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+9.2
Pine Net Rating v0.1: goals above replacement per 82 games (+7.7 over his 69). 71% among 469 forwards, 2nd line.
- Position
- C
- Number
- #2
- Shoots
- R
- Age
- 21
- Size
- 6'0", 180 lb
- Ice time
- 18:11 a game
- Games
- 69
- Status
- Under contract
- Pieces here
- 55
2025-26 regular season: 69 games, 1255 minutes.
2026-27: +7.2 (range -5.8 to +20.3). 2030-31: +9.0 (range -20.8 to +38.9).
- Market value
- $5.5M
- Cap hit
- $950K
- Surplus
- +$4.55M
- Positive value
- 93%
Market value is what the league pays a forward at his rating percentile this season, from 386 contracts; in 2026-27 dollars against a $104M ceiling. Positive value is the share of 2,000 simulated futures over his 1 remaining year in which that value meets his cap hit.
The number on each bar is his percentile among league forwards with 200 or more minutes at 5-on-5 (special teams: 30 or more minutes on the unit); each block prints the size of that group. Higher is better on every bar; chances against are inverted so 90% always reads well.
Sources: NHL.com for the roster, bio and counting line; MoneyPuck for expected goals, on-ice chances, blocks and penalties; PuckPedia and CapWages for the contract. Updated 2026-09-13. The rating, the forecast and the value line are this site's own, from public data, with the method published.
On the record
Called Shots →San Jose signs Will Smith to a new contract of five years or fewer on or before July 1, 2027.
Kiefer Sherwood averages under 1:45 a night on the power play across San Jose's first 20 games of 2026-27.
Mason Marchment finishes the 2026-27 regular season with an even-strength offensive zone start share below 60 percent for San Jose.
San Jose's penalty kill finishes the 2026-27 regular season ranked higher among the 32 NHL clubs than San Jose's power play.
Ivar Stenberg appears in 11 or more of San Jose's first 13 regular-season games in 2026-27.
Will Smith finishes the 2026-27 NHL regular season with an on-ice goal share at five-on-five below 52 percent for San Jose.
Will Smith and San Jose do not agree to a contract extension on or before April 30, 2027.
Written about him
Will Smith's old linemate got eight years on the last day they existed
The collective bargaining agreement that took effect on September 16 cuts the maximum contract term from eight years to seven with a player's own club, and from seven to six with anybody else. Washington signed Ryan Leonard, Will Smith's linemate from the national development program and from Boston College, to eight years and $84 million on the final night the term was legal, and signed Justin Sourdif to eight the same day. Ottawa gave Drake Batherson eight and $86 million. Smith is going into the last season of a three-year entry-level deal at $950,000 and is unsigned. His unrestricted free agency arrives in 2031, so an eight-year extension beginning in 2027-28 would have bought four summers past it and a seven-year extension buys three. The year San Jose lost on Tuesday is the one in which Smith turns 30. Mike Grier said on Thursday that talks are in a good spot and that there are no plans to talk next week. One take filed, on when Smith signs.
Will Smith led the Sharks in goals on his shifts, but not in chances
Will Smith scored 59 points in 69 games at 21 and led San Jose's regulars in on-ice goal share at five-on-five, 57.5 percent. The expected-goal share on the same shifts was 47.9 percent. That 9.6-point gap was the 24th largest among the 285 NHL forwards who played 750 five-on-five minutes last season, and it is the number San Jose has to price before July. The club's best case is not the same as his.
Collin Graf Scored More Shorthanded Than He Did On The Power Play
Collin Graf spent 39 minutes and 38 seconds on the power play across 81 games last season, tenth among San Jose forwards, and 200 minutes killing penalties, which was first. He scored 21 goals anyway and finished with 42 even-strength points, tied with Will Smith for second on the team behind Macklin Celebrini. San Jose then signed him for three years and $12,750,000. The open house row on him says he reaches 50 points, and the entire case for that is usage the club has never given him.
San Jose Has Four Preseason Games And Nineteen Men Who Can Play Two Of Them
San Jose's 2026-27 preseason is four games, down from six in each of the last three years, because the new collective bargaining agreement caps it there. The same agreement limits any player with 100 or more NHL games to two exhibition appearances. Nineteen of the 41 players on the club's listed roster clear that bar, including Macklin Celebrini at 152 games and Will Smith at 143. From the first rookie game on September 12 to the opener on October 1 is nineteen days and six games.
Will Smith, away from Celebrini: the one stat that decides the Star Forward slot
Will Smith and the driver-or-passenger question
Collin Graf, 2025-26: The Qualifying Offer Was the Easiest Decision of the Summer
An undrafted right wing from Lincoln, Mass., posted the highest 5v5 expected goals per 60 on a Sharks roster that included Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Tyler
