SAN JOSE – Veteran defenseman Mario Ferraro has approached each of the nearly 500 games he’s played with the San Jose Sharks over the last seven seasons the same way.

“Which is with high energy,” Ferraro said Saturday before the Sharks hosted the Vancouver Canucks, “and not taking any game for granted.”

Still, though, there was a chance Saturday’s game could be Ferraro’s final one at SAP Center in a Sharks uniform.

The 27-year-old Ferraro, San Jose’s longest-tenured player, remains a pending unrestricted free agent, and after Saturday, the Sharks finish the regular season on a three-game road trip, with no guarantee they’ll be able to play another game at home this season.

“Obviously, those things could come into mind,” Ferraro said when asked about his emotions going into what could be his final home game at the Shark Tank. “But for me, it’s the same mentality as I have every night. Some nights, the result is better than others, but it’s about the process.

“I’m hoping to get the result (Saturday), of course. But the same mentality is to give my all and help this team win.”

Following their 6-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, their third loss in four games, the Sharks’ playoff chances had dwindled to nearly nothing. With 81 points, the Sharks were in 11th place in the Western Conference and trailed the Los Angeles Kings for the second wild card spot by six points with four games to play.

Changes figure to be coming as the Sharks only have two defensemen on their NHL roster signed for next season. The Sharks, before Saturday, were also 31st in the NHL in goals allowed per game (3.58), only a slight improvement from the 3.78 they allowed last season as the league’s last-place team.

That’s not all on the defense corps, of course, but the Sharks have expectations of making the playoffs next season and have the opportunity this summer to make some significant changes to the back end.

Including Saturday, Ferraro has played in 487 games with the Sharks, and this season, he is third on the team with an average of 21 minutes of ice time per game. He had 21 points in 78 games before Saturday, was third in the NHL in total shorthanded time on ice (262:03), and 22nd in blocked shots (142).

Sharks general manager Mike Grier said last month that teams inquired about Ferraro before the trade deadline. But Grier made the decision to keep the team’s longest-tenured player and alternate captain, and added that he was open to bringing some of his pending UFAs back next season.

That list includes forwards Ryan Reaves and Pavol Regenda, and defensemen Nick Leddy, John Klingberg, and Vincent Desharnais. Ferraro, a second-round pick by the Sharks in 2017,  is in the final year of a four-year, $13 million contract.

Ferraro said he wants to stay in San Jose, but added, “I’m not going to go into all of that kind of stuff now. It’s out of my control,” Ferraro said of his contract status. “We’ve got four games here left. I’m just trying to play as hard as I can to give us a chance.

“Door’s still open for the playoffs here, I’ve still got a job to do. But that kind of stuff is extremely out of my control now. I’m just focused on what I can do, (which) is to play the best hockey that I can in these last four games.”

FAN APPRECIATION DAY AND NIGHT

The Sharks were expecting their 22nd sellout crowd of the season for Saturday’s Fan Appreciation game. The Sharks had 15 sellouts last season, and only 11 in 2023-24.

The Sharks have even seen bigger crowds for their practices and morning skates at Sharks Ice. Saturday, for what could have been the team’s final morning skate in San Jose, seats were at a premium, with a long line for autographs near the rink’s entrance.

“You can tell our fans are extremely loyal, and they care, and they’re excited about what has happened this year, but probably the future as well,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Even a Tuesday practice, there are a lot of people out there watching.

“Our fans are extremely loyal and patient; those are the two words I would use.”

The Sharks, before Saturday, had a home record this season of 21-14-5, their best since going 25-11-5 in 2018-19. The Sharks went 12-27-2 at home last year.

LINEUP CHANGES

The Sharks inserted rookie forward Igor Chernyshov back into the lineup Saturday after he was a healthy scratch Thursday. He replaced Pavol Regenda, who joined fellow forwards Philipp Kurashev and Ty Dellandrea, and defenseman John Klingberg, as scratches for Saturday.

The Sharks, in a must-win game, also started goalie Yaroslav Askarov instead of Alex Nedeljkovic on Saturday.

Nedeljkovic has had better numbers since the Olympic break, going 6-5-2 with an .881 save percentage in 13 games, compared to Askarov (4-4-1, .867 save percentage), but the Sharks want Askarov to develop into their No. 1 goalie.

“And when you’re the number one goalie,” Warsofsky said, “you get these games.”