Celebrini or Bust? Sharks Will Know If Embarrassing Season Worth It on May 7

The future of the San Jose Sharks starts on May 7.

That’s when the 2024 Draft Lottery will be broadcast on ESPN, likely during a playoff game’s intermission. The final time hasn’t been announced yet.

The San Jose Sharks have not one, but two potentially franchise-altering stakes in the lottery.

The Sharks, the worst team in the NHL this season, have the best odds to win the No. 1 pick. If they don’t get the first-overall pick, they can drop no further than No. 3 in the 2024 Draft.

Macklin Celebrini is the consensus No. 1 pick, a franchise center who has drawn favorable comparisons to three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews. There’s thought to be a drop-off after Celebrini, in terms of the caliber of prospect.

According to Tankathon, the Sharks have a 25.5 percent chance for the No. 1 pick – the Chicago Blackhawks, the second-worst team in the league, have a 13.5 percent shot. San Jose has an 18.8 percent chance at No. 2 and 55.7 percent for No. 3.

Besides their own pick, the San Jose Sharks are likely to have another first-round selection from the lottery.

The Sharks acquired the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2024 first-round pick in the Erik Karlsson trade this past summer. It’s top-10 protected, meaning if the selection ends up in the top-10 of the 2024 Draft, GM Kyle Dubas will have the option of keeping the pick, and conveying the Pens’ 2025 first-round pick, albeit unprotected, to GM Mike Grier. Dubas will have 72 hours to decide after the lottery.

That’s an unlikely scenario though.

Pittsburgh, as the 14th-worst team in the NHL, has a 94.7 percent chance at having the 14th-overall pick of the 2024 Draft.

So likely, the San Jose Sharks will have both a top-three selection and the No. 14 pick of the 2024 Draft, which will be held on Jun. 28 and 29 in Las Vegas.