Why Sharks’ Michael Kesselring trade is perfect start to their offseason

The San Jose Sharks missed the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they were in the race right up until the end of the season. The Sharks have a franchise cornerstone in Macklin Celebrini. They just need to build around him and give him support all over the ice. On Wednesday, San Jose began this process by trading for Michael Kesselring in a deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

Kesselring spent just one season in Buffalo after being acquired in a trade with the Utah Mammoth last summer. The 26-year-old defenseman was limited to just 34 games as a member of the Sabres due to injury. He did not score a goal with Buffalo, and only managed two assists.

This trade also has implications for the 2026 NHL Draft coming up next week. In this deal, the Sharks acquired the 27th overall pick from the Sabres. In exchange, Buffalo acquired the 20th overall pick. The 20th overall pick was originally owned by the Edmonton Oilers, who traded it to San Jose last season as part of the Jake Walman trade.

There is a lot that can be said about this trade already. The draft implications are intriguing enough, considering that San Jose could move either this pick or the second overall pick they earned through the NHL Draft Lottery. Of course, the more immediate impact will be provided by Kesselring, who is a restricted free agent.

With no further ado, let’s take a deeper dive and look at why the Sharks started off on the right foot by trading for Michael Kesselring.

Sharks needed NHL defenseman in the worst way

The Sharks had an experienced blueline in 2025-26, and that certainly helped them make a push for the postseason. San Jose also has some intriguing young defensemen waiting in the wings. However, their immediate situation on defense looked rather strange.

Before trading for Kesselring, the Sharks only had three defenseman under contract who projected to crack the NHL roster. One of them — veteran Dmitry Orlov — is a free agent next summer. While Kesselring has not signed an extension with the Sharks, San Jose now has another defender who can be apart of the long-term plans for San Jose.

This certainly will not be San Jose’s only move for a defenseman. They need to add at least two more to pad out the depth on the blueline. But at the cost of moving down seven spots in the draft, this is certainly a good deal for the Sharks.

Michael Kesselring has upside, fits San Jose’s timeline

One aspect that works for San Jose is Kesselring’s trajectory. At 26 years old, he still has room to grow and develop as a player. Moreover, he has shown flashes of being an offensively capable defenseman in the past. He put up a career high 29 points with the Mammoth prior to the trade to Buffalo. And before the relocation to Utah, he put up another 20+ points in 2023-24 with the Arizona Coyotes.

There is a good player in there, without a doubt. Kesselring needs to have a cleaner bill of health in 2026-27 than he did this past season. If he can get that, he is undoubtedly the sort of puck-moving defenseman the Sharks could use in their top-four.

The Sharks are also not under a ton of pressure to make the playoffs in 2027. It would certainly be a promising development for this young team. However, San Jose can get away with building more of a foundation in 2027 before truly beginning to go for it in 2028. This sort of low-pressure environment not only helps Kesselring but also puts him in sync with San Jose’s contention timeline.

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