The Sharks have signed one of their core players Joe Pavelski to a five year $30 million contract extension.
The Big Pavelski as he is often referred to as is locked in to be a Shark for years to come. According to capgeek Pavelski will finish out the last year of his current deal which pays him 4 million and his new deal begins in the 2014/15 season.
There have already been plenty of opinions about whether he is worth 6 mill a year and the argument can be made for both sides. I felt that the Sharks got a deal by signing Pavelski to his last contract. Is he worth 6… probably not but if he sure has been worth more than the 4 he has made the last few seasons so Joe was due for a raise.
Pavelski isn’t a flashy player who will be known for Bisonette like tweets, nor will he be part of a great big add campaign. He isn’t famous for quotes in the media and he doesn’t rough anybody up in front either net.
What Joe does do is play an honest and responsible brand of hockey that will net his team 20-30 goals a year and 50-60 points. He will play pretty much every game while manning the point on the power play, he will take care of his own end, he has never been a minus player, and will probably finish the season at around plus -10. Little Joe also has a knack for scoring big goals in the post-season which has proven to be something that is hard to teach.
Pavs is never in the press for the wrong reasons and likes it that way. Never has there been anything mentioned about him being a bad teammate and he wants to be in San Jose as a Shark.
When you add all those things up it is hard to argue the money he is due to make. Another way of looking at things are if you add up the last year of his current deal along with his new contract he will make 5.6 million per season over the next six years which is a little easier to swallow.
It seems that every year is a make or break season for this nucleus the Sharks have, but this year more so than others. At the end of this season the team’s captain Joe Thornton, the team’s all-time goals and point leader Patrick Marleau, and the team’s all-time goals and point leader for a defenseman Dan Boyle are all up.
That is not to say that all three they couldn’t be back the following year. If that were the case then they would need to take decreases in pay, which I believe will be par for the course. We are slowly seeing a changing of the guard in San Jose with Logan Couture being counted on more often along with Pavelski.
It is no secret that Patrick Marleau would like to remain a Shark and if he returns to team Teal in 2014/15 he would be in line for a decent pay decrease unless he has jaw dropping numbers this season. Marleau had average numbers last year especially considering he scored 9 of his 17 goals in the first five games of the shortened season leaving 8 tallies over the remaining 43 games. He played better in the playoffs, but he hasn’t been a plus player in the post-season since the 2005/06 season and only three times in his fifteen trips to the playoffs has the Aneroid Saskatchewan native finished a plus player.
Joe Thornton is also a candidate for a decrease but not a big one. Jumbo’s numbers have been pretty steady as a Shark and his playoff numbers have improved over the last few years. Joe has become a better spring time performer which will help his cause when it comes to negotiating his next contract.
Dan Boyle is another player who has emphatically stated that he wants to remain in San Jose, but his name was part of trade rumors this past year and where there is smoke there is fire. Boyle is 37 years young and still has plenty of spirit for the game. He may be one of those players that still get the job done at forty, but no matter how you slice it is highly unlikely that the Boyler will be making the 6.6 million he is making now next season; if he is it won’t be for the Sharks.
Former Shark Scott Gomez has recently signed a one year deal with the Florida Panthers. Gomez played center for the Sharks on the fourth line and on the second power play unit.
Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore
San Jose Sharks Blogger • 
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