2025 NHL Draft: Lose a ton for Porter Martone

[weastern bias]

Just need to make sure we don't accidentally win too much to end up picking 5 or 6. Its the biggest reason I'm on team Trade Granlund.

We REALLY don't need to be worried about winning too many games, this team is awful

The best team we've beaten this year is Los Angeles, a team that is not a lock for a playoff spot, we needed a miracle comeback to beat Utah and a miracle goaltending performance to beat Columbus, we won "4 of 5" in a literal sense but in actuality it was largely a mirage

We're finishing 32nd again folks, we're picking top-3, do not panic

 

[cheechoo]

We REALLY don't need to be worried about winning too many games, this team is awful

The best team we've beaten this year is Los Angeles, a team that is not a lock for a playoff spot, we needed a miracle comeback to beat Utah and a miracle goaltending performance to beat Columbus, we won "4 of 5" in a literal sense but in actuality it was largely a mirage

We're finishing 32nd again folks, we're picking top-3, do not panic

We are really bad, but it feels like the competition for sucking has really increased this season.

I don't expect Nashville to still be there in a few months, but Montreal/Philadelphia/Chicago are horror-bad and then you still have Anaheim/Pittsburgh/Seattle as wildcard bottom three contenders.

I'm happy to walk away from the draft with a top three pick though, any of Hagens or Schaefer or Martone will do, personally.

 

[weastern bias]

We are really bad, but it feels like the competition for sucking has really increased this season.

I don't expect Nashville to still be there in a few months, but Montreal/Philadelphia/Chicago are horror-bad and then you still have Anaheim/Pittsburgh/Seattle as wildcard bottom three contenders.

I'm happy to walk away from the draft with a top three pick though, any of Hagens or Schaefer or Martone will do, personally.

None of these teams have the barren wasteland on the back end that we do outside of arguably Montreal

Jake Walman is a second pair player at best and look how much trouble we have getting out of our own zone as soon as he he's out of the lineup, we have 3 NHL caliber Dmen in the lineup when healthy if Ferraro continues to play this poorly and none of them are top pairing quality, a single injury turns us into nearly an AHL team on the blue line

There are some really bad teams in the league this year, we are still the cream of the crap

 

[cheechoo]

None of these teams have the barren wasteland on the back end that we do outside of arguably Montreal

Jake Walman is a second pair player at best and look how much trouble we have getting out of our own zone as soon as he he's out of the lineup, we have 3 NHL caliber Dmen in the lineup when healthy if Ferraro continues to play this poorly and none of them are top pairing quality, a single injury turns us into nearly an AHL team on the blue line

There are some really bad teams in the league this year, we are still the cream of the crap

True, it's taken some pretty anomalous situations for us to even escape the basement standings wise.

A couple of weeks ago I was preemptively queing up for McKenna in 2026 and Dupont in 2027.

 

[DG93]

True, it's taken some pretty anomalous situations for us to even escape the basement standings wise.

A couple of weeks ago I was preemptively queing up for McKenna in 2026 and Dupont in 2027.

If the Sharks are still in contention for #1 overall pick in 2027 as Celebrini/Smith's ELCs are expiring, that's a huge problem. That's also how you become a perennial loser like Buffalo, Anaheim, and Columbus. Getting a top-4 pick this year is a given, and they will likely pick top-10 in 2026 as well, but you want to see an upward trajectory starting next year (ie from top-3 pick to more so top-10) and beyond.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

If the Sharks are still in contention for #1 overall pick in 2027 as Celebrini/Smith's ELCs are expiring, that's a huge problem. That's also how you become a perennial loser like Buffalo, Anaheim, and Columbus. Getting a top-4 pick this year is a given, and they will likely pick top-10 in 2026 as well, but you want to see an upward trajectory starting next year (ie from top-3 pick to more so top-10) and beyond.

Until we have some clear long term direction on the blue line, I expect us to stay in this level of the standings for the foreseeable future. I like kids like Cagnoni, Dickinson, Mukhamadullin, Thompson, and Thrun (even with his struggles). Even Furlong is off to a solid pro start. I have a hard time envisioning these guys as top guys on defense though. I don't even know if Schaefer will be that kind of guy. But even if they are it could be many years down the line past 2027. I don't know where Grier intends to snag a couple of anchors for the defense but that's the path forward towards improving in the standings. I think the forwards will come along as the years go. I think Askarov will be a reliable starter. That blue line though is still at ground zero for now.

 

[cheechoo]

If the Sharks are still in contention for #1 overall pick in 2027 as Celebrini/Smith's ELCs are expiring, that's a huge problem. That's also how you become a perennial loser like Buffalo, Anaheim, and Columbus. Getting a top-4 pick this year is a given, and they will likely pick top-10 in 2026 as well, but you want to see an upward trajectory starting next year (ie from top-3 pick to more so top-10) and beyond.

I'm just expressing how desolate and bleak it felt to start the season 0-7-2 in our first 9.

We still aren't good and as it stands I'd expect us to hover bottom ~5 in 2026 but with increased signs of our core pillars establishing themselves more and more from the season prior. Natural progression from Askarov, Smith, Mukhamadullin (please), Cagnoni, Graf etc should aid in the steady climb of the standings.

Last place in the league territory again in '25-'26 would be regression.

Hopefully bottom ~10 in 2027, and then with an established core in place + a couple more shrewd veteran additions to increase levels along the margins, challenging for a wildcard or a Pacific playoff spot by 2028.

 

[cheechoo]

Until we have some clear long term direction on the blue line, I expect us to stay in this level of the standings for the foreseeable future. I like kids like Cagnoni, Dickinson, Mukhamadullin, Thompson, and Thrun (even with his struggles). Even Furlong is off to a solid pro start. I have a hard time envisioning these guys as top guys on defense though. I don't even know if Schaefer will be that kind of guy. But even if they are it could be many years down the line past 2027. I don't know where Grier intends to snag a couple of anchors for the defense but that's the path forward towards improving in the standings. I think the forwards will come along as the years go. I think Askarov will be a reliable starter. That blue line though is still at ground zero for now.

I'd add Pohlkamp to the list.

He's development has gone about as well as you could have hoped for since being taken in the 5th round.

WJC D+1, fantastic debut season at Bemidji State as essentially the youngest player on his team and in the conference.

Transferred to NCAA champs Denver and not only integrated seamlessly but so much more. He's thriving.

But yea, years down the line.

 

[LilLeeroy]

I'd add Pohlkamp to the list.

He's development has gone about as well as you could have hoped for since being taken in the 5th round.

WJC D+1, fantastic debut season at Bemidji State as essentially the youngest player on his team and in the conference.

Transferred to NCAA champs Denver and not only integrated seamlessly but so much more. He's thriving.

But yea, years down the line.

Last year was technically his D+2 year since he went undrafted in his draft year.

 

[weastern bias]

Unless someone overachieves we don't have a single potential #1D prospect in the organization and it's the biggest hole we have

Even Dickinson would need to exceed expectations to be a truly foundational defenseman, the hope for him is to be a top-pair guy but he doesn't necessarily appear to have #1D potential

Until we have someone on the team who can carry a top pair at a respectable level we shouldn't expect the team to approach competitive play, it's so incredibly damaging to the entire roster to have your defenseman overexposed every single shift of every game, we need at least the facsimile of a top pair to push everyone else down so they can play at a level to which they are more reasonably suited

Even if we draft a generational D man they usually take a few years to round into form, unless we trade for a #1D people should expect that we're going to continue to be really bad for a good few years to come, I think 2030 is a reasonable expectation to hope to challenge for the playoffs again