The Sharks decided they needed Wennberg, but what about other pending UFAs?

SAN JOSE – Once he learned that Alexander Wennberg and the San Jose Sharks were in discussions about a contract extension, Macklin Celebrini kept asking his fellow centerman about when the new deal would be done.

“We’ve been talking for a bit now. I’ve been hounding him when he’s going to sign,” Celebrini said Monday. “I’m just excited that he’s staying for three more years.”

Wennberg had been one of the Sharks’ most prominent pending unrestricted free agents until the two sides came together on a three-year, $18 million extension, finalized on Sunday.

Now it’s a matter of how many other pending UFAs are offered deals by the Sharks — or can reach agreements with the team — in the coming weeks before the NHL’s trade deadline in March.

“It feels like (Wennberg’s signing) is a step forward trying to keep the team together as much as possible,” said Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli, who is signed through the 2027-28 season. “Who knows what happens the rest of the year, but obviously he’s a huge part of our team.”

Certainly, general manager Mike Grier has some decisions to make, if he hasn’t made them already.

The Sharks have several other players, including five defensemen, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The most high-profile pending UFAs include defensemen Mario Ferraro, John Klingberg and Timothy Liljegren, forwards Ryan Reaves and Jeff Skinner and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic.

Veteran defensemen Vincent Desharnais and Nick Leddy and forwards Pavol Regenda and Patrick Giles can also become free agents this summer.

While change on defense is inevitable for a team that has had major problems keeping the puck out of its own net, it stands to reason that the Sharks would prefer not to have to almost totally rebuild their blue line via trades and free agency this offseason and at least bring some defensemen back for next season and beyond.

So, who stays, and who goes?

The most interesting player to watch right now is Ferraro. A career Shark and a mainstay in the team’s top four, Ferraro is in the final year of a four-year, $13 million contract he signed with the team in Aug. 2022.

With the Sharks in a playoff chase at the midway point of the season, does it make the most sense for Grier to sign Ferraro to an extension before the deadline, move him to another team for an asset, or just stand pat?

Ferraro, who is third among all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (21:01) and is the team’s leading shot-blocker and penalty killer, could fetch a decent return if several other teams show legitimate interest. But trading Ferraro could have an adverse effect on the Sharks’ playoff chances if they’re still in the mix before the March 6 deadline.

If the Sharks do not sign Ferraro to an extension and keep him past the deadline, they run the risk of losing him for nothing this summer if the two sides are unable to reach an agreement.

The Sharks determined that it was going to be tough to replace a center like Wennberg given all that he does. Do they have that same feeling about Ferraro?

Asked in mid-December if his camp and the Sharks have had any extension talks, Ferraro didn’t want to get into many details.

“I’m not going to talk about that,” Ferraro told Bay Area News Group. “There hasn’t been much talk. But what’s important right now is what’s in front of me, and I’m excited about what’s going on right now in this room.”

Keeping the Sharks roster together for a playoff push will depend on whether the team can stay in the mix.

San Jose has 43 points and is right now competing with the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, St. Louis Blues, Utah Mammoth and Chicago Blackhawks for a Western Conference wild card spot. The Sharks, entering Monday, were also three points back of first place in the Pacific Division, and might have an opportunity to move into the top three if they can string some wins together.

That won’t be easy. Following Tuesday’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, 10 of the Sharks’ next 13 games before the Olympic break in early February are on the road. Of those 13 games, eight are against teams that entered Monday in a playoff spot.

The Sharks also play games on back-to-back nights four times over the next two weeks.

“We could arguably say these next three weeks are the biggest three weeks of the season, to where we’re going to be going into the break,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Monday.

“We’ll play some difficult teams that are going to push the envelope as far as offense and driving offense and playing a certain style, we’re going to have to match that, match the intensity, the urgency to defend, and that’s really what it’s going to come down to.”

Still, right now, unlike the last few seasons, the Sharks aren’t automatically in the seller’s camp, and that Grier is open to keeping some players past season is encouraging to Celebrini.

“I feel like there’s so much more excitement the way our group’s winning and playing,” Celebrini said. “I think even with all those things we need to work on, there’s still a lot of positives in our group this year, and I think that’s why we have a guy like (Wennberg) coming back.”