019 Morgan Rielly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey also want somebody in his early to mid 20, also controllable, that\u2019s going to help grow with this young core as well. A veteran guy and a young piece, maybe another on that blue line, but they are definitely going to focus on the D-core and revamping it for next season.\u201d<\/p>\n

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With more than $41 million in salary cap flexibility, and a definite need for upgrades and depth in San Jose, it could be another busy summer for Grier and the front office.<\/p>\n

Related: 2 early Sharks trade targets after missing 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Shirtless Joe Thornton sends message to Sharks\u2019 Macklin Celebrini after breaking his franchise record<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sharks rumors: Where San Jose is looking to upgrade after 7th straight missed postseason appeared first on ClutchPoints.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":557051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5127],"tags":[2913,1294,5,691,501,814,747,885,151,4,1999,519,168,5306,5305,5719,1780,62874,4462],"class_list":{"0":"post-557050","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose-sharks","8":"tag-dmitry-orlov","9":"tag-dougie-hamilton","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-john-klingberg","12":"tag-macklin-celebrini","13":"tag-mario-ferraro","14":"tag-mike-grier","15":"tag-morgan-rielly","16":"tag-new-jersey-devils","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-nick-leddy","19":"tag-san-jose","20":"tag-san-jose-sharks","21":"tag-sanjose","22":"tag-sanjosesharks","23":"tag-shakir-mukhamadullin","24":"tag-sharks","25":"tag-stanley-cup-playoff-berth","26":"tag-vincent-desharnais"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116440545890834181","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=557050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/557050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/557051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=557050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=557050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=557050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}