Now and then, there's a player who makes their name elsewhere but has a short stint with the San Jose Sharks then is widely remembered for his time with another team.
One player who fits that criteria was surprisingly a member of the Sharks team that went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016, Roman Polak.
Polak wasn't a fancy player by any means, but he was a defensive stalwart throughout his NHL career. The Sharks acquired the then 29-year-old Polak and Nick Spaling from the Toronto Maple Leafs on February 22, 2016 in exchange for Raffi Torres and two second-round draft picks, which eventually turned into Maxime Comtois and Sean Durzi.
During his time in San Jose, Polak came essentially as advertised. He was a pure shutdown defenseman with minimal offensive upside. He only recorded three points in his 24 regular season games for the Sharks and didn't record a single point in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"Roman is a big, physical right-shot [defenseman] we were looking for," then Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said at the time of the trade. "He's a quality guy and great teammate."
That sentiment was echoed in the media at the time, with Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News writing: "The Sharks know what they’re getting in Roman Polak: A strong defenseman who can be relied on in close situations and be a valuable member of the penalty kill unit."
Although the Sharks came up short in the end, Polak was nearly a part of something that Sharks fans would never forget.
At the end of the 2015-16 season, Polak returned to Toronto for a second stint with the Maple Leafs before finishing his NHL career as a member of the Dallas Stars.
Today, Polak is an amateur scout for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization.