Rangers and Sharks heading in opposite directions — and could be fitting trade partners

LOS ANGELES — On Friday, the Rangers will face a Sharks team that is finally making a racket after years of purgatory.

The matchup feels like a sudden inversion. At the end of just last season, the Sharks were in the exact same position the Blueshirts are in now: dead last in their conference. While the Rangers have been on a downward trajectory, San Jose is beginning to reap the benefits of their rebuilding process.

The Rangers, on the other hand, just entered a retooling phase.

A young and promising Sharks core coming into its own has prompted an organizational shift.

At some point, the Rangers could very well do some business with their upcoming opponents.

“They’re a team that hasn’t had a lot of expectations, so there’s not a lot of pressure,” head coach Mike Sullivan said of the Sharks after practice Thursday afternoon in El Segundo, Calif. “They’re an emerging group. I think they have a young Sidney Crosby in [Macklin] Celebrini. That’s who he reminds me of, with the way he plays the game and his passion to play the game a certain way.

“But he not only has elite skill, but he’s got an elite work ethic. And that’s most specifically what reminds me of the way Sid approached the game. When you have an emerging superstar like that, I think they’re going to make noise because of that. It doesn’t just end with him. They’ve got a lot of young talent.”

Braden Schneider’s name has come up recently as one of interest for the Sharks, whose GM, Mike Grier, is close with Rangers GM Chris Drury from their days playing together at Boston University and with the Sabres. Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

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The Sharks entered Friday’s game on the cusp of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Tied with the Kraken in points (53) and points percentage (.541), San Jose is in prime position to add to its roster and make a push to end the team’s six-year playoff drought.

They’re a fun team to watch. Between Celebrini, Will Smith and William Eklund, the youth movement in Northern California has picked up. Former Rangers veterans Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves are also playing a role in establishing culture.

Sharks GM Mike Grier already added Kiefer Sherwood from the Canucks last week in exchange for Cole Clayton and two second-round picks (2026, 2027).

With plenty of cap space to spare, Grier has the flexibility to make a splash if he wants. There is belief the Sharks have interest in acquiring defenseman Braden Schneider, who is set to become a restricted free agent this upcoming summer.

Schneider is one of the Rangers’ most enticing trade chips given his ability to deepen any defense corps with a reasonable $2.2 million cap hit.

Despite the 24-year-old being due for a pay bump, the team he’s traded to would be in a preferable position for negotiations.

The relationship between Rangers president/general manager Chris Drury and Grier is well-documented.

Not only did they win an NCAA championship together at Boston University in 1995, but he two were NHL teammates when they crossed paths again in Buffalo in 2003.

And when Drury was promoted to head honcho in New York in May 2021, the first front-office hire he made was naming Grier as his hockey operations adviser.

It was widely reported that Drury gave Grier a strong recommendation for the Sharks job as well.