Looking Back: Joe Pavelski Team MVP For San Jose Sharks
Feb 13, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) celebrates with teammates after scoring a hat trick in the third period against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
After taking some time after the disappointing finish and subsequent departing of head coach Todd McLellan, it’s time to take a look back at the 2014-15 season and see who performed up to expectations and who fell short.
Let’s begin with the team MVP for the San Jose Sharks and that’s Joe Pavelski. Pavelski emerged as the “de facto” leader of San Jose after Joe Thornton was stripped of the captaincy. The media seemed to center on Pavelski and he didn’t shy away from the role.
It was captured on the leadup to the Stadium Series when he went on an expletive-laden tirade after a poor first period against the Arizona Coyotes. He then went out and scored a hat trick in leading San Jose to victory.
Whenever a new coach is named, it would not be shocking to see Pavelski named as the next captain of the franchise.
On the ice, Pavelski was San Jose’s leading scorer with 37 goals and 70 points. He was also tied with Marc-Edouard Vlasic with a team-leading plus-12 rating while playing in every game. Also, Pavelski was lethal on the power play as he ranked second in the NHL behind Alex Ovechkin with 19 goals on the man advantage.
Now Pavelski certainly benefitted from having Thornton feed him the puck, but Pavelski is evolving into a solid playmaker himself. Pavelski ranked second behind Thornton with a Corsi for percentage of 56.9 percent, while ranking fourth with 1.70 points per 60 minutes.
Coming into the season, many pundits felt that Pavelski would take a step back following his career year in 2013-14 when he registered career-highs in goals (41), points (79), plus-minus (plus-23) and shooting percentage (18.2). However, while regressing in terms of point production, Pavelski was San Jose’s most consistent player from start to finish.
This team is morphing into one led by Pavelski, although Thornton is still largely in the picture. The two players are mutually beneficial to each other at this stage of their careers, and they’re the ones their teammates are looking to as the primary leaders.
Pavelski will never possess the elite physical hockey traits but he continues to produce at the NHL-level despite being a seventh-round draft pick. Pavelski was a standout for San Jose this season and fully deserved to be named the team player of the year, for the second consecutive season.
The big thing now for Pavelski is to continue his ascent next season when the Sharks will count on his level of production once again. He can ill-afford to take a step back; otherwise, San Jose will be on the golf course again come the spring rather than battling in the playoffs.