It appears that tomorrow will mark the end of Pavelski’s time with the San Jose Sharks. According to reports they will be losing their captain in free agency to the Stars.
Reports indicate that the longtime member of the San Jose Sharks will be leaving the Bay Area to head south to the lone star state. After 13 years and 1,097 career games in a Teal sweater July 1st, 2019 could mark an end.
There’s been plenty of buzz surrounding Joe Pavelski’s decision with the final decision coming down to the San Jose Sharks and the Dallas Stars. Now the night before free agency it’s been reported that the 34-year-old will be signing a 3 year 7 million dollar AAV.
It was first reported by David Pagnotta @thefourthperiod and later confirmed by members of the Dallas media.
Looks like Joe Pavelski will sign a three-year contract with Dallas tomorrow. Sounds like the AAV will be in the neighborhood of $7M.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 1, 2019
Pavelski is coming off a monster year compiling 64 points, leading Team Teal in goals with 38. Goal totals like this get players paid in the NHL and the San Jose Sharks just don’t have the capacity to prioritize an aging winger over the younger players with expiring contracts.
Nevertheless the Sharks are going to sorely miss their former captain on and off the ice. They definitely are going to miss his scoring prowess (31 goals per season over the past 5 seasons) in all situations, steady play on special teams, or his ability to play multiple roles in crucial situations. Not only this but here are other qualities about Pavelski’s game that cannot be quantified.
There will be a huge void in the Bay Area without Joe Pavelski’s stoic demeanor and calming presence in the Sharks locker room. Nevertheless Team Teal’s front office has signaled that they will be focused on prioritizing their younger skaters up front instead of committing a large amount of money to aging talent.
This news is a bit of a shock to fans of the Sharks but at least they can take solace in the fact that the team should have all the available cap room to take care of players like Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc.