The changing face of the Pacific Division includes excellent times ahead for the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks. The Ducks finished inside the playoff structure and they were on top of the Pacific Division throughout much of the second half of the season. Head coach Joel Quenneville’s team may be ahead of the Sharks right now, but San Jose could catch and pass them in the 2026-27 season.
The Sharks have the best young player in the league in Macklin Celebrini, who had a huge season with 45 goals and 70 assists for 115 points. He could supplant Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov and Nathan MacKinnon as the best player in the league. Several of the league’s observers believe this is inevitable at some point.
The Sharks were right in the playoff mix until the final days of the season. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky knows that his team is on the rise after finishing with a 39-35-8 record (86 points) that left them in fifth place in the division and just four points behind the Los Angeles Kings. That team finished as the No. 2 Wild Card team in the Western Conference and there’s every reason to believe that the Sharks can roll past them in the upcoming season.
Celebrini is the team’s most glorious star — he led the team in scoring by 56 points over runner-up Will Smith — but he is joined by some high-level young players.
The aforementioned Smith is on track to become a star, Michael Misa is another rising star and Colin Graf is another young player who is a significant contributor.
General manager Mike Grier can feel good about the direction of the franchise. However, if he is able to trade for Dylan Larkin of the Red Wings, it could accelerate the team’s development quickly.
Larkin would not have to be the face of the franchise
It’s one thing for a team to have young players on the verge of stardom. That’s what the Sharks have with Smith, Misa, Graf and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin. Celebrini is already a superstar who may be ready to climb to the top of the NHL’s ratings, especially after his strong performance for Team Canada in the Winter Olympics.
However, adding an established veteran star like Larkin has a chance to make the franchise even stronger. Instead of finishing with a Wild Card playoff opportunity next year, adding a player like Larkin could turn the Sharks into a team that is competing for the Pacific Division title. They could also make a deep run in the playoffs with Larkin added to the roster.
Larkin has scored 31 goals or more in each of the last five seasons. He also wants out of Detroit because the Red Wings have not made the playoffs in 10 straight seasons. Larkin made the playoffs as a rookie, but he has not been back since and he is tired of falling short.
Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman may not like the idea of trading his captain, but he may not have an alternative. If he keeps Larkin around despite his wishes, he will have an unhappy player on his roster. That could have a negative impact on the other members of the Red Wings.
Sharks could deliver a package to the Red Wings
Trading Larkin to a Western Conference opponents is far more palatable than to a team from the Eastern Conference, and more specifically, the Atlantic Division that the Red Wings reside in.
Grier would need to put together a package that includes a young star — but definitely not Celebrini or Smith — a veteran player and a draft pick for Larkin.
Misa could be the future star who moves to the Red Wings. He scored 9 goals and 12 assists in 45 games last season. The 19-year-old was the second overall pick in last year’s NHL Draft, and he has game changing talent that he could harness in the next year or two. It would hurt to trade Misa, but that may be what is required to acquire a star like Larkin.
Additionally, the Sharks would need to add a veteran like Wennberg to the trade package. He has played 12 years in the NHL, including the last two with the Sharks. He is coming off an extremely productive 55-point season, the second-highest total of his career. The 6-2, 190-pound Wennberg knows how to fight for the puck and win the battle in the corner for puck possession.
Misa and Wennberg could be the key participants in the package that goes to Detroit for Larkin, and the Sharks would have to offer a draft pick as well. Perhaps a second-round in this year’s draft, or a first-round pick in 2027 or ’28.
The Sharks have a bright future, and the acquisition of Larkin would make it even more exciting for the team and its Northern California fans.
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