Tyler Toffoli has stood out this year for the San Jose Sharks, being a consistent top goal scorer and leader to his younger teammates. It seems he has made this Sharks’ house, a Sharks’ home. However, something important to note for those of you newer to the scene is that this is not the beginning of Toffoli’s ultimate success. Today, we take a closer look at Toffoli’s career and where he stands in his progress.
Toffoli’s ability to relate to the Sharks’ young stars like Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith is likely because he has lived it already. Toffoli made a splash as a rookie in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2009, earning a spot on the OHL First All-Rookie Team. Over the next few years, he absolutely dominated, grabbing the Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the league’s top scorer in 2011, and bagging the Jim Mahon Memorial Trophy for two years in a row. Talk about a force to be reckoned with.
Toffoli made the leap to the AHL in 2013, where he was quickly recognized as a star, earning a place in the AHL All-Rookie Team and even participating in the All-Star Game. He snagged the Dudley “Red” Garrett Memorial Award as the league’s best rookie.
Then, of course, he hit the big leagues. Before Toffoli became a top scorer for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames, he was finding his way with the Los Angeles Kings. Toffoli was a key contributor in the Kings’ 2014 Stanley Cup win and continued to grow the next season. In 2014-15, he was third on the team in goals. The next season, he was the Kings’ top scorer. Something he’s done on the other teams he’s played on throughout his career.
Toffoli did it again with the Montreal Canadiens during the 2021-22 season. His magic didn’t stop there. He found himself among the top 5 goal scorers in the 2023-24 season with the New Jersey Devils after only being there for less than a year.
“I mean, I think it’s one of those things where coming out of juniors, I was a high goal scorer, so I kind of took a lot of pride in it, and for me, being given a lot of opportunity and just trying to run with it, something I try and improve every year,” said Toffoli. “And obviously it’s a goal of mine to try and lead, most importantly in goals, but also, you know, on and off the ice.”
Now, Toffoli is using that experience as a top-end scorer and elite player to help rookies like Celebrini and Smith. He’s spent time with them, guiding them, even when it meant sleeping on a cot in their hotel room.
When asked about the inspirational role he’s taken on, Toffoli admitted he’s having fun, too.
”We golfed the other day with Mack, Will and Delly [Dellandrea]. That was a really fun day. I think how we will hopefully try and get out and golf next week as well, and just keep bonding,” said Toffoli. “But other than that, on the ice, just just seeing how they’ve all grown, to be honest. Sounds kind of lame in a sense, but just seeing how confident they’ve kind of both become and they’re just doing a really good job.”
We also asked him who was the best and worst at golf:
“Delly was the best. I think Mack was actually the worst, but I wasn’t far off,” he said.
Having such a current young team and going into this year’s draft with two first-round picks, the future will be youthful. As somebody on this team who is older and acts as a mentor, Toffoli wouldn’t call this a reinvention year, but he agrees it’s a redemption year for the Sharks.
“I think I want to say redemption. I think we all want to be winning games, and I think we’re all on the same page,” said Toffoli. “On that note, I think there are guys here that sort of see the light of at the end of the tunnel, in a sense, and see how the young guys have really stepped in and taken bigger roles,. Obviously, with Will and Mack coming in and doing a really good job, and they’re only going to keep getting better, it feels like we’re on the right page. It’s just a matter of committing to it and doing it.”
This team continues to grow, and with help from leaders like Toffoli, the future is promising.
