Sharks Are on the Road to Returning to Relevance

The San Jose Sharks have spent the last few seasons at or near the bottom of the NHL, and a comparison of their 2025-26 roster to the rest of the league suggests they’ll likely finish in a similar spot again. Several recent developments show their current standing is well-known to the hockey world, and they’ve got a long way to go before becoming a prominent NHL team like they once were. However, when they do get to that point, they’ve begun taking the right steps to ensure they end up in the best position possible.

Sharks’ National Status Evidenced by Recent News

This past week’s release of the upcoming season’s United States national television schedule, as well as player ratings for the NHL 26 video game, highlight the Sharks’ current spot as an NHL bottom-feeder.

The Sharks have six nationally-televised games this season, tied for the third-fewest of any American team. Just two of them are on cable, with the other four being ESPN+ exclusives. On the video game side, only one Shark — Macklin Celebrini — is rated in the game’s top 100 players. A league with 32 teams would suggest roughly three players per team fall in that range, but sports tend not to work that way. National TV games are driven by quality teams, and highly-rated players tend to congregate on those teams. Right now, the Sharks and their last-place status are on the short end of things.

When teams play well, national prominence follows in various forms, such as television and other media. The Sharks are building up their team to reach that level, but they’re far away from it right now.

Sharks’ New Arena Deal Is a Positive Development

The good news for the Sharks is that they are taking a lot of the right steps to prepare for their eventual return to a higher standing in the NHL. Most recently, they reached a new agreement with the city of San Jose to extend their lease at SAP Center through the 2050-51 season while also making plans to renovate the arena as part of the deal. The agreement was passed quickly and efficiently, and didn’t drag out into a long bureaucratic process. Instead, the Sharks and the city got down to business and showed their commitment to keeping the team in the Bay Area — a relief to many local fans following the Oakland Athletics’ ugly exit from the region.

Beyond their exciting young players, the Sharks should always be looking for more ways to stand out in the major market they play in, creating optimism and giving fans reason to watch and pay attention to them. Dedicating themselves to the Bay Area and promising to make SAP Center a more attractive venue is a great step in that direction.

Sharks’ Bright Future Contrasts With Difficult Present

The Sharks are in an interesting situation at the moment. They have a poor roster relative to most other NHL teams, and the rest of the league recognizes it. They didn’t make any massive roster changes this offseason, meaning they could stay near the bottom for another season or two. At the same time, they have a clear plan and vision for how they might be serious contenders not long after. They’ve built up one of the best farm systems in the league, highlighted by top forward prospects Celebrini and Will Smith and potential goalie of the future Yaroslav Askarov. Not every bad team has such a promising future. For that matter, the Sharks themselves didn’t as recently as a couple years ago, but a mix of lottery luck and smart moves has put them in a much better position.

Given where they find themselves, the Sharks’ main goal right now is to set themselves up for the greatest amount of success possible when they eventually return to being a playoff team. Some of that is a matter of bringing in the right players, but things like marketing and drawing fans are important as well. Committing to San Jose is one example of that, and soon enough, better video game ratings and more national TV games should follow.