© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn ImagesRecently on The Hockey News' The Big Show, Michael Traikos, Ryan Kennedy, and Katie Gaus discussed where Logan Couture ranks among the San Jose Sharks’ all-time greats.
The conversation came after Couture announced his retirement from the NHL on April 15 due to injury.
Now that this era of Sharks hockey has come to a close, I figured it was a great time to rank who I believe are the top five greatest Sharks players of all time—and determine whether Couture makes that list.
Top Five Greatest Sharks of All Time
1. Patrick Marleau
First on my list is Patrick Marleau. When I think about the Sharks organization, the first player that comes to mind is Marleau. He was an original draft pick of the franchise back in the 1997 NHL Draft. He played 21 seasons with the team, scoring 522 goals and 589 assists for 1,111 points in 1,607 NHL games.
The only real argument against him being first is that he never won a Stanley Cup with the Sharks. Regardless, in my opinion, “Mr. Shark” should be widely considered the greatest Shark of all time.
2. Joe Thornton
Joe Thornton is the name most people put at the top of the Sharks' all-time list. He was one of, if not the biggest, acquisitions in franchise history. When he was traded from the Boston Bruins, it changed the entire outlook of the team. They were already a good group, but adding Jumbo Joe made them a lot better.
Thornton ranks second in franchise scoring with 251 goals and 804 assists for 1,055 points in 1,104 games. He holds the team record for most assists, which will be very difficult to break. While many considered him the best player on those teams, to me, he’ll always be second to Marleau.
3. Joe Pavelski
Joe Pavelski was one of the biggest surprises when the Sharks drafted him 205th overall in the 2003 NHL Draft. After taking a chance on him, Pavelski proved he had what it takes to be an everyday NHL player.
In 963 games with the franchise, he scored 355 goals and 406 assists for 761 points. He also holds the record for most playoff goals by an American-born player with 74. Nicknamed “Little Joe,” Pavelski was one of the best Sharks of his era, and that stretch of Sharks hockey was some of the best we’ve seen.
4. Logan Couture
Finally, Couture makes the list. Some could argue he belongs in the third spot, but I think fourth all-time is the right place for him. Following his retirement, he now firmly ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders, and it’s well deserved. He was the last of that dominant era of Sharks forwards and unfortunately went through some of the franchise’s roughest seasons.
Even so, he proved he belongs among the best. He ranks fourth in franchise scoring with 323 goals and 378 assists for 701 points in 933 games. Had his career not been cut short by injury, he may have reached the 800–850 point mark and would’ve likely hit 1,000 career games.
5. Evgeni Nabokov
The fifth spot is a toss-up between Evgeni Nabokov, Brent Burns, and Owen Nolan. Personally, I loved Nolan growing up. But I understand how important Nabokov was as the team’s backbone in goal. As for Burns, he earned the vote from the Big Show panel.
If I had to choose one, I’d give the edge to Nabokov as the fifth greatest Shark of all time.
