Do You Know The Way To San Jose? Tyler Toffoli's Return To California Aims To Boost Rebuilding Sharks

What with Tyler Toffoli having been around the block a couple of times, and then once more for good measure, the simple pleasures of life in the NHL have mostly worn off. Don’t take that to mean he’s jaded by the experience. He still wakes up thrilled to go to the rink, some days feeling like a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed kid instead of a well-worn vet. But as with anything, experiences that were once novel over time become less so. Eventually, they even start to feel somewhat old hat.

Take travelling, of which Toffoli has done plenty. By playing as far west as Vancouver and as far east as Montreal, he’s racked up frequent flier miles. And having touched down in Utah earlier this season, Toffoli is among those whose travels have allowed them to see the inside of every single NHL dressing room. Truly, there isn’t much big-league ground Toffoli hasn’t covered.

It’s no wonder he’s getting a kick out of seeing the jet-set life through the eyes of Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith. It sounds like the rookies, who sit behind him on the team plane, feel like they’re living in the lap of luxury. “It’s funny seeing them come on the plane, seeing how much food there is, the type of food we have on the plane,” Toffoli said. “It definitely makes me laugh and brings me back to when I was 20 years old.”

Hard as it is to believe, that was some 13 years and more than 900 combined regular- and post-season games ago for Toffoli. Coincidentally, too, the first of those outings was against the same Sharks for whom he now finds himself suiting up.

Signing in San Jose this summer marked a return to California for the 32-year-old Toffoli, who broke into the NHL with the L.A. Kings in 2013 and spent parts of eight seasons in Hollywood. That was before he became a marauder. Since February 2020, Toffoli has skated for the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets. Only twice did he spend more than one season with any of those five clubs, and there was a two-year span where he was traded three times.

Toffoli’s forced nomadism resulted from the fact he’s never really had the option to put down roots. He signed a four-year, $17-million pact with the Canadiens in 2020 during his first go-round as a UFA, but he put pen to paper without any clauses that would allow him to nip any trade in the bud. That’s not the case this time. His four-year, $24-million deal with the Sharks, signed after he hit the open market in July, has a full no-trade clause for the first three seasons and modified no-trade protection in the final campaign. Finally, he has the chance to really call a place home.

But don’t think Toffoli was only drawn to the Bay Area for the security, scenic views and the payday. He arrived with a purpose. He considered his options this summer and weighed offers from a handful of teams, engaging in talks with at least three clubs. But despite the Sharks posting the second-worst points percentage of any team in the post-lockout era last season, Toffoli saw potential and possibilities. “I thought the opportunity in San Jose was going to be the best fit for me,” he said. “Being able to play and getting the opportunity to continue to play big minutes, that was kind of what I was excited for. And then coming here, being able to try and lead a team and bring success back to San Jose.”

Righting the ship in San Jose will require Toffoli to be, well, Tyler Toffoli. Though he rarely gets the credit he deserves for being one of the NHL’s most effective goal-scorers, his resume speaks for itself. From his first full season in 2013-14 through to puck drop this season, Toffoli ranked 33rd in the NHL with 258 goals in 802 games. And he’s seemingly gotten better with age. His full-season scoring pace has been a stellar 32 goals per 82 games since 2019-20. Among players to play the equivalent of two full campaigns over that span, Toffoli’s per-game goal-scoring rate is as good or better than the likes of Cole Caufield, Alex DeBrincat and Jack Hughes. It comes down to consistency, which is an attribute Toffoli discovered with maturity.

"He was high on our list just because of all the other intangibles, not just the goal-scoring ability." – Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky

“I still get frustrated if I don’t score for a stretch of games, but I sort of look at the positives and understand that if I’m still getting chances to score and good opportunities that I’m doing something right,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve been looking at things for the past few seasons.”

As important as Toffoli’s production was to the Sharks’ front office, however, the tutelage he could provide was just as crucial. What sticks in the mind of San Jose coach Ryan Warsofsky is seeing Toffoli wear the ‘C’ for Canada at the 2023 World Championship, where he helped lead the tournament’s fourth-youngest team to gold. That left an impression on Warsofsky, who had Toffoli on his mind during off-season meetings with Sharks GM Mike Grier. “When we talked this summer about turning this thing around and what we needed to bring in,” Warsofsky said, “he was high on our list just because of all the other intangibles, not just the goal-scoring ability.”

And Toffoli has already become central to the leadership group in San Jose. That was clear when he was named an alternate captain prior to the campaign. But where he’s situated in the dressing room arguably matters even more. He takes up a spot right next to rookies Celebrini and Smith.

Warsofsky sees it as an opportunity for two of the Sharks’ young guns to be mentored by a Stanley Cup winner. The belief is that, between everything from squaring off against opposing stars to game-day preparation and media obligations, Toffoli can act as a guide. “It’s not going to be smooth sailing for both Mack and Will,” Warsofsky said. “They’re going to go through their ups and downs, and we thought it was important to have Tyler next to them in certain situations to help them.”

Warsofsky said Toffoli’s impact is already evident. That’s particularly true on the ice. No one becomes a perennial 30-goal threat without paying close attention to the fine details. That’s something Toffoli learned coming up in Los Angeles under the likes of Justin Williams and Dustin Brown. And Toffoli’s commitment to playing well in small areas and on the walls – “That’s what I take a lot of pride in,” he said – is something Warsofsky sees not just rubbing off on Celebrini and Smith but on others, young and old, throughout San Jose’s lineup.

That perhaps wasn’t apparent through the first few weeks of the season, as the club sputtered out of the gates on a nine-game losing streak, but the Sharks came to life in November. No one, though, is expecting instant gratification. That includes Toffoli, who arrived confident, yes, that the Sharks weren’t all that far off, but who is also aware that true contention takes time. “It’s going to be a process,” he said. “But I think we’re slowly getting there.”

The good news, too, is this time, Toffoli will have the chance to see things through.

This article appeared in the Nov. 25, 2024, World Junior Championship issue of The Hockey News. In this edition, we feature wall-to-wall coverage of the 2025 World Junior Championship, complete with previews of all 10 teams plus some of the most prominent players involved. Also in this issue, we shine the spotlight on San Jose's Tyler Toffoli, Philadelphia's Travis Konecny and a team from Haida Gwaii that really goes the extra mile.

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