Stories
Preseason
San Jose lost 6-2, and both of its goals came from men with no NHL games
San Jose's scorers had no NHL games behind them. The lineup gap, five-on-five volume and shot distances put the 6-2 loss at Anaheim in proportion.
Preseason Preview
Only two clubs in hockey ran two power-play point men, and San Jose was one
The contract market
Will Smith's old linemate got eight years on the last day they existed
Prospects
San Jose went 2-0 in the rookie tournament, and then Grier read the injury list
Training camp
Grier replaced an injured goaltender with one waiting on immigration
More this season
The Big Picture 9The Prospect Files 15The Player Files 15The Cap Sheet 10The Roster Build 5The Draft War Room 3Everything Else 45
The Big Picture
Where this team actually is, what the front office has done with it, and what the next two seasons look like.
Mike Grier Bought The House
Jul 24, 2026ReadGrier pays the minimum tab and guards the window: my July 1 forecast
Jun 30, 2026ReadThe forecast, redone: Stenberg is an NHL player, and it changes the picture
Jun 24, 2026ReadThe Grier report card: four years graded, one pattern found, and what it predicts for June 27
Jun 12, 2026ReadThe Pacific power map: what 93 points actually buys in this division
Jun 12, 2026ReadThe Warsofsky file: elite developer, suspect allocator, and the year-three test already written
Jun 12, 2026ReadThe 2026-27 scorecard, written in June (v2): the goalposts are now in concrete
Jun 11, 2026ReadAre the 2026-27 Sharks actually a playoff team? The number, and the honest yes/no
Jun 9, 2026ReadThe contention clock: when the window actually opens, and the gap list to get there
Jun 9, 2026ReadThe Prospect Files
The pipeline, one player at a time and as a system: who is real, who is blocked, and who arrives when.
'By A Massive Margin': Auditing Hockey's Loudest Pipeline Claim
Jul 23, 2026ReadIvar Stenberg, the deep dive: the models love him as much as the scouts, and he is chasing the Sedins
Jun 27, 2026ReadKeaton Verhoeff, the deep dive: he matched a young Cale Makar's freshman line two years younger
Jun 27, 2026ReadRyan Lin, the deep dive: a 5-11 D who played 26 minutes a night and his own comp is Quinn Hughes
Jun 27, 2026ReadSharks top 20 Calder-eligible prospects: Pohlkamp belongs near the top, and two dark horses lurk
Jun 27, 2026ReadSam Dickinson, year two: the rookie line that hid his best trait, and the leap that comes when the leash drops
Jun 19, 2026ReadThe Cagnoni readiness study: a 43-point AHL puck-mover, a 5-foot-9 question, and the cheapest way to solve the left side
Jun 19, 2026ReadMisa vs his draft class: the box score quietly refutes the premise (and defends him)
Jun 14, 2026ReadThe blue-line logjam: why the pipeline is all left-handed, and why that makes Reid non-negotiable
Jun 14, 2026ReadThe Ravensbergen file (v2): scouted, plus the Augustine measuring stick he inherits
Jun 14, 2026ReadPohlkamp: the bridge to the bridge, and the only Sharks prospect whose shot is already NHL-ready
Jun 11, 2026ReadBystedt and Musty: the NHL comps, and why two good prospects can't get in the lineup
Jun 8, 2026ReadSam Dickinson vs Artyom Levshunov: who is the better prospect right now?
Jun 5, 2026ReadWas Dickinson sheltered? The competition data is in, and the answer splits
Jun 5, 2026ReadTwo good problems named Bystedt and Musty
Jun 3, 2026ReadThe Player Files
Full workups on the NHL roster: what the tape and the numbers say each man actually is.
Nobody Has A Seat For Collin Graf
Jul 22, 2026ReadJacob Trouba and the reputation premium
Jul 1, 2026ReadMason Marchment, and which Mason Marchment
Jul 1, 2026ReadKesselring deep dive, the NHL Edge layer: elite tools confirmed, and one correction
Jun 18, 2026ReadKesselring's power-play efficiency in Utah: a functional PP2 with a PP1 weapon attached
Jun 18, 2026ReadThe Michael Kesselring deep dive: the 0-2-2 that lies, and the top-four defenseman underneath it
Jun 18, 2026ReadHow high does Macklin Celebrini go? Higher than we've been saying.
Jun 14, 2026ReadWill Smith, away from Celebrini: the one stat that decides the Star Forward slot
Jun 14, 2026ReadThe Misa verdict: the 2C is earned, not hoped, except for one thing at the dot
Jun 11, 2026ReadThe Askarov verdict: is he actually the franchise goalie?
Jun 10, 2026ReadIgor Chernyshov and the only real argument in the forward group
Jun 9, 2026ReadThe honest value board: who actually drove value in 2025-26
Jun 9, 2026ReadWas Ferraro actually good at killing penalties? No, and you were right to ask
Jun 9, 2026ReadThe Toffoli–Misa–Graf Line: Sixty-Seven Minutes, Sixty Percent, Zero Goals Against
May 14, 2026ReadCollin Graf, 2025-26: The Qualifying Offer Was the Easiest Decision of the Summer
May 12, 2026ReadThe Cap Sheet
Contracts, extensions, the salary floor, and what every trade chip is genuinely worth.
Re-judging the Eklund trade: the data says they sold a rising player at the bottom of his luck
Jun 25, 2026ReadTop 5 free-agent D to target: Andersson is the prize, and the right-shot well is shallow behind him
Jun 25, 2026ReadThe salary floor after Eklund: $21M the Sharks are required to spend, not free to spend
Jun 24, 2026ReadThe war chest, the bill it's saved for, and the one bet that's free: three questions, one answer
Jun 16, 2026ReadThe Toffoli decision: when hold flips to sell, decided nine months before it's urgent
Jun 12, 2026ReadPricing the Celebrini extension: the number, the deadline nobody is talking about, and what every dollar costs the core
Jun 11, 2026ReadThe five-year cap math: can they keep everyone? (The Florida-or-Chicago question, answered)
Jun 11, 2026ReadCollin Graf, and the contract you sign before everyone else does the math
Jun 11, 2026ReadEklund at $5.6M: the bargain nobody's talking about (because the scoreboard keeps lying about him)
Jun 10, 2026ReadThe trade chessboard: what every chip is worth, and what the plan actually costs
Jun 10, 2026ReadThe Roster Build
Lines, pairs and special teams: how the twenty guys who dress actually get chosen.
The power-play blueprint: the chances were already there, the finish wasn't (the easy 5 points)
Jun 14, 2026ReadIf Ferraro was only average, why was the PK 28th? It was the forward kill (and I owe you a correction)
Jun 9, 2026ReadThe 2026-27 forward group: four lines to compete now and grow into a contender
Jun 7, 2026ReadThe 2026-27 blue line, built: draft the right shot, rent the right shots, free the kids
Jun 6, 2026ReadThe PP1 you can actually ice next year, and where it finishes
Jun 3, 2026ReadThe Draft War Room
The No. 2 pick, decided in advance: every branch priced before the night arrived.
Chase Reid, scouted as a player: the NAHL-to-No.2 climb, the comps stress-tested, and when he actually helps
Jun 19, 2026ReadThe draft-day playbook: decide everything now, react to nothing later
Jun 11, 2026ReadWhat the Sharks should do at No. 2: take Reid, and the one move that's even better
Jun 2, 2026ReadEverything Else
Not yet filed into a collection.