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Many fans wish for it — and some seem to demand it — but no NHL general manager is going to be perfect with their moves and decision-making. That includes San Jose’s Mike Grier, who shouldn’t be held up for GM sainthood.
In his quest to guide the Sharks toward becoming playoff contenders and, eventually, Stanley Cup threats, Grier has added Kiefer Sherwood, Mason Marchment, Michael Kesselring, Jacob Trouba and Darnell Nurse to the roster over the past seven months, much-discussed moves that may or may not have the desired impact.
But Grier has connected on a lot of his swings since he took over in 2022 and put the franchise through a necessary rebuild that included some of the worst seasons in club history. Now, after the signing of Macklin Celebrini to a landmark contract extension on Wednesday, he has the Sharks at an ideal juncture in their building process.
It is time for liftoff in San Jose.
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The clock has started for the Sharks to win, now that their future is secure with Celebrini, the 20-year-old prodigy who has become the league’s brightest young superstar in just two seasons. In this summer of monstrous contracts for young stars, the two sides agreed on something sensible. Grier indicated that he sees Celebrini as a leading man, while Celebrini didn’t push to be the NHL’s first $20 million AAV player.
With an exploding salary cap, who’s to say that Celebrini shouldn’t have been paid that much? He’s coming off a season in which he eclipsed Hall of Famer Joe Thornton by scoring the most points by a Sharks player in a single season. With 115 points, Celebrini finished fourth in voting for the Hart Trophy after nearly dragging San Jose to the playoffs, and with more seasons like that, he will remain in the Hart conversation for a long time.
Based on an extension that’ll mostly be paid out in annual bonuses, Celebrini will top $20 million in the first three years before his salary decreases, which will bring down the AAV. But he could have the “highest-paid player” throne by the time the extension kicks in to start the 2027-28 season — unless superstars Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes eclipse that. And the five-year term means the Sharks and Celebrini are betting on both to reach new heights by the time Celebrini is ready for his next contract in 2032 at age 26.
Celebrini could be this generation’s Sidney Crosby, but in a totally different financial landscape. And now it’s on Grier to put the Sharks in a yearly position to win playoff rounds and make a Cup run. In short, the clock started on Wednesday to do what the Edmonton Oilers have yet to accomplish with generational talents Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
That’s a tall task. For starters, the Oilers have in Draisaitl the type of MVP-winning running mate that Evgeni Malkin was for Crosby. The Sharks currently don’t have that player, and who knows if Will Smith, Michael Misa or Ivar Stenberg will ever be able to approach that tier.
But Grier has pretty much nailed the big stuff. Tearing down the roster was the way to go when he started the job, and he made a shrewd first draft pick with Smith at No. 4 in 2023. Bottoming out put the Sharks in position to win the Celebrini lottery in 2024. And the good fortune hasn’t ceased, as the Sharks got Misa and Stenberg with the No. 2 pick in consecutive years.
Stockpiling high picks and savvy selections later in drafts have allowed the Sharks to collect some of the best young talent in the NHL. Grier has started to utilize his asset capital to fill present needs (by acquiring Sherwood and Nurse) but has kept the system bullish with prospects (he traded William Eklund to open the door for Stenberg and to draft Keaton Verhoeff).
The Sharks are now bursting at the seams up front, and while blueliners Nurse, Trouba and Kesselring are far from perfect, they’ve got the making of an improved defense corps that could be aided by the continued growth of Sam Dickinson. And if Yaroslav Askarov irons out the inconsistencies in his game and grabs the No. 1 goalie job with a far better 2026-27 season, they’ll have their necessary backbone to go with their unquestioned leader in Celebrini. Sending Tomáš Hertl to Vegas was part of a Grier trade tree that landed Askarov from the Nashville Predators.
Could the contracts for Trouba and Sherwood not age gracefully? Absolutely. Could Nurse fail to lift the Sharks on the back end after a long, bumpy ride with the Oilers? Sure. Could Askarov flame out? Possibly. And if any of that happens, that will be part of Grier’s track record and will be worth critiquing.
The Sharks also aren’t at the point at which Grier is making a trade to improve their playoff chances. But they’re expecting that time to come, perhaps by this next spring. That’s the plan now, and they’ve got Celebrini as their eventual captain driving the ship with a five-year pathway toward putting together a championship-quality team. They’ve got the Smith extension now on deck, and there will be players such as Misa, Dickinson and Stenberg to re-sign down the line, but they’ll have Logan Couture’s $8 million cap number come off the books — plus the contracts of Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow expiring over the next two years. Buyout money for Martin Jones and Marc-Edouard Vlasic also will cease.
After a 34-point improvement in the standings last season and a near-miss surprise postseason berth, it is time for Grier and the so-called team of the future to match the ascent of Celebrini and be on his level. Every move Grier makes going forward won’t work out, but the Sharks continue to be in good hands.
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LATROBE, Pa. — On the final play of Mike McCarthy’s first training camp practice, he put the ball in Drew Allar’s hand. The rookie quarterback ripped the ball up the seam, hitting tight end Robert Tonyan in stride on a post route for a 14-yard touchdown. It was a nice exclamation point to close out a final segment of practice focused on the two-minute drill and last-second situations, something that’s a major point of emphasis under McCarthy.
“Football comes down to situational awareness and execution, especially in two-minute,” said Allar, who also threw an interception on a deflected pass during a seven-on-seven segment. “Coach McCarthy had a stat that around half of our games are going to come down to a two-minute drive, whether it’s us on offense or the defense is up on the field. As an offense, we’ve got to find ways to execute.”
During a lighter, unpadded Day 1 at Saint Vincent College, the quarterback rotation began to come into focus. McCarthy said on Monday that Mason Rudolph will start with the second team and Will Howard and Drew Allar will split the third-team reps. He clarified on Tuesday that the depth chart is more fluid than he initially let on. Rodgers will likely get 40-50 percent of the snaps during camp. Rudolph will be next up in the rotation, but all of the other QBs will get their opportunities.
“As we distribute the other reps, it will be pretty balanced,” McCarthy said.
The final moments of practice showed what he means. Usually, the first and second QBs get the opportunities in the two-minute drill. That was the case on Tuesday.
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The Steelers put 1:14 on the clock and placed the ball on 35-yard line. Rodgers completed a pair of passes to pick up a first down, but the drive stalled there. Rudolph, meanwhile, looked sharp. He completed six of his eight passes during the segment to lead the team into field-goal range. His only misfires came on a pass slightly behind running back Kaleb Johnson that was broken up by inside linebacker Carson Bruener, and a deep ball on the final play that fell incomplete. Howard and Allar did not have a chance in the two-minute segment.
“I love getting any reps I can get,” Rudolph said. “That’s how I treated it my whole career. Any rep you can get in an NFL training camp is special. You work so hard for those all offseason your whole life, but I’ve never cared whether it’s two’s, three’s, four’s. Treating the rep like it’s a game rep is the most important thing.”
The next situation: 45 seconds on the clock and the ball on the 40. Rodgers completed two short passes and then, with time running out, checked the ball down ahead of a wave of defenders. The offensive players lateraled it several times before they were stopped well short of the end zone.
In the same situation, the Steelers used an interesting rotation: Rudolph got the first-down snap, Howard took the second-down snap and Allar got the ball on third-down.
The Steelers ended practice with a handful of last-second situations on the fringe of the red zone. Rodgers threw incomplete on all three plays, with inside linebacker Patrick Queen logging a pair of pass breakups. Rudolph and Howard then threw incomplete for the end zone before Allar’s touchdown. While this is the pecking order as camp begins, Rudolph acknowledged he’ll need to work to keep it this way.
“There’s always competition,” Rudolph said. “That’s no different this year. I’m worried about learning this new offense and being efficient and taking the things that Coach McCarthy’s taught us all spring.”
With Porter out, Samuel steps forward
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who is entering the final year of his rookie deal and seeking a new contract, was present for practice but not in uniform as he begins camp on the physically unable to perform list. McCarthy said that “something flared up” for Porter after Monday’s mobility workout. While McCarthy didn’t identify the ailment, a team source said Porter reported a back issue. McCarthy did not have a timeline for a return.
With Porter and fellow defensive back Jalen Ramsey (knee) sidelined on the PUP list, Brandin Echols got the first-team reps in the base defense at outside corner. When the Steelers went to nickel, Echols bumped inside to the “Star” position (nickel corner) and Asante Samuel Jr. took snaps at outside corner.
Samuel and Echols are two of the defensive backs vying to become the first DB off the bench in a variety of situations. Samuel, in particular, ended his day on a high note. During Rodgers’ two-minute drill, he made a pair of plays. He stepped in front of Michael Pittman Jr. to break up a first-down flat route. Later, on third down, Samuel ran stride-for-stride with DK Metcalf to break up a well-placed deep ball, producing one of the highlights of Day 1.
Elsewhere in the secondary, safety DeShon Elliott watched 11-on-11 drills from a distance behind the defense. Darnell Savage stepped in as the post safety, signaling he could be the next man up on the depth chart. Elliott, who endured a season-ending injury last year, did work in individual periods and some seven-on-seven segments.
Broderick Jones at lines up on the left side
2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones, who underwent spinal fusion surgery in the offseason, was a full participant during the unpadded practice. He took the second-team reps at left tackle.
The first-team offensive line did not change from OTAs, with Troy Fautanu at left tackle, Mason McCormick at left guard, Zach Frazier at center, Spencer Anderson at right guard and Dylan Cook at right tackle.
The rest of the second-team offensive line featured: Brock Hoffman at left guard, Ryan McCollum at center, Steven Jones at right guard and rookie Max Iheanachor at right tackle. Iheanachor, the first-round pick, did get a handful of first-team reps, as well. The other rookie lineman, Gennings Dunker, began with the third team at right guard.
Wide receiver rotation
As anticipated, Roman Wilson got the overwhelming majority of WR3 reps in 11 personnel (three receivers). In some instances, the Steelers put Wilson and rookie Germie Bernard on the field together, with Bernard playing outside and Wilson in the slot.
Rodgers was extremely complimentary of Wilson on Monday and said he expects him to have a strong camp. McCarthy echoed that on Tuesday.
“Both those guys, they’ve shown in the spring they can play all three positions. That’s what I’m looking for,” McCarthy said. “If you watch the practices as a whole throughout the the OTAs, Roman not only did a great job over the top, because he had some big plays, but running the option routes underneath and the big crosses and things like that. That’s that’s what we need.
“When you’re a one-trick pony, you may get away with it for a year, but these defenses and the players and how people can match up, they’ll take that away from you. So versatility is critical.”
During several first-team segments, a somewhat surprising player got meaningful snaps: Wide receiver Brandon Smith. The 6-1, 218 pound wideout is 27 years old and has spent time on several practice squads. He has three career games (all with the Jets) on his resume. It remains to be seen if he can truly enter the conversation for the 53-man roster or if the Steelers are simply in an evaluation period.
McCarthy’s first message
Before practice, McCarthy spent some time talking to his players about the identity of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the city of Pittsburgh.
“I think the the parallels, the comparables are incredible,” he said. “Growing up here, I can refer to some of the some of the stories from the past — the steel industry, how it relates to the game of football. So I just had a little bit of nostalgia, just trying to get the heart rate going a little bit.”
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Yankee Stadium, New York City
Technically known as New Yankee Stadium to distinguish itself from the original ground, Yankee Stadium is most famous for hosting the baseball giants New York Yankees.
Opened in 2009, it holds 28,743 people for soccer matches, though that can be expanded to 47,309, which is roughly the capacity for baseball as well.
It is based in the Bronx, the northernmost borough of NYC.
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