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Sharks Notes: Sturm, Couture, Celebrini

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San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier told reporters today that former NHLer Marco Sturm was a candidate for the Sharks head coaching position and the team did engage in conversations with Sturm but added that the 45-year-old was not a finalist for the position (as per Sharks writer Curtis Pashelka).

The veteran of 938 NHL games spent eight seasons with the Sharks from 1997 to 2005 and was dealt to the Boston Bruins as part of the Joe Thornton trade in November 2005. He last played in the NHL in April of 2012 and is the current head coach of the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League. Sturm also spent four seasons with the Los Angeles Kings as an assistant coach from 2018 to 2022

In other San Jose Sharks notes:

  • Mike Grier told reporters that he is not looking at moving veteran forward Logan Couture (as per Max Miller of The Hockey News). Grier added that Couture is the kind of person he wants around the Sharks younger players. Even if Grier wanted to trade Couture, it would be a difficult move to make as Couture has three years left on his contract with an AAV of $8MM and is coming off an injury-riddled season in which he played just six games and tallied a single assist. Couture also holds a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of just three teams he would accept a trade to.
  • Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now tweeted that Sharks general manager Mike Grier will meet with prospective first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini’s family and representation after the NHL Entry Draft to talk about whether or not the youngster will turn pro or remain in college for next season. Grier then joked with reporters about showing his hand 11 days before the draft. Miller reported ten days ago that Celebrini had yet to make up his mind about turning pro, but his decision will have a big impact on how the Sharks approach this offseason and whether or not to make immediate improvements to the roster or continue to develop young players and preach patience.

Sharks Notes: Warsofsky, Sturm, Graham, Wiseman, ECHL

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The threat of losing Ryan Warsofsky to another team was likely a contributing factor in the Sharks’ choice to name him as their next head coach, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet opined on Friday’s “32 Thoughts” podcast. Warsofsky, who became the youngest head coach in the league this week at age 36, would have received considerable interest from around the league if he was passed over for the job in San Jose for the second time in three years.

Warsofsky was always a strong candidate for internal promotion after serving as an assistant under David Quinn for the past two seasons. He was interviewed for the head coaching job in 2022 after they let go of Bob Boughner, but the team opted to go with Quinn instead. They still managed to land Warsofsky in an assistant role, though, a decision they evidently think has paid dividends by his recent promotion.

While all the other head coaching vacancies this summer were filled by the time San Jose made their choice, a late GM change in Columbus has had some wondering if Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent could be dismissed. There hasn’t been a ton of noise around Vincent in recent days, though, and the longer it stays quiet, the safer his job is. Still, Warsofsky likely could have landed an associate coach title somewhere else if he didn’t get the San Jose job, a smaller but still meaningful promotion as he eyed a clearer pathway to becoming a head coach. It’s a moot point now, though.

Here’s more on the Sharks:

  • Kings AHL bench boss Marco Sturm may have finished second to Warsofsky in the Sharks’ search, but advancing to multiple rounds of interviews has still put him on other NHL teams’ radars, Friedman said. He remains under contract with Los Angeles next season, as confirmed by John Hoven of Mayor’s Manor, but it’s unclear how much longer he’s signed. Still, the Kings have obviously given him permission to seek other opportunities.
  • Neil Graham, who’s spent parts of the last five seasons as the head coach of the AHL’s Texas Stars, was also considered as one of the initial candidates for the Sharks’ vacancy, per Friedman. The 39-year-old has been in the Dallas organization for more than a decade, first joining as an assistant coach with the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads in 2012. He worked his way up to Steelheads head coach in 2015 and was promoted to the AHL bench four years later. The Calgary native hasn’t been connected to many NHL coaching jobs yet, but he’ll be a name to watch when the carousel starts spinning again next offseason.
  • Sharks assistant Brian Wiseman is “most likely” to stick with the club after being granted permission to speak with other teams this offseason, Jeff Marek of Sportsnet said yesterday. Wiseman, 52, worked with the Sharks’ forward group and power play unit under Quinn the past two seasons after stints with the Oilers and the University of Michigan as an assistant.
  • The Sharks have re-upped their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Wichita Thunder, per a team announcement. The Thunder have been affiliated with San Jose since the 2022-23 season after previously working under the Oilers’ and Senators’ organizational umbrellas.

Sharks Hire Ryan Warsofsky As Head Coach

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Sharks assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky is getting a big promotion. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, he’s filling their head coaching vacancy after being passed over for the title two years ago. San Jose promptly made the hiring official via a press release.

“We’re very excited to announce Ryan as the 11th head coach of the San Jose Sharks,” said general manager Mike Grier. “His track record of success at nearly every level of hockey as a head and assistant coach speaks for itself. Ryan knows our existing group well, has the respect of the players who he will be working with, and will be a great teacher for the young players who will be joining our organization.”

Grier made the call to fire former head coach David Quinn, who they tabbed for the role over Warsofsky during their last search in 2022, in April. Quinn compiled a 41-98-25 record (.326 points percentage) while overseeing some of the darkest days of a tough but needed rebuild in the Bay Area.

Warsofsky, a Massachusetts native who had a collegiate career with Sacred Heart University and Curry College, landed his first professional coaching job as an assistant with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2013, one year after ending his playing career.

He was then promoted to head coach and director of hockey ops for the club in 2016, staying there for two more seasons before the Hurricanes tabbed him as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, their top minor-league affiliate at the time. Yet again, he was promoted in short order, taking over as head coach in 2019 and remaining with the Hurricanes organization when they switched their AHL affiliation to the Chicago Wolves for 2020-21.

In Carolina, Warsofsky was a part of two Calder Cup-winning clubs, first as an assistant with the Checkers in 2019 and then as a bench boss with the Wolves in 2022. That latter title, in which he led a veteran-laden team including Josh Leivo, Stefan Noesen and Alex Lyon to the pinnacle of minor league hockey, earned him consideration for multiple NHL coaching vacancies the following offseason, including the Sharks’.

He had to settle for an assistant role, but two years later, his time has come. At 36 years old, Warsofsky becomes the youngest bench boss in the league and the youngest since Jeremy Colliton was tabbed as head coach of the Blackhawks in 2018 at age 33.

Warsofsky beat out ex-Sharks winger Marco Sturm, another potential first-time NHL head coach, for the role. Sturm, who’s coached in the Kings organization for the past six seasons, was deep in the interview process as late as early this week.

With Warsofsky’s hiring, all head coaching vacancies this offseason have been filled.

Nathan Todd Clears Unconditional Waivers; Signs In KHL

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6/12: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Todd has cleared waivers this morning. The Sharks organization can now release Todd making him an unrestricted free agent, and they will open up a contract spot before a busy summer. Instead of pursuing an AHL contract this summer, reports from the Kontinental Hockey League indicate Todd has already signed a deal with HC Salavat Yulaev for the 2024-25 KHL season.

6/11: Beat writer for the San Jose Sharks, Curtis Pashelka is reporting that the organization has placed forward Nathan Todd on unconditional waivers for contract termination. Although the move does not carry significant weight at the NHL level, it will impact the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda.

As an undrafted free agent, Todd spent much of his first four professional years in the ECHL before making the full-time jump to the AHL in 2020-21 for the Manitoba Moose. After securing nearly a point-per-game season with the Moose, Todd left to join the Springfield Thunderbirds for the next two seasons. In his first year with the Thunderbirds, the team would make it to the Calder Cup Final before finally being ousted by the Chicago Wolves in five games. During that postseason, Todd became a quality depth scorer, putting up four goals and 11 points in 18 games.

Last offseason, Todd signed on with the Sharks organization to a two-year, two-way contract. Playing the entire year for the Barracuda, Todd rewarded the team nicely, scoring 19 goals and 55 points in 69 games which is far and away his most productive season to date. Todd tied for 27th in the AHL in total scoring while also leading the Barracuda in assists and points.

Assuming Todd is not picked up on waivers over the next 24 hours, he will hit the open market to search for another AHL franchise to call home this summer. After failing to make the Calder Cup playoffs in the last two years, Todd’s breakout year in the minor leagues may earn him a spot on a much more competitive roster next season.

Sharks Still Listening To Offers For Mario Ferraro

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While not a first-pairing defenseman on nearly any other team in the league, Mario Ferraro was the Sharks’ number-one man on the blue line this season by default after Erik Karlsson’s departure. The 25-year-old was drawing trade interest during the season, but he wore teal for the remainder of the campaign and remains in San Jose – for now.

He’s not explicitly on the trade block, but The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that Ferraro continues to generate calls, and Sharks general manager Mike Grier is listening ahead of the draft later this month. The 2017 second-round pick is under contract for two more seasons at a $3.25MM cap hit.

The offense was there from Ferraro to some degree this season, recording a career-high 18 assists and 21 points through 78 games. His -31 and -38 ratings the past two seasons should probably be thrown out entirely, given the state of the Sharks’ defense, but his even-strength possession numbers compared to his teammates aren’t particularly promising. The Sharks have controlled 2.4% fewer shot attempts with Ferraro on the ice than off it at even strength over his five-year career, although he did have a slightly positive impact (+0.3%) for the first time this season.

There’s one major complicating factor in a deal, though. He likely won’t be a first-pairing talent wherever he lands, but it seems Grier wants to be compensated for one. Pagnotta expects it will take a first-round pick and potentially two other high-value assets to pry him away from San Jose, a price that interested teams rightfully may not be willing to pay. The list of parties that have called Ferraro dating back to midseason includes the Blackhawks, Flames, Hurricanes, Maple Leafs and Predators, per Pagnotta.

It’s an especially difficult ask when there’s also a bevy of mid-tier defensive options available for no asset cost on the open market this summer, including Dylan DeMelo, Matt Roy and Sean Walker. They’ll certainly require a higher cap hit to acquire, but is the difference in spending worth what may be needed to get Ferraro via trade?

From the Sharks’ perspective, it does make sense to command such a high ask. He’s not headed to the UFA market for two more summers, so there’s no rush to deal him for a return if extension talks fall through somewhere down the line.

Marco Sturm “Deep In the Process” Of Becoming Sharks Head Coach

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According to a report from Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now a few days ago, the San Jose Sharks were believed to be closing in on Ryan Warsofsky as their next head coach. However, Max Miller of The Hockey News reports that Marco Sturm is also thought to be deep in the interview process, which has been delaying the eventual announcement of the new bench boss.

At the very least, despite numerous candidates being rumored for the role, Sturm and Warsofsky are separating themselves from the pack. Jeff Blashill is the only other candidate confirmed to have gotten a second interview but it is believed that his chances of becoming the next head coach in San Jose have dropped significantly.

The hiring of Sturm would represent a homecoming of sorts, as he started his professional career as a player with the Sharks organization back in 1997-98 after being signed out of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Sturm spent nearly eight years in San Jose before he was traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for the eventual Hart Memorial Trophy winner of the 2005-06 season, Joe Thornton.

After his playing career ended after the 2011-12 NHL season, Sturm bounced around as a head coach at the international level for Team Germany, coaching the country’s World Junior Championship team, World Championship team, and Deutschland Cup team, among others. It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season that Sturm returned to the NHL as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Kings. Sturm would spend four years in that role before finally becoming the head coach of the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, a position which he still holds.

Sturm has coached the Reign to a 76-55-8-5 record over the last two years and has coached the team as far as the Second Round of the Calder Cup playoffs. If the Sharks hire Sturm as the organization’s next head coach, it would be the highest role Sturm has achieved at the professional level as a coach.

Nevertheless, no decision has been made up to this point, and Warsofsky still has a legitimate chance of being the team’s next head coach. Having plenty of experience with the organization, Warsofsky has spent the last two years as an assistant coach for the Sharks and almost became the head coach before San Jose ultimately chose David Quinn.

Snapshots: Warsofsky, Radulov, Utah Branding

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The San Jose Sharks have interviewed a long list of candidates for their vacant head coaching position, including assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky who, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now, is now pulling ahead as the favorite for the job. He pulls ahead of a list of interviewees that features Jay Woodcroft, Matt Nieto, Jeff Blashill, Jeff Halpern, and Jeremy Colliton. Warsofsky also interviewed for San Jose’s head coach role in 2022, though he was ultimately hired behind David Quinn.

Warsofsky oversaw San Jose’s defense and penalty kill while serving behind Quinn, serving as the coach behind Erik Karlsson’s 101-point, Norris Trophy-winning season last year. But he was also the coach behind San Jose’s 326 goals allowed this season – the third-most of any team over the last decade.

Warsofsky is just two years into his NHL coaching career – experiencing two of the staunchest extremes he could have – after leading the Chicago Wolves to the 2022 AHL Calder Cup Championship to cap off his three-year tenure as an AHL head coach. Warsofsky’s hire would follow a growing trend of teams finding their coaches internally, with each of Winnipeg, St. Louis, Seattle, and Los Angeles already promoting coaches to the NHL head coach role this off-season. The role in San Jose would be the first NHL head coaching role of Warsofsky’s still very young career.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Long-time Dallas Stars forward Alexander Radulov has signed a one-year contract with the KHL’s Lokomotiv (Twitter link). Radulov has spent the last two seasons with Kazan Ak-Bars, posting a combined 41 goals and 97 points across 120 games. He’s remained productive, even at the age of 37, and will now be set to play with the fourth KHL club of his career – after four seasons with Ufa, four with CSKA Moscow, and two with Kazan. Those seasons add to Radulov’s nine-year career in the NHL, where he totaled 368 points in 524 career games spent with three different clubs. With no signs of slowing down, Radulov will look to vindicate this one-year contract with a strong season and continue his trek to becoming just the 19th KHL player to play beyond 40 years old.
  • NHL Utah is down to six finalists for its permanent name after an initial vote yielded over 500,000 responses. They’ll be called the Utah Blizzards, Utah Hockey Club, Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws, Utah Venom or Utah Yeti beginning with the 2025-26 season. They’ll carry temporary Utah Hockey Club branding for their inaugural 2024-25 campaign. Fans can choose between the six finalists using this link.

Sharks Looking To Add Top-Four Defenseman In Free Agency

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The Sharks will look to pick up an experienced top-four blue liner when the free agent market opens July 1, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports.

San Jose, coming off a last-place 19 wins and 47 points, allowed the most goals in the league last season, conceding nearly four per game on average. That was despite largely solid performances in the net from Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kähkönen, their tandem for most of the season, who each performed slightly above expected, per MoneyPuck.

That places the blame squarely on an understaffed defense led by Mario Ferraro, journeyman depth piece Jan Rutta and rookie Henry Thrun. A blue line that was designed to fail after shipping out Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson to the Penguins over the summer performed as expected. According to MoneyPuck, the Sharks allowed 313 expected goals against in all situations, 24 more than the second-to-last Blue Jackets, who had 289.

Thus, with their big offseason splash at forward already set in the form of projected first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, prioritizing defense on the open market is the logical choice for general manager Mike Grier. Most of the Sharks’ cast last season is set to return – veteran Jacob MacDonald (who played forward for half the season anyway) is the only pending UFA.

But pushing overworked depth pieces down the depth chart is never a bad thing, and any addition will have its benefits outside of the player’s skill set. Allowing for reduced minutes for the trio above, plus reduced responsibility for others like Calen Addison and Kyle Burroughs, should lead to a slight overall improvement in their defensive game.

In terms of specific targets, Sean Walker is a name to watch when Free Agent Frenzy begins, Pagnotta said. The 29-year-old is coming off a career season in which he scored 10 goals and 29 points in 81 games split between the Flyers and Avalanche, averaging a career-high 19:14 per game to boot.

Like everyone else on the Sharks’ roster, putting him in a top-pairing role is likely asking too much of him, but he’s still an upgrade on anyone they have. He logged a career-high 19:14 per game last season after toiling in third-pairing roles for the Kings the past few seasons, posting strong even-strength possession metrics (53.2 CF%) and logging significant time on the penalty kill in Philadelphia before being stripped of special teams usage on a deep Colorado blue line after a deadline deal sent him to Denver.

Walker’s market value has never been higher, too, and signing with a team with virtually infinite cap space this summer would allow him to take full advantage of it. Evolving Hockey projects him to land a five-year, $5MM AAV deal on the open market, but he could likely bump that figure up in negotiations to join a rebuilder in San Jose.

The Sharks won’t be alone in their pursuit of Walker, though. Pagnotta reports the Hurricanes, Maple Leafs, Predators and Stars are all expected to engage with the defender’s camp once free agency begins. After going without a point in 11 playoff games for the Avs with a -5 rating, it seems highly unlikely he’ll re-sign with a cap-strapped club dealing with financial uncertainty fueled by the futures of Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin.

There are plenty of other defenders with top-four experience for the Sharks to target if they don’t get Walker. While the biggest names like Brandon Montour and Brady Skjei seem unlikely to join a team in the throes of a rebuild, Alexandre Carrier, Matt Roy and former Shark Dylan DeMelo are names with top-four experience that could make sense.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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Free agency is now just a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens.  There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Sharks.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Alexander Barabanov – Barabanov isn’t expected to return to San Jose this summer, instead set on testing free agency after what was a turbulent season. Barabanov played in just 46 games, missing time with a menagerie of injuries – from a broken finger in October, to illness in December, and then a season-ending ankle injury in late March. And he wasn’t particularly effective on the ice, posting just four goals and 13 points to go with 12 penalty minutes and a -24. It was a disappointing encore to Barabanov’s strong 2022-23, when he scored 15 goals and 47 points in 68 games. But he’ll enter the open market with the confidence that teams are at least interested in his services. The Sharks reportedly had a Trade Deadline move that would have sent Barabanov to the New York Rangers shutdown due to complications with salary retention. He’ll get a chance to connect with New York one-on-one on July 1st.

F Mike Hoffman – The extent to which any of San Jose’s depth players were impactful this season is hard to gauge. Hoffman wasn’t spared from the tough year, posting a career-low 10 goals and 23 points this season, though he still outpaced many of his bottom-six peers in scoring. Hoffman was serviceable, and his $4.5MM cap hit went a long way towards helping the Sharks reach the cap floor. He’ll be set for a deal much closer to league minimum this summer, though the chance to secure cheap, veteran experience in what’s bound to be a very young lineup could be tempting for San Jose.

F Kevin Labanc – Labanc is also expected to move on from the Sharks this summer after a fall-out with Sharks head coach David Quinn. He was a healthy scratch for much of the year, ultimately appearing in just 46 games and recording nine points. Labanc has fallen a long way from his breakout 2018-19 season, when he posted 17 goals and 56 points in 82 regular-season games, then added nine points in 20 playoff games. But he hasn’t been able to rediscover that scoring, with his 15 goals and 33 points last year the closest he’s come. Labanc has a modest 82 goals and 225 points across 478 career games, all coming in San Jose. That stat line should be enough to earn him a low-stakes contract on the open market, from a team hoping a change of scenery can rekindle Labanc’s scoring potential.

G Devin Cooley – The Sharks acquired Cooley in a last-minute trade at the Trade Deadline, sending the Buffalo Sabres a 2025 seventh-round pick to bolster their goaltending corps after moving Kaapo Kahkonen. And while certainly a minor move, a string of injuries would force Cooley into the NHL lineup near the end of the season. He played in the first six games of his NHL career, posting two wins and saving 167 of the 192 shots he faced, good for an .870 save percentage. They were noteworthy performances, especially when juxtaposed by Mackenzie Blackwood’s five-game losing streak and .890 save percentage to end the season. Cooley hasn’t played himself into a lineup role just yet but he was strong when called upon, even beating out Magnus Chrona for the team’s backup role. San Jose is almost certain to bring in more depth this summer, after having to lean on five different goaltenders this season. That’ll leave no shortage of competition for minor league minutes, though Cooley should enter next season as a favorite to start for the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Other UFAs: F Justin Bailey, F Ryan Carpenter, F Brandon Coe, F Jacob Peterson, D Jacob MacDonald, G Eetu Makniemi

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Luke Kunin – Kunin established himself as a core member of the Sharks this season, while serving in his first season as one of the team’s alternate captains. While not his best year statistically, Kunin was one of San Jose’s few spark plugs – ready with a deserved goal, heavy hit, or scrappy fight any time the team needed a boost. And while his performance only amounted to 11 goals and 18 points on the year, his intangibles were enough to earn a spot at the 2024 World Championship with Team USA, where he added three points in seven games. His benefits in San Jose know no bounds per David Quinn, who told Erika Towne of Fear The Fin, “I can’t say enough about that guy. I would go to war with him any day. You want him on your team every day. He’s always the guy doing it. So it’s just who he is; it’s who he’s been his whole career.” And while Quinn’s time in San Jose has ended, his sentiment remains – Kunin is popular. The Sharks will likely look to lock up Kunin for as long as they can this summer.

F Filip Zadina – Zadina was one of San Jose’s few beacons of hope this season, posting the most goals and points of the team’s bottom-six – though that only amounted to 13 goals and 23 points in 72 games. Still, he was one short of the career-high 14 goals and 24 points he posted with the Detroit Red Wings last season, and seemed to look a bit more comfortable making individual plays in the San Jose system. The team signed him to a one-year, $1.1MM contract last summer, hoping his play would earn him much more of a payday this year. That hasn’t entirely panned out, though Zadina’s season was likely enough of a lateral step to warrant a new deal. He’ll look to breakout on that deal, supported by San Jose’s influx of top end prospects Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

D Calen Addison – The Sharks acquired Addison in one of the first trades of the season, sending Adam Raska and a 2026 fifth-round pick back to the Minnesota Wild. And San Jose was clearly excited about the addition, awarding Addison roughly 20 minutes of ice time each night through his first 11 games. But his play didn’t keep up and Addison ultimately found his everyday role on the team’s bottom-pair. He posted just 12 points in 60 games with the Sharks while searching for that role, and while his play was enough to warrant minutes over fringe lineup piece Marc-Edouard Vlasic  and the oft-injured Ty Emberson. Addison still has potential, though he’s running out of time to prove it. The Sharks will be laying out his leash with the price and term of his deal this summer.

Other RFAs: F Thomas Bordeleau, F Jack Studnicka, D Henry Thrun, D Ty Emberson

Cap Space

The Sharks have a very busy summer ahead, with a total of 17 players facing the open market. But they’ll have more than enough room to both bring back their choices of the bunch and search for major additions on the open market, boasting $37.22MM in cap space, the second-most in the league. They aren’t likely to spend that full amount, though the additions of Celebrini and Smith could be enough to sway a few notable free agents to the lineup. San Jose will hope that’s the case, as they look to give their next generation of stars the best platform to start their career from.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Network.

Joe Pavelski Expected To Retire

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Speaking to members of the Dallas Stars in their end-of-season media availability, radio host of the Stars, Owen Newkirk, reports that Joe Pavelski is likely done with his career in the National Hockey League. Although Pavelski was adamant that it was not an official announcement of retiring, he mentioned that he had expected this to be his last season.

If Pavelski has ultimately played his last game, it will mark the end of a career that spanned almost two decades. Drafted in the seventh round of the ever-famous 2003 NHL Draft, Pavelski has not only beat the odds of making it to the NHL but will now be regarded as one of the most consistent American-born players in league history.

One of the major reasons Pavelski was able to procure such lasting power in the NHL is his hand-eye coordination. With most current All-Stars combining elite skill and speed, Pavelski never brought the same kind of mobility as the rest of his peers and instead became a menace in front of the opposing team’s nets.

For the first 13 years of his career, Pavelski became a staple of the San Jose Sharks organization, missing the playoffs in only one season. Pavelski played in 963 games for the Sharks, scoring 355 goals and 761 points, with 121 of those goals coming on an elite powerplay. Finishing the last four years of his tenure in San Jose as the team’s captain, Pavelski also helped the team to four division titles, four Conference Finals appearances, one President’s Trophy, and one appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

With the Sharks entering a rebuilding phase towards the end of Pavelski’s career with the organization, he left for greener pastures in the 2019-20 offseason. Over the summer, Pavelski signed a three-year, $21MM contract with the Stars, marking an end to his tenure in San Jose.

If anything, Pavelski almost became a more effective player in Dallas, scoring on a nearly point-per-game pace from his age 35 to age 39 season. Pavelski added another 121 goals and 307 points to his career totals while playing 369 regular season games in the Lone Star State.

During his first year with the Stars organization, Pavelski would get another crack at the Stanley Cup, this time losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite scoring 74 goals and 143 points in 201 combined postseason games with the Sharks and the Stars, Pavelski was unable to capture the elusive trophy throughout his career.

If this is indeed the end for Pavelski, he will have finished his 18-year career with 1,332 games played while scoring 476 goals and 1,068 points. Compared to other American-born players throughout league history, Pavelski would finish his career seventh in games played, sixth in goals, 12th in assists, and sixth in points.

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