The San Jose Sharks are looking to build around young star Macklin Celebrini, in the years ahead. This offseason, the Sharks may be losing one of their key players. Defenseman Mario Ferraro is expected to test free agency, per a SportsNet report.
Ferraro and the Sharks had been involved in talks, to possibly extend his contract. It appears that at this point there hasn’t been progress in those talks, per Pro Hockey Rumors.
The defenseman has played a lot of games in the NHL. During the 2025-26 season, he posted a career-high 23 points for the Sharks.
“An additional factor aiding Ferraro’s case in free agency is his experience. While he has not yet played in the playoffs in his career, Ferraro has handled a top-four, if not top-pairing workload for a half-decade. His average time-on-ice per game for his career is 21:14, but that’s weighed down by his rookie season, when he averaged just 15:53 per game. From 2020-21 through this past season, Ferraro has averaged 22:00 time on ice per game,” Pro Hockey Rumors reported.
Ferraro has become a fan favorite in San Jose, as he has spent his entire career there. It is estimated that the team would be able to hold onto him.
“San Jose has more than enough cap space to afford to match any offer made to Ferraro in free agency. PuckPedia projects the Sharks to have nearly $42MM in cap space this summer,” the outlet added.
In his career in California, Ferraro has appeared in 490 games. He has posted 114 points in his NHL career.
The Sharks finished the 2025-26 season with 86 points. San Jose nearly made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but didn’t qualify for the postseason.
The San Jose Sharks are looking to build around young star Macklin Celebrini, in the years ahead. This offseason, the Sharks may be losing one of their key players. Defenseman Mario Ferraro is expected to test free agency, per a SportsNet report. Ferraro and the Sharks had been involved in talks, to possibly extend his contract.