The San Jose Sharks are swimming in some uncharted waters. Not only is the team still a playoff contender, though its chances are dwindling dramatically, but the Sharks are also very much a lottery contender, putting the team in a very interesting position heading into the final few weeks of the season. As Sharks fans, that means there are two races to watch this time around. The race for the playoffs and the race to see who will have the best odds of picking first overall in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
Playoff Race Update
It was a busy night for the contenders.
As we know, the Nashville Predators continued to show a veteran strength, winning the team’s fifth straight game 6-3 over the Sharks. The Predators also gained ground on the Utah Mammoth, the current holders of the first wild card spot. The Mammoth lost in regulation to the Edmonton Oilers 5-2.
And around the league, no one did the Sharks any favors. The Florida Panthers allowed the Seattle Kraken to earn a point, waiting until a shootout to claim the 5-4 win. The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t even put up a fight in the 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. The Calgary Flames let the Los Angeles Kings take things all the way to a shootout before beating them 3-2. Meantime the Anaheim Ducks rolled over the Vancouver Canucks 5-3.
Which means everyone took a step forward except the Sharks.
Mathematically, the Sharks are still very much on this thing, especially considering as Connor McDavid described it, the Pacific Division is “a pillow fight.” That said, the window is getting smaller and those Central Division teams are taking advantage, especially in the wild card race. The Sharks need to string together some regulation wins if the team wants to make things interesting. A little help down the stretch might also be needed.
Lottery Race
If you flip the standings around, the Sharks are also very much in the mix for the lottery race. Aside from the sad teams that we’ve talked about all season, like the Canucks, Flames and Rangers, the Sharks are also amongst them.
As of today, San Jose is 27th in points. As Sharks fans know, all that matters is where you finish, it has nothing to do with how badly you tank (so sorry Canucks fans). The good news for Sharks fans is that you can have a fun season without as much pain and suffering and still have a shot at a good draft pick.
Tankathon reports that the Sharks’ odds of hitting that first overall pick is 6%. Considering that Gavin McKenna is not who the Sharks are looking to draft when it comes to this draft, that’s okay. According to Tankathon, the odds of the Sharks winning the second overall pick are 6.2%. A few more losses and a few more wins by the St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks or New York Rangers and the Sharks can be right back in the mix of the draft lottery.
Crazy times.
