San Jose Sharks: Top 25 Players In Franchise History – Part Five
By Ilya Davydov
With the 25th Anniversary of the San Jose Sharks just around the corner, we have come to the final stages of our list where we rank the Top 25 San Jose Sharks players in franchise history. Below is the cream of the crop – some of the better players to have ever suited up for the Sharks. Some fans may even argue that one of the three players could have been crowned the best Sharks player ever.
If you are unfamiliar with our Top 25 San Jose Sharks Sharks players list, be sure to check out some of the earlier articles covering places 25 to 21, 20 to 16, 15 to 11, and 10 to 6 in detail. Without further adieu, let’s jump to number five – a player who was recently named the newest captain of your San Jose Sharks.
Jan 13, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski (8) looks on against the Arizona Coyotes at Gila River Arena. The Sharks won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Played for the Sharks: 2006-current
Career Seasons: 643GP – 228G –257A – 485P – 244PIM
Career Playoffs: 81GP –26G – 30A – 56P – 32PIM
Sharks Seasons: 643GP – 228G –257A – 485P – 244PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 81GP –26G – 30A – 56P – 32PIM
Pavelski is currently the centerpiece of the organization. While Marleau and Thornton are on the decline, and with Couture just entering his prime, the “Big Pavelski” represents the present of the franchise.
Selected by the Sharks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Pavelski is an absolute steal considering 204 other players were selected before him. Pavelski quickly made his mark in the NHL, and never looked back.
Once in the NHL, Pavelski established himself as a hard working forward that garners success at both ends of the ice, showing a complete 200-foot game. From a secondary scorer, he turned into the primary offensive weapon while still retaining penalty kill and shutdown responsibilities.
Hard working, versatile, and tenacious – you can find Pavelski in any game situation, be it power play, penalty kill, full strength, or a shootout. Pavelski led the Sharks in scoring for the past two seasons, and he will be one of the catalysts for the Sharks offense during the 2015-16 season as well.
Pavelski already spent eight-and-a-half seasons with the Sharks, and still has four more seasons under his current contract. He is currently ranked second in goals, third in points, third in plus-minus, fifth in games played on the all-time Sharks list.
Pavelski is one of the favorites to become the next Sharks captain. He has been amongst the leadership core for the past few seasons, and has become one of the fan favorites thanks to this selflessness, determination, and a complete game at both ends of the ice. He is one of the hottest scorers on offense, and one of the most underrated workhorses on defense.
He led the Sharks in ways that can be statistically measured like goals, points, plus/minus, blocked shots among forwards, and with things that are more subjective but none the less important (like his relentless work ethic, tenacity, and leadership). Placed fifth on our list, I would have no objection moving him to as high as third place. With so much more hockey in him, there is little doubt he will get there, if not higher.
Played for the Sharks: 2005-current
Career Seasons: 1200GP – 422G –463A – 885P – 1793PIM
Career Playoffs: 65GP –21G – 19A – 40P – 66PIM
Sharks Seasons: 568GP – 206G –245A – 451P – 934PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 40GP –15G – 12A – 27P – 54PIM
Owen Nolan produced one of the most memorable moments in the Sharks history. It was a real fairy tale night – Sharks player, representing the team at the All-Star Game in San Jose, completing his hat trick in the most flamboyant way possible against one of the best goalkeepers at the time, and absolutely erupting the crowd. I don’t believe any San Jose fan ever gets tired of watching “The Called Shot” over and over and over again.
How could you not give the MVP award to Nolan after this beauty in front of the home crowd – I have no idea.
Outside of that night, Nolan gave the Sharks fandom close to eight full seasons after which he is now ranked fourth in points, third in goals scored, and second in penalty minutes earned for the franchise. The 1997 All Star Game was his third of five – during four of those All-Star games, Nolan was representing the good franchise from the Northern California.
Thanks to his fearless, hard-hitting game and a remarkable ability to score goals in the height of the “dead puck” era, Nolan quickly became one of the most beloved players to ever to wear the Sharks jersey. His 44-goal campaign during the 1999-2000 season is still one of the better single season individual performances. That same season, Nolan scored another famous goal when his shot from center ice got past Roman Turek, and led the eighth-seeded Sharks to a first round playoff upset of the St.Louis Blues.
Nolan also won an Olympic Gold Medal with Team Canada in 2002. He loved the team, and the fans loved him. It was only logical that when it was time to hang up his skates (after 1,200 regular season games in the NHL, 568 regular season games for the Sharks), Nolan retired as Shark.
To sum things up, Nolan was the best power forward and one of the most beloved players in the history of the franchise.
Played for the Sharks: 1999-2010
Career Seasons: 697GP – 353W – .911SV – 2.44GAA – 59SO
Career Playoffs: 86GP – 42W – .908SV – 2.43GAA – 7SO
Sharks Seasons: 563GP – 293W – .912SV – 2.39GAA – 50SO
Sharks Playoffs: 80GP – 40W – .913SV – 2.29GAA – 7SO
No matter how you look at it, or how much you slice and dice the data – Evgeni Nabokov is the best goalkeeper in franchise history.
His NHL debut was almost five-and-a-half years after he was drafted 219th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. Ten months after his first NHL game, Nabokov seized one of the biggest opportunities in his career. With Sharks starting goalkeeper Steve Shields injured in just the second regular season game of the 2000-01 season, Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff battle it out for the starting position. The rest, as they say, is history.
Nabokov went on to play a string of games, and really impress not just the Sharks staff and fans, but virtually everyone in the NHL. He managed 32 wins from 66 games played, and with a solid .915 save percentage, Nabokov became the first and so far the only Sharks player to win the Calder Memorial Trophy.
From the statistical point of view, he pretty much owns all of the categories when compared to any other Sharks goaltender.
“Nabby” had some rough patches, particularly after the 2004-05 lockout – he was challenged (and at times outdone) for the starting position by Vesa Toskala. Despite some difficulties maintaining consistency, he overcame the challenge and responded with the Vezina Trophy nomination in 2008. Evgeni Nabokov never won the Vezina Trophy, but came mighty close during that 2007-08 season when he finished second in voting.
Nabokov was one of the better regular season goalkeepers, but did not do too well in the playoffs (as well as Olympics). Apart from the 2004 NHL Playoffs – the most successful playoff run for the San Jose Sharks – where he had an astounding .935 save percentage and 1.71 goals against average, his playoff outings were rather unremarkable compared to his body of work during the regular season. A disappointing performance during the 2010 NHL Playoffs was one of the reasons for a halt to the relationship between “Nabby” and the Sharks.
After San Jose, Nabokov played one season in the KHL before returning to the NHL as a member of the New York Islanders for two seasons. His last hurrah was with the Tampa Bay Lightning as recent as last season. After clearing waivers, it was either the AHL or retirement for Nabokov. It was a class act by the Lightning organization for trading Nabokov to San Jose for “future considerations,” thus allowing him to put an end to his NHL career where he started.
Oh, and how can we forget this…
It was extremely fitting that “Nabby” retired as a Shark. After recently being appointed as the goalie coach and a special assignment scout, Nabokov remains a part of the organization going forward.
Despite some of his shortcomings in the playoffs, Nabokov gave the fans hope, jaw dropping highlights, and strong goaltending for more than 500 games. He is one of the most beloved players to ever play for the San Jose, and it will be a while until someone else will dethrone him from being the best San Jose Sharks goalie.
With the top two spots remaining, you could probably guess that these are rightly reserved for Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, but who will take the crown as the top San Jose Sharks player in history of the franchise? Here are your bottom 23 players from the list:
1.
2.
3. Evgeni Nabokov
4. Owen Nolan
5. Joe Pavelski
6. Marc-Edouard Vlasic
7. Dan Boyle
8. Mike Ricci
9. Jeff Friesen
10. Jonathan Cheechoo
11. Marco Sturm
12. Logan Couture
13. Mike Rathje
14. Vincent Damphousse
15. Scott Hannan
16. Marcus Ragnarsson
17. Bryan Marchment
18. Ryane Clowe
19. Jeff Odgers
20. Arturs Irbe
21. Kelly Kisio
22. Sandis Ozolins
23. Ray Whitney
24. Antti Niemi
25. Doug Wilson
Next: San Jose Sharks Finalize Opening Night Roster