San Jose Shark Open the 2024-25 Season at Home Against the St Louis Blues
The San Jose Sharks are finally back and ready to play hockey. After a horror show last season, the Sharks have a fresh injection of young talent and experienced veterans who will help guide these kids. While there are no expectations on this young roster, we'll finally see if Mike Grier's changes have borne fruit for the organization. We'll see if the San Jose Sharks are officially back.
Let's start with the two elephants in the room. Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini are expected to make their NHL debuts. Two of the best young talents anywhere in the league are ready to make their mark on the best league in the world. Without pressure and expectation, this team can play as needed, enduring the growing pains as they improve. But with no expectations and no pressure, players may feel more accessible than they otherwise would.
Tyler Toffoli is back in California; this time, he dons the iconic teal of the San Jose Sharks. The former Stanley Cup champion with the Los Angeles Kings will be expected to provide leadership to a young roster that needs it. Toffoli split last season between the New Jersey Devils and the Winnipeg Jets. Forced to move at the deadline as a playoff addition, Toffoli never got the consistency he hoped for. He'll get a run with the same linemates in the new year.
Two new names are set to play together in San Jose's iconic teal, playing on the blue line for the first time. Cody Ceci and Jake Walman were taken into the organization as cap dumps. Both can provide leadership and fill the abundance of holes developing on the blueline, but there will be no pressure. If they did not work, they were cap dumps; what were you expecting? Just enjoy the hockey and the fact we have the Sharks back. It's been a while since we needed the Sharks to forget about the Niners, but we're getting to that point.
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San Jose has a new face in goal, too. Acquired at the trade deadline last year in the deal that sent Kaapo Kahkonen to the New Jersey Devils, Vitek Vanacek could be in line to make his first start for the Sharks at some point. Only time will tell whether that is tonight, but we could see some new faces in the crease since Kaapo Kahkonen is now a Winnipeg Jet.
Other new names include Alexander Wennberg, brought in to provide some center depth. Then there's the whole situation with Danil Guchchin, who made his NHL debut towards the end of last season and made the roster out of camp this year ahead of guys like Collin Graf, who played last season. Stories are developing all over this roster, and we'll see where they lead us as the season starts.
On the flip side, this St Louis Blues team will have been bitterly disappointed about missing out on the postseason last year. With not one but two new additions to their roster via offer sheets (yes, really), there are many stories surrounding that roster, too. They will be looking to return to the playoffs and compete for the cup again. Can the Sharks dent their seasonal aspirations early?
Projected Lineups
St Louis Blues
Dylan Holloway - Robert Thomas - Jake Neighbours
Alexandre Texier - Pavel Buchnevich - Jordan Kyrou
Mathieu Joseph - Brayden Schenn - Kasperi Kapanen
Alexey Toropchenko - Radek Faksa - Nathan Walker
Nick Leddy - Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg - Justin Faulk
Ryan Suter - Mathew Kessel
Jordan Binnington
Joel Hofer
San Jose Sharks
William Eklund - Macklin Celebrini - Tyler Toffoli
Mikael Granlund - Will Smith - Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow - Alex Wennberg - Luke Kunin
Danil Gushchin - Nico Sturm - Ty Dellandrea
Mario Ferraro - Jan Rutta
Jake Walman - Cody Ceci
Henry Thrun - Matt Benning
Vitek Vanacek
Mackenzie Blackwood
Puck Drop
This game will start at 7:30 as the puck drops on the San Jose Sharks 2024-25 campaign. Can the Sharks avoid repeating as the 32nd overall team in the NHL? Can they start with two points and give us short-term delusions of a playoff hunt? We'll find out tonight from the Shark Tank. Hockey in the Bay is officially BACK.