Eyes On The Prize: Sharks Focus Shifts To Playoff Push

Okay, the Olympics are done, the final practice day is complete, and it is time for the San Jose Sharks to hit the ice for a game once again.

Thursday, the Sharks will host the Calgary Flames to start a six-game homestand. The next stretch of home games will determine a lot of what the future may hold for Team Teal. The NHL Trade Deadline is next Friday, and with four games until then, their record will determine Mike Grier’s plans.

Entering Wednesday, the first night the NHL has a game since the Olympics, the Sharks sit five points behind the Anaheim Ducks for the second and final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Many players are ready for game action, including Macklin Celebrini. The San Jose Sharks star wants to bring the lessons he learned from the best players in the world into his locker room.

“I learned a lot while I was over there just being around our coaches, some of the best coaches in the League, and some of the best players in the world, and some of the best players that I’ve ever played,” Celebrini said. “Just their mentality, some of the things that they preach, and I mean the message around our locker room over there, I think I can bring some of that back and just know what it takes.”

The same can be said for Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, who wants to feel the SAP Center crowd’s energy when they return on Thursday.

“You can feel it’s almost like another opening night. There’s a lot of energy in our dressing room. You saw it in practice, that there’s a real buzz with all you guys here, with the fans,” Warsofsky said. “I said to my wife four years ago, I couldn’t give away tickets. And now turning people away.”

Due to Celebrini’s success this season and overall better performance, the San Jose Sharks have seen a massive jump in attendance. After Celebrini’s Olympic star status, that number has only grown, according to the SF Standard.

“The Sharks’ merchandise revenue during this Olympic window is up 88% compared with the same period last year. Celebrini’s Team Canada jersey sold out online in under an hour. Sharks individual game tickets sales during the NHL pause are up 47% and season ticket memberships have surged more than 400% compared with this point last season,” wrote Jane Kenny.

But what about the rest of the San Jose Sharks roster? What’s their mindset heading into Thursday?

“Get two points. No matter what, no matter how,” Yaroslav Askarov said.

“Now that that’s over, it’s a full look back to where we are here and the position that we’re in. We want to push for the playoffs, and you just move from there,” Sam Dickinson said. “So just take it day by day, game by game, and see how it goes.”

Sharks aren’t running from the elephant in the room: the trade deadline

It is no secret that the San Jose Sharks will likely still make a few trades that see rostered players go by March 6. The team isn’t running from it either. The deadline happens every year, and while this season feels a little different, players and coaches still have it on their minds.

“The elephant in the room is the trade deadline coming up as well. We understand where we are in the standings and what we’ve done and how we need to play going forward,” Warsofsky said. “Mike [Grier] has a good feel for that. He played this game, played in the National Hockey League. We’ve had a lot of communication throughout the season, each and every day, about where the group’s at and where the team’s at, individually and collectively.

He’ll do what’s best for the team. He has a real good understanding of what our team might need, where he sees our team now, tomorrow and in the future. We’re going to just focus on what we can control.”

Grier was already a buyer this season with the acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be a buyer again, and the players know that.