Unheralded Joe Pavelski may be on the move this summer

April 22, 2019 Off By Jordan Stoopler

When one thinks of the NHL’s top goal-scorers over the last seven seasons, the usual suspects often emerge in conversation.

Naturally, attention shifts to the uncontested active goal-scoring king in hockey, Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. “The Great Eight,” as he is known, has scored 319 goals since the resumption of NHL activities following the 2012 lockout.

John Tavares, who comes in second on the list, is also a frequent mention in such discussions. The former New York Islander captain and current Toronto Maple Leaf has potted 235 goals in that span.

Patrick Kane, of the Chicago Blackhawks, comes next with 230 tallies, followed by Sidney Crosby in fourth place with 223 goals. Rounding out the top 5 is Dallas Stars sniper Tyler Seguin with 222 goals.

While the aforementioned players are household names across the NHL, the player in sixth, a mere one goal behind Seguin, gets paid little attention amongst hockey circles and often passes under the radar. His name: Joe Pavelski.

Pavelski has scored 221 goals since the 2012-13 lockout-shortened season. That amounts to more goals than much-talked about goal scorers Steven Stamkos, Brad Marchand, Jamie Benn, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel.

In fact, since Pavelski entered the league in 2006, he has scored 355 goals. 5 times he has scored over 30 goals in a season, including one 40-goal season (41) in 2013-14. He led the NHL in playoff goals with 14 during the 2016 playoff run, which saw his Sharks make it all the way to the Stanley Cup final, before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

This season, the Plover, Wisconsin native scored 38 goals and collected 64 points in 75 games. This came on the heels of what could be qualified as a down season by Pavelski’s standards, which saw him score just 22 goals (although his drop in production could be explained by preseason wrist surgery and a broken finger he dealt with in the early goings of the season).

Pavelski’s durability also cannot be understated. He has missed just eight games over the last eight seasons, missing one game in 2016-17 to rest up for the playoffs and seven at the tail end of this past season following a hard crash into the boards in a game against the Nashville Predators. Pavelski fell awkwardly on his right leg in the first period, but nevertheless continued on for the second and third frames.

Before this “lengthy” absence, Pavelski had not missed a game due to injury since January 11, 2011. The Sharks went 1-5-1 during their captain’s absence. He sits just 37 games from hitting 1,000 games in the NHL.

Pavelski has endeared himself to Sharks fans thanks to his willingness to go to the hard areas to score goals. He regularly positions himself in front of the opposing net during Sharks’ power-plays, with the goal of tipping Brent Burns wrist shots from the point past the goaltender. He makes it a mission to hit the ice early, before the rest of his teammates, to perfect his craft.

Tip drills with Joe Pavelski. Hey kids, you don’t get to be among the best in the world at tipping pucks for goals without practicing it. pic.twitter.com/YrDzBxQ44Q

— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) October 3, 2018

Practice doesn’t always make perfect, as indicated in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round match-up against the Vegas Golden Knights. Burns’ shot hit Pavelski in the face before finding its way past Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Pavelski would leave the ice for repairs, but returned the following period wearing a partial cage. His quick return to action earned him the moniker of “warrior” from head coach Peter DeBoer, matching the name of the company that produces his stick.

The 34-year-old Pavelski does much more, however, than just score goals. The Sharks captain is a regular penalty-killer on the team and has never been afraid of making his voice heard in the locker room. He was even named captain of Team USA at the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

If hockey wasn’t enough, Pavelski is also an avid golfer who can be seen playing in celebrity invitational tournaments in the off-season. He finished third in the three-day American Century Championship golf tournament this past July, behind former NFL quarterback Tony Romo and former Oakland Athletics pitcher Mark Mulder.

Pavelski does not currently have a contract for the upcoming 2019-2020 season and can become a UFA come July 1st. The five-year, $30 million deal, for an average of $6 million a season, he signed in 2013 expires at the end of this season.

The Sharks have made it known that they are not in any particular hurry to extend their captain, preferring to wait until season’s end to evaluate their options. Pavelski’s agent Dan Plante has maintained that he has yet to hear from the Sharks regarding any plans to re-up his client, but that Pavelski wishes to remain a Shark.

While the Sharks do have just over $21 million in cap space to work with for next season, there are a number of issues they will have to deal with internally, in addition to that of their captain.

Erik Karlsson, the all-star defenseman acquired from the Ottawa Senators at the start of the season, is also an unrestricted free agent and could be looking at an increase in pay from his current $6.5 million annual salary, should he decide to remain in the Bay Area.

In addition to that, the Sharks currently have only seven current roster forwards under contract for next season. Trade deadline acquisition Gustav Nyquist, inconsistent winger Joonas Donskoi, and tough-guy Michael Haley are also unrestricted free agents. Longtime Shark great Joe Thornton is a free agent as well. However, he might be looking at retirement as he approaches the age of 40.

Meanwhile, youngsters Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc are restricted free agents, who will surely receive significant pay upgrades. This all may leave little to no room to accommodate Pavelski and his significant cap hit.

Despite being in his mid-30s, Pavelski can expect a decent pay-day, perhaps even an upgrade in salary albeit with lesser term, should he make it to free agency, given his strong showing this season and the intangibles he brings to any locker room.

It is tough to imagine Pavelski wearing another sweater than that of teal come the 2019-2020 season. Pavelski, though, has other matters on his mind, at least for the time being.

His focus and attention is squarely on helping lead his team back from a 3-1 deficit in their series with the Golden Knights. The Sharks will host the Knights in Game 7 Tuesday night.