Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Here's a few of the Sharks Best's from the season so far while you take a break from the madness.
Best Bang For Buck: Tommy Wingels
Tommy Wingels has nine goals and 23 points through 35 games this year and is on pace to set career highs in every category. He’s sporting the save 5v5 P60 as Patrick Marleau (1.6) and is above Joe Pavelski (1.3).
He’s done all this while bouncing between the third and second lines – mostly the second these days – and getting some quality powerplay time (where he has eight points).
Wingels is under contract through the end of 2016-2017 at a cool $2.475M per season on the cap. If he can keep his pace and hit his projected 50+ points for the year he may very well be one of the best bargains in the entire league.
He’s a heart and soul player and you could argue, through the 35 games, that he could be wearing one of those letters on his jersey with the energy, heart and production that he’s brought to the Sharks this season.
Best Roster Surprise: Melker Karlsson
Karlsson has a goal and four assists in six appearances this year to go with a +3 rating and a 50.7% 5v5 Corsi.
Translation: He’s been one hell of an insert to the roster he couldn’t crack out of training camp.
Karlsson’s addition to the lineup has also brought Barclay Goodrow to life and has given James Sheppard a dependable linemate to give the Sharks the ability to roll three lines without having Wingels on the 3rd unit.
He’s playing himself into a permanent roster spot pretty quickly by gelling with Goodrow and Sheppard – not to mention passing most of his bottom six competition in points in only six games.
If I’m McLellan there’s just no way Karlsson goes back to Worcester, I don’t care who comes back from injury.
Best Todd McLellan Decision: Keeping Joe Pavelski Away From The 3rd Line
Prior to the season there were questions about where Pavelski would line up. Would it be top six with the other Joe or bottom six leading his own band of offensively challenged misfits?
Wisely, he has spent the year with Joe Thornton – scoring goals and making plays.
Pavelski to the third line makes as much sense as Burns to forward – which makes no sense at all – with the current depth on the Sharks roster. Little Joe is a third line player; the Big Pavelski is a first line winger. It’s called evolution and #8 has evolved into a dangerous goal scorer on every single shift.
40 goal scorers don’t play on the third line because third line players don’t score 40 goals. The pat is the past.
Best Doug Wilson Decision: Acquiring Brenden Dillon
I’ve already talked enough about how much Dillon has meant to the Sharks since coming over. I was a Demers fan and I don’t think that he got a fair shake this year in San Jose but Dillon has given the Sharks stability with two defensive pairings and has bettered Brent Burns in the process.
Maybe if Demers had of been paired with Burns things would have been different all season long, but I digress.
Needs were assessed and met and the Sharks have turned their season around as a result.
Best Music Video: Sharks Holiday Sweater
This needs no introduction, I’m sure you’ve all seen it. If not, I apologize, this just couldn’t be avoided on Christmas Day.
#SJSharks Exclusive World Premiere: #SharksHolidaySweater. Tis the season, yo!
https://t.co/YKc8FgnMiZ
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 8, 2014Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas!