In his 12th NHL season and his fifth team, Alex Wennberg has found his ideal home: San Jose.
The 31-year-old center signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension through the 2028-29 season. He was set to become a free agent at the end of this season and was a potential trade candidate at the deadline, but general manager Mike Grier and Wennberg decided to make the mutual commitment.
Wennberg, speaking with NBC Sports California’s Alan Hoshida, said it was the “perfect fit.”
“From the get-go, I really loved it…” Wennberg said about his tenure with the Sharks. “…Even after the first year, I asked them about an extension right there because I could see myself play for years here ahead. My mindset was also set to come back, and obviously there’s the business side of it.
“It was kind of wait-and-see, but I couldn’t be more thrilled, it felt like it really worked out.”
Wennberg noted that his wife and children also enjoyed their relatively new living situation. He played for three total teams in the previous two seasons, the Seattle Kraken and New York Rangers in the 2023-24 season before signing with the Sharks for the 2024-25 season. Family stability is a luxury for professional athletes and Wennberg took advantage of the opportunity.
He enjoys the stability he’s found with some youngsters outside of his family as well.
“I obviously have a little bit of experience – played in the league for quite some years,” Wennberg noted. “And the young team we have, and talking to [Macklin Celebrini] and [Will Smith], but right now there’s more young players on the way… so for me to have that kind of role to help them out. If it’s advice, just to be a good teammate, I feel like that’s a great way to start for me as well and have that kind of a role.”
It’s an ideal setup for a rebuild – having a lot of young players with high potential paired with experienced players who have been there and done that. But being the elder statesman is not all that Wennberg wants to provide.
“At the end of the day, I say this a ton, but I still feel like I’m young and feel like my hockey is far from over,” Wennberg explained. “So not only on the outside of the rink, but in the games and stuff I can make a difference. So that’s why I feel like it was just the perfect fit for me.”
Wennberg contributed immediately and notched 35 points last season, the fifth-most among Sharks players who finished the year on the roster.
This season, he already has matched that point total in 26 fewer games.
“I feel like obviously with age you can get a little slower and all of that, but, I feel like if you ask me, hockey-wise, I feel like my game is just growing,” Wennberg explained. “I got a ton of responsibilities on the ice from [penalty kill] to power play and all of that.
“But the trust from the coaches and the role they have set up for me — I couldn’t be more thrilled and I want to do a great job. For me, coming in every day I have a mission to be better. And to have these young guys too, making a push and be better and better as well, it just makes me raise my game as well.”
The Sharks had plenty of center depth when Wennberg initially signed a two-year, $10 million contract with the team ahead of the 2024-25 season. But when San Jose traded current Anaheim Ducks center Mikael Granlund to the Dallas Stars one year ago, that opened the door for Wennberg.
“I feel like that role kind of opened up for me to take on more responsibility and kind of grow into that as well,” Wennberg said.
San Jose’s massive turnaround from last season is headlined by the young stardom of Celebrini and Smith. But the emergence of veteran contribution like that of Wennberg’s has provided fuel for the playoff push.
“A lot of things have happened, and I still feel like we have a little bit more to go,” Wennberg explained. “But you see it’s a process right now. If you want to push for playoffs and all of that, but not only that — just the way that we are playing, the team is growing with one another; that is what I enjoy the most.
“You see how many steps you can take in one year, and next year can be even better.”