Michael Misa's best NHL future starts with the Islanders, not the Sharks

Michael Misa should top the New York Islanders draft board, even if there’s a chance he prefers San Jose over Long Island. And to an extent, I get it. The Sharks are building something special around Macklin Celebrini who, despite not winning the Calder Trophy, was still a rookie phenom with face-of-the-NHL potential. 

And yes, after another lean season or two, the Sharks are going to be good, no, great, for a long time. It doesn’t look like it right now, but if I hopped into a time machine, traveled to the year 2040, and saw that the Sharks won three Stanley Cups and were the Western Conference’s team of the decade, it wouldn’t surprise me. 

But it also wouldn’t surprise me if the Islanders snagged Misa and forged an inter-conference rivalry with Celebrini’s Sharks and the two teams battled for Lord Stanley’s Cup on multiple occasions. At times, the Sharks came off on the winning end, but other times, the Islanders. 

Still, in the here and now, Long Island is and should be much more attractive to any prospect than San Jose. If I were in this draft and someone told me to choose a destination, I’d be blunt: I’d rather wear a blue and orange sweater than a teal one, even if teal’s arguably the coolest color in pro sports. 

Long Island is a much better destination right now than San Jose

While I just sat here and said the Isles and Sharks can be the envy of the East and West, respectively, in the 2030s, it looks like general manager Mathieu Darche isn’t rebuilding. No, I wasn’t a fan of re-signing Kyle Palmieri, but if Darche was interested in tearing everything down, Palmieri wouldn’t be coming back. 

So, that screams upside. But just look at the lineup, and, should there be no real player movement at the draft and in July, the Isles would have Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal for the long haul, plus Simon Holmstrom, Noah Dobson, Maxim Tsyplakov, and Alexander Romanov coming back, should the four restricted free agents re-sign. 

And in 2025-26, don’t be surprised when you see Calum Ritchie and maybe even Cole Eiserman on the ice. So, assuming Michael Misa’s the pick, he’d sidle right in there and have a much better team around him than what he’d have in San Jose. 

Yes, the Sharks will be better in 2025-26, but the Isles are two steps ahead

The Islanders are an average team that happens to have the top pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. That’s the best situation they could’ve asked for, while the Sharks are at least another two years out of playoff contention. 

So, if I’m Michael Misa, I’d be doing everything in my power to convince the Isles that I’m the right man for the job, and to pass on Matthew Schaefer and the hometown prodigy, James Hagens. 

And it won’t be long until the Isles make their decision, and one that will more than just supplement a team that, with a few adjustments, could be playoff-bound again. If they roll with Misa, he’ll give them an outstanding scorer and playmaker who, much like Celebrini, could wind up as one of the faces of the NHL.

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