San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner emphatically stated in October that he had no interest in seeing his team — once again –– enjoy the best odds to win the NHL’s Draft Lottery.
The name of Gavin McKenna, Penn State’s uber-talented and draft-eligible freshman centerman, was raised by Plattner as someone the Sharks were not going to specifically target.
Thanks to the last-place Vancouver Canucks’ naked tank job this season, the Sharks won’t have the best odds to get the No. 1 overall pick and select McKenna, winger Ivar Stenberg, defenseman Keaton Verhoeff, or whoever else might be the apple of their eye in June.
But Plattner’s squad appears to be on its way to having a better chance to win the lottery than anyone could have thought just three weeks ago.
The Sharks have sunk from 21st to 27th overall since March 3 and will carry a five-game losing streak into Thursday’s game against the St. Louis Blues, continuing a three-game road trip.
The Sharks, having gone 2-6-2 since early March, have 70 points and are now just one point ahead of the Blues, who were long thought to be eliminated from playoff contention. The Sharks are also now just three points ahead of the rebuilding Calgary Flames and Chicago Blackhawks, although they have two games in hand on both teams.
In other words, the Sharks’ own playoff aspirations are hanging by a thread. They certainly did not look ready for primetime on Tuesday, when they sleepwalked through the first period, allowing five goals in under 17 minutes in a 6-3 loss to the team they’re chasing, the Nashville Predators.
“We didn’t show up,” said Sharks goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 13 saves and was largely hung out to dry by his teammates.
“We didn’t come ready to play. And that’s what happens. You can’t take a shift off, two shifts off, let alone a whole period in this league. Especially against a team that’s playing pretty well like them. For us, we’re fighting for points. We’re fighting for our lives right now. We didn’t show up.”
The Sharks, with 13 games left, are now seven points behind the Predators, the second wild card team in the Western Conference, with two games in hand. They also play the Predators two more times next month.
San Jose is also eight points back of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division, with three games in hand.
Those extra games will matter little if the Sharks are unable to summon more complete games and take better care of the puck.
The Sharks’ best line early on was the fourth line with center Zack Ostapchuk and wingers Adam Gaudette and Barclay Goodrow, who mostly played a direct, uncomplicated game. Gaudette scored his 15th of the season by getting to the front of the net and redirecting Shakir Mukhamadullin’s shot past Juuse Saros to tie the game 1-1 at the 6:25 mark of the first period.
“It’s simple hockey,” Nedeljkovic said. “We get the puck in the (offensive) zone, and then we’re free to make plays. Absolutely, we have a lot of skill in this locker room and a lot of talent when we get in the zone. That’s where the creativity is going to come out.
“But we have to get in the zone first of all. We can’t take pucks back, we can’t delay momentum, delay and delay, and it just sets them up into their system and their structure that they want to get in, and then we’re trying to figure out what we’re trying to do.
“We got five guys on five different pages, and it’s not winning hockey.”
Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) scores a goal past San Jose Sharks goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Nedeljkovic went over the first three goals he allowed — on five shots — in a span of 11:40 in great detail.
First goal, the Sharks turn it over in their end and allow a tic-tac-toe goal to Filip Forsberg. Next, Nedeljkovic felt he could have made a save on Michael Wood’s shot on a rush attempt (although the Sharks made multiple errors before the goal).
After that, the Sharks were unable to clear the puck after losing at least two puck battles, and, with no one paying the price to block a shot, Roman Josi took a pass, came right down lower Broadway, and ripped one home for a 3-1 Predators lead.
“I could go on,” Nedeljkovic said. “We just didn’t come ready to play in the first period, and that’s what happens in this league when you don’t come.”
Let’s be honest: The Sharks came into the season a year away from realistically competing for a playoff spot. Given their advanced metrics as a team, they were likely going to fade at some point.
Nevertheless, the Sharks were able to overcome their defensive shortcomings this season whenever Macklin Celebrini delivered one of his magical performances. Or Nedeljkovic or Yaroslav Askarov stood on their head.
Now that teams are starting to play playoff-style hockey, the ill-equipped Sharks have hit their roughest patch since the start of the season.
For what it’s worth, Celebrini has just one point in his last four games.
The Sharks still have faint playoff hopes. It’s not over yet. But the best thing the Sharks can do at this point – especially the players who will be in San Jose for the next few years — is learn what it takes to win at this time of the season and use those lessons going forward.
Maybe the first player the Sharks select in June will be a part of next year’s chase.
That all depends on where they’re drafting, of course. It looks like it’ll be a lot closer to the top than people thought.