The MVPs of the 2018-19 Season for the San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks are gearing up for the playoffs after finishing up a strong season where they finished in second place in both the Pacific Division and the Western Conference, putting up 101 points.

Team Teal has put together another successful season and is heading to the playoffs for the 19th time in the past 21 seasons. This will be the 21st time in franchise history that the San Jose Sharks will play in the playoffs in the hopes of bringing the Stanley Cup to Northern California.

The Sharks have shown all season long that they are one of the deepest teams in the NHL. Team Teal finished the year with 11 double-digit goal scorers, four of which scored over 30 goals this season. The Sharks also have eight players who finished the season with 50 or more points, making them the first team since the 2008-09 Detroit Red Wings to accomplish this.

In a season full of milestones, highlight reel plays, breakout players, and success, the Sharks have had many players step up in major ways. Here is a list of eight of those players who deserve the label of MVPs of the 2018-19 season for the Sharks.

7. Erik Karlsson

Erik Karlsson has shown this season exactly what the Sharks were expecting when they traded for him before the start of the season. He has shown his playmaking abilities, his speed, his awareness, his shut down defense, and his ability to control a game. Karlsson would be much higher on this list but due to a lingering groin injury this season, he was only able to play in 53 games.

In those 53 games, Karlsson scored three goals and recorded an astonishing 42 assists giving him 45 points. He also recorded 20 points on the power play this season. The two-time Norris Trophy winner represented the Sharks in the NHL All-Star game this year and will become and unrestricted agent this summer.

Karlsson this season became the 13th-fastest defenseman in NHL history to record 400 assists in his career on November 13th against the Predators. The Sharks management has made it clear that they want to give Karlsson an extension and only time will tell if he will be back in a teal jersey next season.

6. Logan Couture

Logan Couture has been one of the most consistent Sharks players over the past decade. This season was no different for the 30-year-old forward who scored 27 goals and recorded a career-high 43 assists, giving him a career-high 70 points this season.

Couture had three game winning goals and 18 power play points, six of which were goals. He also recorded his third career NHL hat trick against Buffalo on October 18th. He has now scored 20 plus goals in eight of his past nine seasons, the one year he failed to score 20 goals was the season he played in only 52 games due to injury.

Logan skated in his 600th career NHL game this season also recording his 500th career NHL point. Couture’s big year comes after signing an 8-year extension with the Sharks this past off-season.

5. Joe Thornton

Joe Thornton has had a historical season where every time he steps on the ice feels like a milestone. Thornton has had a very productive season recording 16 goals and 35 assists, resulting in 51 points. Jumbo has hit several milestones this season including scoring his 400th career NHL goal on November 13th against Nashville.

After this season, Thornton now sits at 8th on the all-time NHL assists a list with 1,065 assists, 14th on the all-time NHL points list with 1,478 points, and 12th on the all-time NHL games played list with 1,566 games played. His remarkable season included recording his first hat trick since 2010 against the Bruins on February 18th.

The future Hall of Famer has been an icon in San Jose and has shown that he stills has a lot left in the tank to give. The 39-year-old is an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason and has shown that he still has a lot to offer.

4. Timo Meier

Timo Meier, in only his second full NHL season, has become a star for the Sharks. Timo hit the 30 goal mark for the first time in his young career this season and dished out a career-high 36 assists to go along with it, totaling out to a career-high 66 points.

The 22-year-old Swiss winger brings a physical presence to the Sharks lineup to compliment his skillful moves and fast release shot. Meier has shown that he is a reliable goal scorer and can score in big moments in games. He has two overtime winning goals this season and six goals when on the man advantage.

During this season, Meier also recorded his 100th career NHL point in Minnesota on March 11th when assisting on a Tomas Hertl goal. Timo will become a restricted free agent at the end of the season as his entry-level contract expires and he has solidified his importance to Team Teal this season.

3. Brent Burns

Brent Burns has had another career-year with the San Jose Sharks scoring 16 goals to go along with a career-high 67 assists totaling in a career-high 83 points. Burnzie is once again in the front of the running for the Norris Trophy after leading the Sharks on the defensive end.

Burns ended the season with a plus/minus of plus 13 while also tallying six game winning goals, two of which were overtime winners. Along with his stellar five-on-five play, Burns surged on the man advantage with a team leading 28 points on the power play (7 goals and 21 assists).

The 34-year-old was one of the Sharks representatives in the 2019 All-Star Game, which was held in San Jose this year. This past season, Burns skated and scored in his 1,000th career NHL game, recorded his 600th career NHL point, and tallied his 400th career NHL assist. Season after season Burns has shown his elite defenseman status and this season was no different.

2. Joe Pavelski

The Captain has had a huge year for the Sharks leading the team in goals with 38 along with 26 assists giving him 64 points this season.

Joe Pavelski has come up huge in some games this season for Team Teal giving them goals in critical times. Pavelski has six game winning goals this year including an overtime winner in Winnipeg on February 5th. He was also lethal on the power play this season leading the team with 12 goals when on the man advantage.

One of his best performances of the season came on February 24th in Detroit where Pavelski recorded a hat trick while leading the Sharks to a comeback victory.

Pavelski was also one of the three Sharks that represented San Jose in this season’s All-Star Game at the Tank. Pavs hit a couple of milestones throughout this past season such as skating in his 900th career NHL game, recording his 700th career NHL point, and tallying his 400th career NHL assist.

The 34-year-old center will become an unrestricted free agent this off-season and has shown his worth to the team throughout this past season.

1. Tomas Hertl

Tomas Hertl has had his best season in his six year NHL career this season scoring a career-high 36 goals, recording a career-high 39 assists, totaling for a career-high 74 points. He was also a huge contributor on the man advantage scoring 11 power play goals this season.

Hertl’s breakout year has been full of highlight reel goals and plays including his first goal of the season, which came on opening night against Anaheim, when he made a slick move putting the puck through Cam Fowler’s legs and then roofed a shot past John Gibson.

The 25-year-old forward has shown this season both his talent and quickness while also showing his grit and physicality. Hertl became just the third player in Sharks history to record two hat tricks in the same month. He had his first hat trick of the season on January 15th against the Penguins and added another one in Washington against the Capitals on January 22nd.

Over the course of this season, Hertl reached the milestones of scoring his 100th career NHL goal, tallying his 100th career NHL assist, recording his 200th career NHL point, and skating in his 400th game played.

The statistics in this article come from Hockey-Reference.com unless stated otherwise