The San Jose Sharks may be ready to make the jump. After finishing 39-35-8 and making a legitimate push toward the playoffs, San Jose enters 2026-27 with one of the NHL’s most exciting collections of young talent. Macklin Celebrini exploded for 115 points in his second NHL season, while Will Smith, Michael Misa and other young players give the Sharks enormous upside. GM Mike Grier has also spent aggressively, adding veteran muscle and experience around that young core. Neil Smith and Vic Morren believe San Jose could follow the same path Anaheim did a year ago and emerge as a legitimate wild-card contender.

[00:00:00] San Jose finishes 39-35-8, falling short of the playoffs but taking a major step forward under Ryan Warsofsky, who begins his third season behind the bench.

[00:00:25] Almost every major statistic improves. The Sharks jump from 32nd to 17th offensively and from 26th to 16th on the power play.

[00:00:45] The defense improves only slightly from 32nd to 30th, making goals against the biggest remaining concern.

[00:01:00] Vic compares San Jose to Anaheim from a year earlier—a young team loaded with enough emerging talent to make an unexpected playoff breakthrough.

[00:01:15] Celebrini leads the way after an extraordinary 115-point second NHL season, while Smith, Misa and Collin Graf give the Sharks an impressive young foundation.

[00:01:35] San Jose also gets significantly more experienced on defense by acquiring Darnell Nurse and signing Jacob Trouba.

[00:01:50] Those additions are expensive. Nurse arrives with his full $9.5 million contract, while Trouba signs for four years at $8.25 million annually.

[00:02:00] Mason Marchment also receives a five-year deal worth $6.75 million per season as San Jose uses its available cap space aggressively.

[00:02:15] Celebrini receives the biggest contract of all—$18.8 million per season beginning the following year, making him the league’s highest-paid player.

[00:02:30] Neil believes the investment makes sense because San Jose may already possess the best young player in hockey.

[00:02:45] Michael Kesselring arrives from Buffalo to further strengthen the defense, while Eric Comrie comes from Winnipeg to provide goaltending help.

[00:03:00] San Jose does lose William Eklund, who is traded to Ottawa for the ninth overall draft pick.

[00:03:15] The Sharks ultimately hold two first-round selections, adding even more talent to an already impressive prospect system.

[00:03:30] Ivar Stenberg becomes another high-end prospect to watch as San Jose continues assembling what could become one of the NHL’s deepest young talent pools.

[00:03:45] Shakir Mukhamadullin and Zack Sharp head to Edmonton in the Nurse trade, while Mario Ferraro signs with Winnipeg and Vincent Desharnais joins Washington.

[00:04:00] Vic believes the Sharks can make the playoffs this season, although improving defensively remains essential.

[00:04:15] Neil agrees that San Jose should at least contend for a wild-card position, but points out one difference from Anaheim’s breakthrough.

[00:04:30] Anaheim had veteran championship coach Joel Quenneville guiding its rise. San Jose remains committed to Warsofsky, who has done a good job but does not possess Quenneville’s championship résumé.

[00:04:50] That puts pressure on Warsofsky to prove how much he can get from an extremely talented roster now carrying legitimate expectations.

[00:05:00] Another major question involves Celebrini’s leadership. After three seasons and an impressive Olympic performance, could he already be ready to become captain?

[00:05:20] Neil says his performance on the ice suggests he absolutely could. Celebrini has already demonstrated he can thrive alongside older elite players.

[00:05:40] The unanswered question is whether he is ready for the responsibility inside the locker room.

[00:06:00] Neil says only Warsofsky, Grier and those closest to Celebrini can truly evaluate whether his maturity and leadership are ready for the captaincy.

The Sharks are no longer simply rebuilding. Celebrini has become a superstar, the prospect pipeline remains loaded, and Grier has surrounded the young core with expensive veteran help. If San Jose can improve defensively, Neil and Vic believe this could be the year the Sharks return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The New York Islanders enter 2026-27 looking remarkably similar to the team that missed the playoffs last season—with one major exception: longtime captain Anders Lee is gone. After finishing sixth in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points, the Islanders turn to Peter DeBoer behind the bench. Neil Smith and Vic Morren question whether DeBoer can squeeze more out of a roster that made few significant offseason additions. Ilya Sorokin remains an elite foundation in goal, Matthew Schaefer looks like a future superstar, and several promising prospects are coming, but is there enough improvement to get the Islanders back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs?

[00:00:00] The Islanders finish with 91 points and sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

[00:00:20] Peter DeBoer takes over behind the bench after replacing Patrick Roy with four games remaining last season.

[00:00:35] Some team statistics improve, particularly the penalty kill, which makes an impressive jump from 31st to 10th overall.

[00:00:50] The power play remains a major weakness, improving only slightly from 31st to 30th.

[00:01:00] The Islanders make no offseason trade acquisitions. Tony DeAngelo re-signs for two years at $4.5 million, while Matias Maccelli arrives from Toronto.

[00:01:15] Vitek Vanecek signs a one-year deal after playing in Utah, providing insurance given the uncertainty surrounding Semyon Varlamov.

[00:01:30] The biggest departure is captain Anders Lee, who leaves for Utah. Backup goaltender David Rittich also departs for New Jersey.

[00:01:45] Vic’s assessment is straightforward: this looks like essentially the same Islanders team as last season, except now it has lost its captain.

[00:02:00] Neil agrees. Looking at the roster on paper, he cannot identify an area where the Islanders have significantly improved.

[00:02:15] One major reason for optimism is Matthew Schaefer, who is coming off a terrific rookie season and appears to have a brilliant future.

[00:02:30] Goaltending should remain a strength as long as Sorokin stays healthy. Neil still considers him one of the NHL’s best.

[00:02:45] Varlamov remains a major question after being out of the lineup for roughly a year and a half, making Vanecek an important depth signing.

[00:03:00] The Islanders do have promising young talent coming. Cole Eiserman scored 18 goals in 32 games at Boston University last season.

[00:03:15] Victor Eklund is another intriguing prospect and gives the Islanders another potential offensive piece for the future.

[00:03:30] K'Shawn Aitcheson, selected 17th overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, is another young player who could eventually push for an opportunity.

[00:03:45] But Neil separates the future from the present. The question is what New York will be in 2026-27, and his expectation is that the Islanders may look very similar to what they were in 2025-26.

[00:04:00] The conversation turns to leadership. With Anders Lee gone and Schaefer emerging as a potential franchise player, should the young defenseman already receive the captaincy?

[00:04:15] Neil says no. Being the team’s best or most talented player does not automatically mean someone should wear the “C.”

[00:04:30] Lee himself is an example. He earned the captaincy through leadership rather than simply being the Islanders’ most talented player.

[00:04:45] Neil believes Bo Horvat is the more logical choice. Horvat has established leadership qualities and previously served as captain of the Vancouver Canucks.

[00:05:00] Schaefer’s opportunity to become captain may eventually arrive, but Neil believes that responsibility should come later in his career.

The Islanders still have Sorokin, a potential star in Schaefer, and some promising prospects. But for 2026-27, Neil and Vic see the same fundamental problem: where did this team actually get better? Unless DeBoer can manufacture a major improvement from essentially the same roster, another fight just to reach the playoffs appears likely.

Clearly the weakest of the four divisions in 2025-26, half of the teams in this octet enter the new season with a change behind the bench, including the one and two teams, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers.

While the VGK did stun many sweeping the Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche enroute to the Final, a rookie head coach will be under the microscope as will a veteran in Edmonton trying to re-build his reputation.

Let's also not forget what's taking place in the Golden State. Can the Sharks be the Ducks of the new season and are the Kings simply stuck in suspended animation?

IN THIS EPISODE:

[05:26] - Vegas Golden Knights

[13:41] - Edmonton Oilers

[21:29] - Anaheim Ducks

[27:08] - Los Angeles Kings

[33:53] - San Jose Sharks

[40:06] - Seattle Kraken

[46:26] - Calgary Flames

[51:26] - Vancouver Canucks

X: https://twitter.com/NHLWraparound

Neil Smith: https://twitter.com/NYCNeil

Vic Morren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vic-morren-7038737/

NHL Wraparound Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nhlwraparound/

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