Tyler Toffoli Welcomes Return to California to Usher in New San Jose Sharks Era

Tyler Toffoli is looking forward to staying in the same place for a few more years.

The veteran forward signed a four-year contract with the San Jose Sharks as a free agent on July 1. He has been on the road regularly in recent years of his career.

After being drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Kings in 2010, Toffoli spent eight years with the organization, winning a Stanley Cup in 2014. In 2020, he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks at the trade deadline.

Since then, Toffoli has had stints in Montreal, Calgary, New Jersey and Winnipeg. He’s excited to be returning to the state where he began his career and knows he’ll likely be in one place for more than two seasons.

Last season, he scored 33 goals and had 55 points in 79 games, splitting time with the Devils and Jets.

“It’s awesome,” Toffoli said of his return to California. “It’s one of those things that we were given: We were given the opportunity to sign a contract that we signed and we couldn’t say no.

“It was a nice deal for me, so that I could get a little bit of trade protection this time around, so that I don’t get tossed around at the deadline. Hopefully I’ll stay here for a few more years and then we’ll see what happens down the road.”

The 32-year-old player has been traded four times during the transfer deadline in his career.

After finishing last in the NHL standings in 2023-24, the Sharks have been busy adding veteran players to their roster to support their new junior players, led by No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini.

Along with Toffoli, the Sharks claimed forward Barclay Goodrow via waivers, signed center Alexander Wennberg as a free agent and traded defenseman Jake Walman. Captain Logan Couture and defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, both career Sharks, also remain in place.

San Jose has some key talents in its organization that are expected to play a major role in the club’s future, including forwards Will Smith, William Eklund and Kasper Halttunen, as well as defender Sam Dickinson.

Celebrini is the team’s linchpin after a strong freshman season at Boston University, where he scored 32 goals and 32 assists in 38 games. He is the youngest winner of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the best male player in college hockey.

“You can see that he’s extremely explosive and skilled,” Toffoli said of Celebrini. “It’s one of those things where there’s a lot of pressure on him. From what I’ve heard and understood, he handles the game in a professional manner and he’s already a professional, so I’m looking forward to getting on the ice with him and continuing with that.”

Toffoli realizes what his role will be in San Jose: he has to help the younger players while also contributing on the ice.

“That’s my personal goal, to show up every day and work, try to win games and (Celebrini) is obviously going to be a big part of that and a big part of the future of the Sharks.”