Really good read from this weekend from Ben Pope at the Chicago Sun-Times looking at the current directions of the front offices in Chicago and San Jose. The Blackhawks and Sharks play Monday night, so I thought it was worth both a bump and some additional discussion.
The parallels between the Blackhawks and Sharks run deep. Both Mike Grier and Kyle Davidson were named the permanent general managers of their respective clubs in 2022. And, as Pope writes, both teams went with the burn-it-down approach to their respective rebuilds.
At this point, the Sharks are closer to the playoffs at this immediate moment — and appear to be pushing their chips in to go for it. The Blackhawks are still bringing their prospects along, with more expected to matriculate to the NHL level in the coming months.
So what’s the biggest difference between the two teams in the NHL standings at this immediate moment?
As Pope notes, “the Sharks and Hawks entered the day with the same number of regulation victories: 16. The difference between them stems entirely from overtime/shootout success … The Sharks are 11-4 in games that go beyond regulation; the Hawks are 5-9.”
Here’s part of what Pope wrote about the two franchises’ outlooks before this season’s trade deadline:
Now Grier has pushed the Sharks into the sweepstakes for Rangers star Artemi Panarin, a 34-year-old forward who likely would require the equivalent of multiple first-round picks (in either pick or prospect form) to acquire.
Hawks GM Kyle Davidson, on the other hand, is not about to begin parting with any future assets for short-term additions. He will be a seller, as usual, before the trade deadline, especially because he needs to move out a couple of veterans to clear late-season roster spots for prospects such as Anton Frondell and Nick Lardis.
Let’s dig a little deeper into the current picture for both of these building franchises.
The Centerpieces
Connor Bedard vs. Macklin Celebrini. They were back-to-back No. 1 overall picks in 2023 and 2024, respectively. All the way back in mid-July I wrote about the way the national/league-wide narratives were noticeably leaning in San Jose’s favor. That has not changed. But the play of both Celebrini and the Sharks have supported some of the discourse this season.
As Pope wrote:
Celebrini entered Saturday fourth in the NHL scoring race with 79 points in 52 games, while Bedard’s shoulder injury and post-injury slump have limited him to 52 points in 42 games. Bedard actually held a 44-43 lead in points after each had played 31 games, but their seasons have diverged in the last two months.
The second half of that paragraph is important, though. Before his shoulder injury, Bedard was near the top of the league’s leaderboards with Celebrini. We need to keep that in mind.
Pope echoes the sentiments I wrote about the Bedard-Celebrini “rivalry” back during the summer.
Regardless, the Bedard vs. Macklin Celebrini debate appears destined to live on for many years. If things pan out as planned for both organizations, it has the potential to dominate the Western Conference conversation throughout the 2020s and 2030s in the same way Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin did in the Eastern Conference throughout the 2000s and 2010s.
Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn ImagesDefensive Difference
I will note one of the significant differences between the current situations for San Jose and Chicago is blue line depth. When Davidson took over as the permanent general manager in Chicago in 2022, he inherited a pipeline that already included Alex Vlasic (2019 draft), Wyatt Kaiser and Louis Crevier (2020), Nolan Allan and Ethan Del Mastro (2021). Davidson selected Kevin Korchinski with his first pick as the GM, and came back with Sam Rinzel later in the first round of the 2022 NHL Draft.
Three of the defensemen Davidson inherited have been every-night contributors for the Blackhawks this season. Rinzel and Artyom Levshunov — selected immediately following Celebrini in 2024 — have seen their ups and downs in the NHL this season. Rinzel has spent a couple months in the AHL as well this year. But the young blue line the Blackhawks have built is already being realized at the NHL level to an extent.
Between 2019-22, the Sharks selected only two defensemen in the first two rounds of the NHL draft: Artemi Kniazev (second round in 2019) and Mattias Havelid (second round in 2022). They have appeared in one NHL game combined to date. The Sharks selected two defensemen in 2024 — Sam Dickinson (first round) and Leo Sahlin-Wallenius (second round) — who appear to be strong players.
Because of their relatively thin pipeline on the blue line, San Jose has been forced to add defensemen via trade and free agency. The Sharks have traded for defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin, Vincent Desharnais, Timothy Liljegren. They have signed Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov. And they claimed Nick Leddy off waivers from the Blues.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn ImagesGoaltending
If the Sharks are ahead of the Blackhawks with their forwards and the Chicago has collected more young defensemen than San Jose, the ultimate difference might come between the pipes. And both clubs have a very good young netminder to build around in the coming years. And both teams added their future No. 1 goalie via trade.
Chicago is ahead of San Jose between the pipes since the Spencer Knight acquisition last year. He’s been exceptional this year as the Blackhawks’ No. 1 netminder. The Blackhawks have already locked him up with a three-year, $17,499,999 contract extension ($5,833,333 cap hit).
The Sharks, meanwhile, acquired Yaroslav Askarov in August of 2024. Askarov is only one year younger than Knight, but comes with a similarly high pedigree and expectations. His initial run in San Jose wasn’t great, but he’s been better this season. He still has a save percentage under .900 in 33 appearances this season, however.
The Bottom Line
The Sharks have spent money and resources to fill their blue line and goaltending depth charts. Their forwards are taking big steps forward, which gives them an opportunity to potentially look to bring in a big ticket name to help them get into the playoffs earlier than anticipated.
The Blackhawks have invested more draft capital in recent years in stocking a pipeline with talent that’s starting to come to the NHL level in waves. The Blackhawks were able to fix their goaltending situation without giving up picks. They’ve improved their draft capital by bringing in veterans who have helped the NHL teams and improved their own individual value as well.
Here’s where the biggest difference is between the two clubs in the short-term future (that might impact the long-term picture as well): the draft assets owned of the two teams is drastically different.
The Sharks have two picks in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft (like the Blackhawks) and their own first-round picks the next two years. But they don’t have a third in 2026, they don’t have picks in the second or third rounds in 2027 and have only two picks in the first five rounds in 2028.
PuckPedia says the Sharks have future pick value of 124.11.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, currently own five picks in the first two rounds of the 2026 NHL Draft (two firsts, three seconds). They have their own first-round picks the two following years, like the Sharks. But the Hawks have two picks in the second round in 2027 and an extra fourth-round pick in 2028, giving them five picks in the first rounds in both 2027 and 2028.
PuckPedia says the Blackhawks have future pick value of 281.24.
Are the Sharks ahead of the Blackhawks at this immediate moment? Yes. But we won’t know which rebuild is truly “better” for another decade.
The fun part: these two teams should be competing against each other for Western Conference playoff wins for the next 10+ years.
The Blackhawks and Sharks' rebuilds are starting to diverge.Mike Grier has shifted into "buyer" mode, ready to sacrifice future assets for the present. Kyle Davidson definitely has not.New story comparing where the two organizations stand: t.co/4eryG8mRKL
— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 31, 2026Hence then, the article about let s talk about the current states of the blackhawks and sharks rebuilds was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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