2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Team Preview: San Jose Sharks

San Jose Sharks

19-54-9, 47 Pts. 8th Pacific, 32nd Overall

2.20 GF/GP (31st), 3.98 GA/GP (32nd), 20.2 PP% (21st), 75.4 PK% (28th)

Top scorer: Mikael Granlund. 69 GP. 12-48-60, 22 PPA, 20:58 TOI/GP

2024-25 BetMGM Stanley Cup Odds: 

Opening: +30000
Current: +40000 (as of August 22, 2024)
Ticket: 1.9%. Handle: 1.5% (as of August 22, 2024)

2023-24 Fantasy Recap

Mikael Granlund missed 13 games and he still led the Sharks in scoring with 60 points. He was, by far, the most — and quite possibly the only — valuable fantasy player from the Sharks last season.

While William Eklund had a strong rookie season with 45 points, he also finished with a league-worst minus-45 rating, and while Fabian Zetterlund scored 24 goals (he was the only Shark to score at least 20), the league is rife with so many 20-goal scorers he didn't really stand out. No matter what the Sharks, even with Mario Ferraro's 195 blocks and 124 hits in banger leagues, the Sharks were so woeful on defense that it erased nearly all of their fantasy value.

They were the third-worst defensive team in the cap era by goals allowed per game, and were too often stuck in their own zone or fishing pucks out of their own net to generate any offense of note. The Sharks who did have fantasy value usually picked it up after they were traded, including Tomas Hertl to the Knights and Anthony Duclair to the Lightning, who scored 15 points in 17 games after scoring 27 in 56 with the Sharks.

2024-25 Fantasy Outlook

The future is now, starting with 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini and 2023 fourth overall pick Will Smith, both of whom are expected to make significant contributions in their rookie seasons. They're the bright beacons of hope in the Bay Area, and the saviors to a once-proud franchise who were perennial contenders.

In redraft leagues, they will be mid- or late-round picks due to poor peripherals; their offense is unlikely to make up any ground lost from plus-minus or hits and blocks. While the Sharks have improved their offense by signing well-regarded veteran winger Tyler Toffoli, and expect both Eklund and Zetterlund to keep improving, they are still shaping up to be one of the league's worst offensive teams, especially without a proper power play quarterback.

In keeper leagues, Celebrini isn't quite in Connor Bedard's tier, but it's close. Celebrini may not have Bedard's offensive ceiling, but many scouts believe he has a more polished two-way game and he will still be a No. 1 center some day. With the focus on Celebrini and Smith, and the addition of Toffoli, I'm pretty sure Granlund (more on him later) will not be their leading scorer again.

On defense, the big addition is Jake Walman (also more on him later), a contract dump from the Wings. He'll get first crack at PP1 because no one else is qualified (Henry Thrun is still too young and raw), and mind you Walman's scored just six power-play points over the past two seasons and just set a career high in points with 21.

The other big addition is Yaroslav Askarov, but his path is blocked by Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek, though only for this season. When he asked out of Nashville, his path was blocked by a long-term deal for Juuse Saros and the signing of Scott Wedgewood. Given how woeful the Sharks offense will likely be, and how thin their defense will be, any Sharks goalie is not advisable for fantasy purposes.

2024-25 Projected Lineup

(updated Oct. 7, 2024)

Even Strength

Mikael Granlund - Macklin Celebrini - Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund - Will Smith - Klim Kostin
Carl Grundstrom - Nico Sturm - Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow - Alex Wennberg - Luke Kunin

Mario Ferraro - Cody Ceci
Jake Walman - Jan Rutta
Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Matt Benning

Mackenzie Blackwood - Vitek Vanecek

ex: Ty Dellandrea, Givani Smith, Henry Thrun

Injured: Thomas Bordeleau (lower body, week-to-week as of Sept. 24)

IR: Logan Couture (groin, no return date set)

Power Play

Zetterlund - Celebrini - Granlund - Toffoli - Walman

Eklund - Smith - Wennberg - Guschin - Thrun

Sleeper: Jake Walman, D

I just think Walman had the most to gain coming to the Sharks. Toffoli is a reliable vet, but he's also been a bit of a nomad in recent season and though he's scored 30 goals in back-to-back seasons, that's where he tops out.

With Walman, he's going to block a lot of shots because the Sharks will get caved in on most nights, but he's also adding some power play upside as their top option. The key to any good season (in fantasy) is ice time, and I think Walman's going to get loads of it. His power play time was significantly limited by the presence of both Shayne Gostisbehere and Moritz Seider with the Red Wings, he still generated more than eight goals per 60 minutes on the power play, in line with both Gostisbehere and Seider's numbers. We take this with a grain of salt because Walman was just one of five players on that unit, and he was arguably the worst player, but I think the Sharks will have at least one decent power play unit with Celebrini, Eklund and Toffoli.

Breakout: Macklin Celebrini, C

This one's easy, with Smith being the second pick because he will likely play behind Celebrini on the depth chart. It would be unfair to compare Celebrini to Bedard; the latter is the better offensive player but their styles are quite a bit different, and there are some who believe Celebrini has the more well-rounded game. That should translate well to the pros and keep Celebrini's trust with the coaches, meaning that when Logan Couture returns to the lineup and there's a logjam at center, Celebrini will likely stay in the top six.

It might make sense to pick Zetterlund or Eklund (disrespectfully ranked 609th on Yahoo) in this spot, but I think they'll be stuck in the 40-50 point range until Celebrini can elevate their game, or when they develop into star players on their own, whichever comes first.

Related: Macklin Celebrini Makes the Sharks Relevant in Fantasy Again

Bounce-back: Klim Kostin, C

Kostin nearly doubled his ice time with the Sharks following a trade from the Wings, scoring 10 points in 19 games. He was a useful depth player with the Oilers (21 points in 57 games) but found himself on the outside looking in a lot of the time. He won't have that problem with the Sharks, though he might find it hard to crack the top six.

Last season, he played a lot with Granlund and Zetterlund, and that might not be the case in 2024-25. Regardless, I think a full season with the Sharks where Kostin is a lineup regular can help him bounce back from a lackluster showing with the Wings. As far as fantasy relevance goes? In the right situation, Kostin's a streamer, but that's about it.

Bust: Mikael Granlund, C/RW

Granlund needed top-line deployment and 21 minutes per game to score 60 points, and I don't think that happens again with the Sharks' added depth. He may not be deployed as a center full-time, and his low shot volume and minimal peripherals means his only value will come through points, and less ice time usually means fewer points.

He's appropriately ranked 200th in Yahoo's pre-season rankings and I see very little reason to reach for him in drafts. Unless you're in a deep league, I think Granlund goes undrafted, but he may get picked up over the course of the season if he ends up on a line with Celebrini and managers need a plug-and-play option.

Goalies

It'll be Blackwood and Vanecek's to start with, and at least for the beginning of the season. Both are impending UFA's, and the Sharks would not have acquired Askarov if they didn't think he could be their goalie of the future. Sharks netminder legend Evgeni Nabokov is on the staff, and his shared background and experience should prove very beneficial to Askarov's development.

Between Blackwood and Vanecek, I trust Blackwood more; however, that's like picking a poison neither option will pay much dividends in fantasy. (Ironically, Blackwood is their lowest-ranked goalie). Blackwood can rack up the saves and maybe once during the season the Sharks will go on a hot streak, but that still alone relegates him (and Vanecek and Askarov) to streaming status.

Because Askarov is exempt from waivers, I think he will spend a good chunk of the season in the AHL to get reps and stay fresh. It's a big bonus the Sharks' AHL club also plays out of San Jose.

Related: Yaroslav Askarov's Big Breakout Season is Getting Closer

Jason's Top 5 Point Projections

(based on 82 games)

Macklin Celebrini, C - 22-36-58
Mikael Granlund, C - 15-38-53
Tyler Toffoli, RW - 29-23-52
William Eklund, LW - 25-25-50
Fabian Zettterlund, RW - 21-21-42

Yahoo Pre-season Rankings

114. Macklin Celebrini, C
136. Will Smith, C
163. Tyler Toffoli, LW/RW
200. Mikael Granlund, C/RW
251. Yaroslav Askarov, G
257. Jake Walman, D
275. Vitek Vanecek, G
296. Logan Couture, C
345. Fabian Zetterlund, LW/RW
505. Mackenzie Blackwood, G
511. Alex Wennberg, C
609. William Eklund, LW
788. Thomas Bordeleau, C
813. Henry Thrun, D

Related:

Related: 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Team Preview: Anaheim Ducks

Related: 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Team Preview: Los Angeles Kings

Click the image below to receive your free issue of the 2024-25 THN Poolbook.