What Does Oilers Loss Mean For Sharks 2026 1st Round Pick?

The San Jose Sharks are not in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they are tied to how certain teams perform, specifically the Edmonton Oilers.

Following the Oilers’ game six loss to the Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks’ attention quickly turned to the 2026 NHL Draft. When San Jose traded defenseman Jake Walman at the 2025 Trade Deadline, they acquired Edmonton’s 2026 first-round pick. If the pick fell inside the top 12, the Oilers would transfer their 2027 1st to the Sharks. But that wouldn’t be the case for two reasons: 1. Edmonton didn’t finish that low in the standings, & 2. The Oilers traded their 2027 first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks at the 2026 deadline.

That meant the 2026 pick the San Jose Sharks acquired became unprotected. Although the Oilers didn’t slide down the standings, the Sharks had a chance at two lottery picks this summer.

Teams eliminated in the first or second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are sorted by their place in the standings. If a team makes a conference final and loses, they will pick in either the 28th or 29th in 2026. Normally, it would be 29 or 30, but the Ottawa Senators will pick 32nd no matter what after the NHL returned their first-round pick from a penalty for canceling a trade in 2022.

Based on the remaining teams and where the Oilers finished in the standings, the San Jose Sharks know their pick will be either 19th or 20th overall.

Here are the permutations of the Sharks’ second first-round pick:

Vegas Golden Knights make the conference final: Sharks pick 20th.
Utah Mammoth defeat Vegas Golden Knights: Sharks pick 19th.
Anaheim Ducks defeat Vegas Golden Knights in second round (VGK up 3-2 on UTH in R1): Sharks pick 19th.

The simple way of putting it is this: if the Golden Knights make the conference final, San Jose picks 20th. One of Anaheim or Utah must eliminate Vegas for the Sharks’ pick to move up one spot.

The Sharks turned future considerations to the Detroit Red Wings for Walman into a top-20 first-round pick in 2026. GM Mike Grier also received a 2024 second-round pick when he acquired Walman, which turned out to be defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius at pick 53.