Ferraro Wants To Stay With Sharks Long-Term, Talks Just Missing San Jose’s Playoff Years

Mario Ferraro is, arguably, the most deserving option to be the next San Jose Sharks captain.

He’s the longest-tenured Shark, since 2019, besides Marc-Edouard Vlasic. He’s been alternate captain since 2021, and year after year, ends up as the blueliner shouldering the most defensive responsibility on the team.

But, in his exit interview, the 26-year-old defenseman didn’t want to talk about potentially wearing the ‘C.’

This summer, Ferraro will need to recover from a season-ending ankle injury and train ahead of a contract year.

He talked about his desire to stay with the San Jose Sharks long-term, just missing the “golden age” of Sharks hockey, and the possible captaincy.

Ferraro, on his summer of recovery and training entering a contract year:

In terms of recovery, I’ve dealt with this. You guys have been around, I’ve dealt with some ankle stuff, with blocking shots. It’s happened, so I’m not concerned about that. Just some rest. I’m fortunate. It could have been worse, And I’m fortunate it happened at a time where we’re not playing anymore. I missed a few games, which sucks. Obviously, I had goals of being in every game, but it didn’t happen. The recovery, I’m confident on and I think it’ll go smooth.

In terms of the summer and contract year, I’m going to treat it like every summer. My game hasn’t changed a lot in six years, aside from, hopefully you guys agree, that consistency and solid play. That is my goal for this summer: To continue to grow in my defensive game and be more consistent there and try [to] get involved offensively when I can.

I think that that’s the most important thing for me, is just being as consistent as I can defensively with my puck play and getting involved. I think it’s just going to come with repetition after repetition. That’s what the summer is for. It’s to get better. That’s my mindset. But I’m going to come into next year like I do usually, and to compete my butt off and do the same thing I’ve done over the past six seasons.

Ferraro, on if he wants to be with the San Jose Sharks long-term:

There’s a lot of things that happen that are out of your control or out of my control. But of course, I’m a Shark, I want to win here. That is the goal, that’s the mindset, that’s the goal as an organization, is to win, and that’s the goal for me as an individual is to win as a Shark.

That’s what I’m excited for. I’m excited to compete and train this summer and get ready for that, but like I said, there’s things that happen that are out of my control, but I don’t really tend to focus on that. I just focus on getting better as a player and doing what I can to help this team win.

Ferraro, on positives from this season:

There’s a lot of positives to look at. You can see where the talent is. You can see what these young guys are going to provide, who the future is for this organization. You could see it this year, and we competed. We were in games a lot more than I thought we were last year. We didn’t have quite the maturity to close out those games and to finish solid in third periods or critical situations, which just comes with comfort in the league and maturity as a team.

I think time is going to help this core a lot. I know it’s, unfortunately, been some time since we’ve had that extremely competitive season [where] we’re fighting for a playoff spot. But I think it’s a lot closer than people think. I’m excited to continue to improve as an individual, and I hope that my teammates take pride in that too. I know that they do, judging by who they are as people and as players. It’s going to be a fun. I’m excited for training camp, really, to see how everyone’s improved and put in the work in the summer.

Ferraro, on joining the San Jose Sharks just after their competitive window:

It was an extremely long ride for that successful era. They were in playoff races, Stanley Cup Finals. That year that they lost in the [2019] Conference Finals, I wish I was a part of that.

I don’t know the right word for it, but I’m proud of what I’ve gone through here and what we’ve gone through as a team. To be able to still show up at the rink, compete, and put a smile on my face — it motivates me to be in that scenario where we’re in a playoff run and we’re in a Final, knowing where we’ve come from.

So that’s what I hold on to, and I look forward to, as an individual. Being a part of this organization, since I came around, we haven’t made the playoffs yet. It really fires me up to think that day is going to come. When it does, knowing what we’ve gone through to get here, is really what makes it feel so good. It’s the journey.

I like that growth mentality and getting from A-to-B and grinding to do it. I’m excited for my turn to come. As much as I wish I was there with those guys in that Conference Finals appearance, I look forward to earning our way with this team here.

Ferraro, on potentially earning the captaincy next season:

It’d be an honor to be the captain of any team, especially at this level, in any organization. But, it’s not something that we’re thinking about right now. It’s not up to me. I think there’s a lot of guys that are going to step up here and I think guys have to come together.

I think that’s what we’re focused on right now: Guys coming together. Obviously, we’re sad that Logan [Couture is] gone. He’s such a special person and player for this organization. And to fill that role is extremely hard, and I don’t think one man can do it right now. We need everybody to come together—all the A’s, all the young guys—to come together and help fill that role. So that’s sort of how we think [about] it.