The San Jose Sharks announced their schedule for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday morning. There will be quite a few interesting games to keep an eye on this season, whether it’s due to storylines surrounding the game or one of the Sharks’ many promotional nights.
First off, the Sharks announced a total of 11 promotional nights.
While the NHL will host regular season games starting on October 7, Sharks fans will have to wait a couple of more days. Opening night will be against the Vegas Golden Knights, and their newest addition Mitch Marner, on October 9. Then they’ll have a WWE-themed collaboration against the Anaheim Ducks on October 11, and the annual Los Tiburones Night will take place against Erik Karlsson and the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 18.
Next, the Sharks will have three promotional nights within a week in late November. Against the Senators on the 22nd, they’ll have Sharkpop x Anime Night. Next Gen Night will be against the Boston Bruins three days later. Lastly, on the 28th, Youth Hockey Appreciation Night will see the revival of Ryan Reaves’ rivalry with Evander Kane as the Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks.
After a month without any promotions in December, the Sharks have three in January. They’ll start with the San Jose Earthquakes Bay Area Unite on the 5th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then it’ll be First Responders Appreciation Night on the 10th against the Dallas Stars, and lastly, the 49ers Bay Area Unite game will be against the New York Rangers on the 25th.
The final two promotions will be Educators Appreciation Night on February 28 against the Edmonton Oilers, and the annual Fan Appreciation Night on April 11, the final home game of the season, against the Canucks once again.
Now that we’ve gotten the promotional nights out of the way, let’s take a look at some games that will be surrounded by some important storylines.
First, if Michael Misa makes the Sharks roster, there could be the first battle of the top picks in the 2025 NHL Draft on October 21 as the team in teal will visit Matthew Schaefer and the New York Islanders at UBS Arena. The rival Los Angeles Kings will then make their first appearance in the Bay Area a week later on October 28.
The back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will make their only appearance in San Jose on November 8. Looking ahead to December, Alexander Ovechkin will be at SAP Center for the first time since breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record last season when the Washington Capitals visit on December 3.
Dmitry Orlov will return to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the first time since leaving the Carolina Hurricanes organization, on December 7. Meanwhile, there will be two more revenge games when Ryan Reaves returns to Toronto on December 11 before Alex Nedeljkovic returns to Pittsburgh for the first time two days later on the 13th.
Jeff Skinner and John Klingberg will head to their former stomping grounds, Rogers Place in Edmonton, for the first time on January 29, just a few days before Philipp Kurashev faces off against his old linemate Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on February 2.
The Sharks and the rest of the NHL will take a break from February 11-22 as the league sends its players to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade. Action at the SAP Center will resume on February 26 as the Sharks host the Calgary Flames.
The aforementioned Schaefer will make his first-ever trip to the Bay on March 7, when Patrick Roy and the Islanders come to town.
Adam Gaudette and Nick Leddy will have to wait quite a while to visit their old homes, as the Sharks will head to Canada’s capital in a matinee affair on March 15. Then, nearly two weeks later, Leddy will visit the team that placed him on waivers, the St. Louis Blues, on the 26th. Henry Thrun will return to the SAP Center for the first time since being traded to the Maple Leafs on April 2.
The Sharks will finish the regular season with a three-game road trip as they head to Nashville, Chicago, and Winnipeg, with the final game set to be played on April 16.
There will certainly be a lot to keep an eye on this coming season, and more storylines will certainly come up as the season progresses. Over the course of the seven-month season, we’ll undoubtedly see players make their NHL debuts, unexpected homecoming games as players are traded away and acquired, and of course, once we know how good, or bad, this Sharks team will be, there will be games with major implications in the standings and for the draft lottery.
Although it seems as though hockey is far away, Sharks fans have less than three months until regular season hockey starts up again.
Photo Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
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