There are just 8 days left until the Sharks take the ice for the regular season against the Los Angeles Kings. Just 8 more days. It’s so close and yet still so far. But today we look at the best number 10, 9 and 8 in San Jose Sharks history.
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Christian Ehrhoff only wore number 10 during 3 of his seasons with the Sharks. But during those 3 years, he turned into a very good two-way defenseman. In those three years, he would post a total of 97 points and only missed 10 games, showing that he could contribute offensively and also make the difference defensively. However, there were a few times former coach Ron Wilson would make Ehrhoff a healthy scratch, and Ehrhoff eventually left for Vancouver. I was hoping the Sharks would pick him up this offseason but the Penguins signed him, and for very cheap. But I’m over it…
Anyway, let’s move on.
The best number 9 in San Jose Sharks history belongs to one of my favorite players, Milan Michalek. There was never a reason to like Milan Michalek so much. He was never a Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau. He was known for the Sharks as a very consistent second line player and he excelled in that role. Michalek missed 12 games in 4 years with the Sharks. In three of those 4 seasons, he put up over 50 points a year; an excellent quality in a second line player. He was then traded to Ottawa for Dany Heatley which was a smart trade at the time, despite only having Heatley for two years. Not to mention Milan is now plagued by injury. But he still did enough to be the best number 9 in San Jose Sharks history.
The best number 8 in San Jose Sharks histor is a player that is coming off of a career year. Joe Pavelski has always been considered a “do it all” type player. He plays at the point on powerplays, he kills penalties, he’s great at faceoffs and he’s even used in the shootout. He was always considered a very smart player, but last year he scored 41 goals for the San Jose Sharks, and had 79 points in 82 games. Now, don’t expect Joe Pavelski to score that many goals this upcoming year (that is, unless he’s playing with Joe Thornton. If he plays with Joe Thornton, he might score more. Jonathan Cheechoo, anyone?). But Pavelski is still one of the smartest players on the team, and he does put up a good amount of points. His two full seasons prior to the 2013-14 campaign, Pavelski accumulated over 60 points per year; mostly as a third line center. Joe Pavelski is still a great hockey player and I’m hoping no Sharks fans jump on to the “Pavelski is slumping” bus if he doesn’t score 40 goals again this season. Pavelski is much more than the goals he scores.