The San Jose Sharks made some splash-worthy moves during the summer. They acquired Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers and inked Jacob Trouba to a 4-year, $33 million deal. Remember that talk about the Sharks needing to make a big-time move on X and on the podcast? Well, they made those moves and are ready to swim to the Stanley Cup.
With that, is this the last time that we'll hear the lovable (okay, not so much since it's in San Jose) unofficial theme for the Sharks? You know, the theme that was played for Ryan Reaves during the Battle 4 Vegas a year ago?
Who knows. But one thing's certain. Mike Grier's club is ready to go all-in on its contention window. That means doing whatever it takes to make the big moves and pay your superstar, Macklin Celebrini. After all, he's supposed to be the superstar of tomorrow in the NHL.
But Golden Knights fans have seen this story before. They've watched the tale of the "Chosen One" trying to get the Stanley Cup, only to fall short. That story was based in Edmonton and is running out of airtime in the movie theater.
So, let's see how the Golden Knights can make a sequel to this film with a new antagonist. What can Vegas do this season to ensure the Sharks are neutralized once again? Let's not forget that they swept the season series against San Jose and have won 11 straight games against the division rival. Yes, you read that right. 11 straight games. So much for a "heated rivalry," eh?
What the Vegas Golden Knights must do to tame the San Jose Sharks in 2026-27
Looking at Macklin Celebrini's numbers in 2025-26, you'll notice Hart Memorial Trophy-esque stats. We're talking about 45 goals and 70 assists, equaling 115 points. That alone should put the Sharks miles ahead of the competition. But there's a catch.
The next highest scorer, Will Smith, had 59 points (24 goals and 35 assists). That's nearly half of the production that Celebrini put up that season. On top of that, the goaltending wasn't too great. San Jose posted a team GAA of 3.54 and a team save percentage of .887. You can probably tell that the Sharks base their entire game plan around Celebrini.
That also explains why they added Trouba and Nurse to the mix. Adding some scoring from the blue line should alleviate some of the offensive pain that surrounds the former first-overall pick. But it doesn't completely absolve San Jose's other problems.
Take the season opener vs. the Golden Knights as a perfect example. San Jose's up, 3-2, and is about to hand Vegas its first regulation loss at SAP Center EVER. That's when Alex Nedeljkovic made not one—but two!—blunders that cost the Sharks the game.
Right from the blue line by Eichel. Probably one of the most absurd goals you'll ever see. Yet that goal gets topped by Nedejlkovic's misplay in overtime, leading to Reilly Smith's game-winning goal.
The moral of the story? If you can get past Celebrini and take him out of the equation, you have the game in your hands. The Golden Knights have plenty of solid two-way forwards who can make this happen, even if some Sharks step up this season. It could be the "Baby Shark" theme playing all over again!
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