What does Mike Grier expect from the Sharks this season?

SAN JOSE – With the San Jose Sharks upgrading their roster for the upcoming season and enjoying a newfound excitement around the team, it’s natural to wonder when they might start to become legitimate playoff contenders again.

But Mike Grier, who has taken a methodical approach to rebuilding the Sharks since he was named the team’s general manager just over two years ago, isn’t making any firm declarations.

While there’s been more buzz around the Sharks since the team won the draft lottery two months ago, then drafted and signed Macklin Celebrini and added other pieces, Grier reiterated that he does not want to predict when the team might be able to end its five-year postseason drought.

“I don’t really want to put exact timelines on things here. I think we just need to keep getting better and keep moving forward,” Grier said Saturday after the Celebrini signing was announced. “That’s what I’d like to see with the group that we have here, is getting better and pushing things forward.

“Hopefully, in the next couple of years, we can push for the playoffs and be there. But I don’t want to give you a timeline saying next year, this is what we’re going to do. We just need to keep getting better and keep growing as a team and improving individually.”

New to the Sharks this year are Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, Alexander Wennberg, Ty Dellandrea, Barclay Goodrow, Carl Grundstrom, and defenseman Jake Walman. Center Will Smith, signed to an entry-level deal in May, could also play a prominent role this upcoming season.

There’s also plenty of flexibility within the salary cap to make more moves next season.

With several players set to become unrestricted free agents next summer, including goalie Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Mikael Granlund, the Sharks, per CapFriendly, right now have about $42 million in cap space for the 2025-26 season.

Enough to perhaps do some big game hunting if that’s what the Sharks want to do.

For now, Grier wants the Sharks to play with a certain identity and pride after experiencing so many lopsided losses last season – 11 by five goals or more, to be exact. The low point was the 10 goals the Sharks allowed in back-to-back home games in November 2023 to the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Sharks’ additions, and perhaps the subtractions, should help with that endeavor.

“The main thing I’d like to see, and I know (coach) Ryan (Warsofsky) would like to see, is us just being a more competitive, harder team to play against, where teams aren’t coming in here and having easy nights,” Grier said. “That’s going to be the foundation of everything — that we’re a hardworking, competitive team. With the players we’ve added, they all have a history of playing a certain way and contributing a certain way.”

Grier would also like to see forwards Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund take a step in their growth this upcoming season. Playing almost exclusively in a top-six role, Zetterlund had a career-high 24 goals and 44 points last season, and Eklund, in his first full NHL season, had 45 points.

“They’ll have another year of experience in the league under their belts. So hopefully, those guys can keep growing and taking steps as well,” Grier said. “So if everyone gets a little bit better, and everyone takes a little step forward, we should be a better team. But at the core and the foundation of everything is us being a more competitive and harder to play against team.”