The San Jose Sharks are guaranteed to finish last in the NHL’s overall standings this season, meaning they’ll once again have the best chance to win next month’s draft lottery.
The Sharks (20-48-11) enter Sunday’s game against the Calgary Flames with 51 points and can no longer catch 31st-place Chicago after the Blackhawks earned a point with a shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.
San Jose trails Chicago by six points and has three games left, including Sunday’s, but the Blackhawks own the first tiebreaker with 20 regulation-time wins. The Sharks have won just 14 games in regulation time.
“We know it’s been a struggle this season for wins, but we’ve made some progress,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Sunday morning. “We’ll talk after the season, peel back the onion here and look forward, but my focus is on tonight.”
By finishing with the fewest points, the Sharks will have a 25.5% chance of winning the draft lottery. They are also guaranteed a top-three selection.
The Sharks finished last season with a 19-54-9 record, won the draft lottery, and selected Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 overall pick. Celebrini entered Sunday with a team-leading 62 points, second-most among all NHL rookies.
The best player available in this year’s draft is widely believed to be Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who has not played since he sustained a broken collarbone in December while playing for Team Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championships.
The last team to finish in last place in back-to-back seasons was the Buffalo Sabres in 2014 and 2015.
RUTTA’S FUTURE: Sharks defenseman Jan Rutta, a pending unrestricted free agent, said he’s open to re-signing with the team this offseason.
Rutta, acquired by the Sharks in Aug. 2023 in the multi-player deal that sent Erik Karlsson to Pittsburgh, turns 35 in July and is in the final year of his three-year, $8.25 million deal he signed with the Penguins in July 2022.
It is unclear whether Rutta, a right-shot defenseman, will return. For next season, the Sharks have nine defensemen with NHL experience under contract or team control, including right-shot defensemen Timothy Liljegren, Vincent Desharnais, and Jack Thompson.
“I like San Jose. I like playing for the Sharks,” Rutta said Sunday. “I’m a free agent, so we’ll see what the future brings. I would really like to be a Shark, but for now, I’m just really happy that I get to play games.”
After nearly a three-month absence, Ruttas returned from a lower-body injury on Friday in the Sharks’ 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. In his first game since Jan. 23, Rutta had 19:29 in ice time and was credited with two blocked shots.
Rutta said the game “wasn’t a Picasso” but was glad to be back after an arduous rehab.
“It was frustrating at times, but just really happy that I get to play, get back into the action,” Rutta said. “Huge thanks to the Sharks and the doctors. Took a while, but really happy.”
Rutta said he’s had conversations with the hockey officials in Czechia about once again playing for his home country in the World Championships. Rutta helped Czechia capture the gold medal last season when the tournament was held in Prague and Ostrava.
LINEUP NOTES: Forward Thomas Bordeleau, recalled from the Barracuda on Saturday, will draw into Sunday’s lineup. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said that winger Cam Lund has an illness and will not play, and that Klim Kostin is unavailable due to a lower-body injury.
Bordeleau’s game will be his first in the NHL since April 18, 2024, when the Sharks lost to the Flames in their regular-season finale. He had 38 points in 59 games with the Barracuda this season. He’ll start Sunday’s game on a line with Zack Ostapchuk and Carl Grundstrom.
Bordeleau is slated to become a pending restricted free agent this summer, and the Sharks will have to decide by late June whether to issue him a qualifying offer and retain his rights.
“He’s played here before, he understands how to play in this league, what he needs to do to impact the game in certain areas,” Warsofsky said of Bordeleau.
Warsofsky said it’s unclear whether Kostin will be available to play in one of the Sharks’ final two games, either Monday in Vancouver or Wednesday at home against the Oilers.
Originally Published:
Source: Paradise Post
