There have been quite a few people who have worn the number 31, but the two standouts were goaltenders who held the number back-to-back, Antti Niemi and Martin Jones. Today though, we'll focus on Jones.
Jones started his NHL journey with one of the Sharks' biggest rivals, the Los Angeles Kings after he signed as an undrafted free agent.
After multiple more seasons in the Western Hockey League and a few in the American Hockey League, Jones finally got his first NHL opportunity during the 2013-14 season and massive impressed. In 19 games that season, he registered a 1.81 goals against average and a .934 save percentage while going 12-6-0 with the Kings. He then appeared in two playoff games that season, which eventually culminated in him winning his first, and only, Stanley Cup.
Jones played 15 games for the Kings during the following season, but considering he was stuck behind one of the NHL's top goaltenders of that era, Jonathan Quick, there was simply no path forward for him in Los Angeles. As a result, the Kings traded him to the Boston Bruins during the summer of 2015, as they didn't want to face him on a regular basis, so they opted to keep him away from the Western Conference. The Bruins had different plans though, as they flipped him to the Sharks just four days later.
With the Sharks, Jones' game found reached a new level. During his first season in teal, he finished seventh in Vezina Trophy voting and helped the team reach the Stanley Cup Final before ultimately being defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The following season, he was named an NHL All-Star for the first, and only, time in his career.
Jones' play diminished considerably in his final three years with the Sharks, registering an .896 save percentage and hovering around a goals against average of 3.00 each season. As a result, he was bought out in the summer of 2021 and remains on the Sharks' payroll today.
Jones then went on to have short single season stints with the Philadelphia Flyers, Seattle Kraken, and Toronto Maple Leafs before his career came to an end following the 2023-24 season.
Last season, Jones served as a goaltending coach for the BCHL's Coquitlam Express as he begins his path into coaching.
