San Jose Sharks October MVP – Martin Jones

The San Jose Sharks wrapped up their first month of the season with a 6-5-0 record and sitting in third place in the Pacific Division with 12 points, just two points out of first place. It was a roller-coaster of a month for San Jose, who started fast out of the gates, rattling off four straight wins to begin the year.

However, the Sharks hit a road bump as they were decimated by injuries over two-week stretch which halted the momentum San Jose built over those first four victories. With October now in the rearview mirror, let’s take a look at the Sharks MVP for the first month of the season.

There are two different players who deserve this honor, but in the end, I decided to go with Martin Jones as San Jose’s MVP for October.

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Jones was one of the biggest question marks for this San Jose team heading into the season, and through the first 11 games, he’s answered every one of them. After allowing a goal on his first official shot faced in teal, Jones went 234 minutes and 22 seconds before allowing his second goal, a new Sharks franchise record.

Jones has been a steadying presence in net, picking up every win thus far for San Jose and being tied for third in the league with those six wins. Jones has posted very good numbers with a 1.88 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage to go along with two shutouts.

He’s a confident goalie who’s still only 25 and learning the nuances of the game. As he continues to become more comfortable with his defensive unit in front of him, Jones should improve as the season wears on, which is pretty scary considering his early season numbers.

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Jones has been a major reason why the Sharks have improved in their goals-against per game. Last season, San Jose ranked 24th in goals-against, but this season, the Sharks are 13th through the first month of the year. Not world-beating by any means, but a definite improvement from last season when San Jose was atrocious in their own end.

Furthermore, Jones is the kind of goaltender that can make up for any mistakes. He’s big at 6-foot-4 so he’s able to cover a lot of ground. Another impressive aspect is he’s accountable to his teammates. After a tough-luck loss against the Nashville Predators last week, Jones was the first one to say he needed to be better. It’s those kind of little things that shows how Jones understands what it takes to be a pro.

Now, there were plenty of other deserving candidates who were considered including Joel Ward who leads the Sharks with seven goals and 11 points. Also, new captain Joe Pavelski had a good start to the year with six goals and 10 points, but the consistency and importance of Jones ultimately won out.

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He has been exactly what general manager Doug Wilson hoped for when he traded a 2016 first-round pick to acquire Jones. If the first month of the season is any indication, the Sharks have a franchise goaltender who should keep them in contention for the playoffs over the course of the season.