SAN JOSE — Sharks general manager Mike Grier spent the last four years preaching heaviness like a street-corner evangelist.
Thursday, his vision came to life.
In front of a sold-out, raucous Tank, the Sharks took the Florida Panthers — the reigning standard of NHL heavyweight hockey — by the collar, beat them across the mouth for 40 minutes, and then, after a few well-placed and predictable counter-punches, gutted out a 4-3 overtime win.
Is it merely game No. 1 of what is now an 84-game regular-season schedule? Yes.
But it was also a moment of truth for a team that, for the first time since before the pandemic, enters the season with legitimate expectations.
It was a moment four years in the making.
When Grier first took over in the summer of 2022, he had to tear the team down to the studs. It wasn’t easy, but he did it.
Then he had to bring in the talent — the kinds of kids with the slick mitts and hawk vision that can change a game with a single shift. He did that, too.
But all along the way, the goal was to also have the kind of brawn that can play the brand of hockey the Western Conference, in particular, demands.
The kind of size and toughness that has made the Panthers — yes, I know they’re in the East — two-time Stanley Cup champions and the odds-on favorites to win it again this year.
One game? Sure. But there was only one reasonable concision to Thursday’s season opener win: “Grier pulled it off.”
The Sharks played their heaviest brand of hockey in nearly a decade Thursday.
They didn’t just match Florida’s trademark brand of petulance and heft; they made the Panthers look pedestrian for two full periods.
San Jose, dare I say, pushed them around.
And they scrapped any chance they could.
Was it pretty? No games with the Panthers ever are.
Was it a bit undisciplined? Perhaps.
Then again, Florida is always poking and talking to the devil on your shoulder. They bring the chaos out of you. I know the rats they throw on the ice after goals well proceeded this iteration of the Cats, but boy, are they fitting mascots.
Yes, the Panthers bait you into the gutter, and the Sharks took the invitation because they’re finally equipped to fight back and had something to prove in Game No. 1.
That said, the Sharks spent more than 10 minutes in the game on the penalty kill. That won’t play moving forward.
At the same time, it’s hard to care too much about it. That’s not the reason they almost lost this game.
The Sharks’ penalty kill was excellent, and Yaroslav Askarov was stellar between the pipes when the rink was tilting, especially during the second period where he robbed multiple point-blank chances shorthanded.
All the while, Zack Ostapchuk, Barclay Goodrow, Colin Graf, Kiefer Sherwood, and newcomers Mason Marchment and Darnell Nurse, played like high-speed crash-test dummies with composite sticks.
That was Grier’s blueprint. If you come into San Jose, you’re leaving black and blue and perhaps a little teal, too.
Of course, the third period proved there’s still plenty of learning left for this young, still-gelling team. This isn’t a finished product yet.
The Sharks coughed up two goals to see the game tied in a 17-second span. Florida leaned on them and exposed a young roster’s bad habit of exhaling early.
These Sharks were able to get in the last laugh, though.
Up front, Macklin Celebrini remains a supernova. You don’t need any deeper analysis. We’re all witnessing one of the all-time greats at the ground floor of his should-be incredible career.
But last year was the Mack Show in the South Bay. If he wasn’t the best player on the ice, the Sharks didn’t stand a chance. You can still see some of that, with the Sharks over-passing Thursday to get Celebrini the puck in the attacking zone.
Of course, Celebrini was the best player on the ice Thursday, but he was hardly alone in looking like a star.
Will Smith was immense from start to finish, dishing saucy setups and asserting himself on nearly every shift.
He’ll still do things that land him in coach Ryan Warsofky’s doghouse, but he is magic with the puck on his stick, and the fact that he’s a late-stage penalty killer (as is Celebrini, who is, unsurprisingly, a natural at the job) for this team shows his growth as a 200-foot player.
Rookie and recent No. 2 overall pick Ivar Stenberg delivered flashes of future brilliance. They were small, but noticeable.
Former No. 2 overall pick Michael Misa brought some spark, too.
Both are still learning on the job, but unlike in years past, the Sharks’ developing stars are better insulated.
Insulated by guys like defenseman Nolan Allan — a sneaky (and physically imposing) pickup for Grier midway through last season who played in the AHL upon arrival in San Jose — who played far more good hockey than bad on the blue line Thursday. Insulated by Nurse, who set the physical tone for this game early. Insulated by a team that can legitimately roll four lines these days.
It was all enough to keep the Sharks in the game after the Panthers’ big push.
Then came the third period and overtime when rookie defenseman Luca Cagnoni stole the spotlight.
Cagnoni made this team to anchor the top power-play unit as a puck-mover, but he was brilliant in even-strength play late in the contest, reading lanes and winning board battles with veteran poise that far exceeded his experience (less than 160 minutes of NHL ice time coming into Thursday) and his size (5-foot-9, 180 pounds, presumably after a big meal and a rainstorm).
It was only fitting he buried the game-winner in overtime, ending a wild night with a dagger.
Yes, there are 83 games left, but Thursday’s win felt bigger than that, because the Sharks played bigger than we’ve seen in a long, long time.
This was supposed to be the season the Sharks quietly dipped a toe into the playoff waters.
But if they, indeed, have the muscle, the speed, the skill, the composure, and the swagger they showed Thursday, they could cannonball straight into the deep end come spring.
San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) is congratulated by San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) and San Jose Sharks’ Nolan Allan (5) on his short-handed goal against the Florida Panthers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Florida Panthers’ Niko Mikkola (77) was called for a roughing penalty against San Jose Sharks’ Kiefer Sherwood (44) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (30) makes a save against the Florida Panthers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) celebrates a goal by San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) against the Florida Panthers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
A San Jose Sharks fan cheers during their game against the Florida Panthers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow (23) scuffles with Florida Panthers’ Seth Jones (3) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Mason Marchment (27), second from right, is congratulated on this goal against the Florida Panthers in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks’ Luca Cagnoni (42) celebrates his game winning goal against the Florida Panthers in the overtime period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks mascot S.J. Sharkie waves a flag after their 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers in the overtime period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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San Jose Sharks’ Will Smith (2) is congratulated by San Jose Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini (71) and San Jose Sharks’ Nolan Allan (5) on his short-handed goal against the Florida Panthers in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)