The San Jose Sharks are on the backside of a stretch of 14 playoff appearances in 15 years. During that time, they had several great players up and down their lineup. With players like Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, and Patrick Marleau headed to the Hall of Fame, the Sharks' top 10 list is a star-studded group.
Greatest Sharks player of all time: Joe Thornton
The greatest Shark of all time is Joe Thornton. He put up a ridiculous 804 assists in 1104 games in San Jose over 15 seasons. Thornton was traded from the Boston Bruins in the middle of the 2005-06 season and immediately made an impact on his new team. He finished off his lone Hart Trophy season with 92 points in 52 games after the trade.
Thornton picked up two more postseason All-Star nominations and sits second in games played and points in franchise history. His number 19 is retired by the Sharks and he will almost certainly be enshrined in the Hall of Fame when he is eligible in 2025.
#2: Patrick Marleau
The all-time games-played leader in the National Hockey League, Patrick Marleau is an all-time great Shark. He is the franchise leader in games, goals, and points. The individual season numbers do not reach the same levels as Thornton's, which puts him at a very respectable number two.
Patrick Marleau was never nominated for a major award or named an All-Star. His number 12 is retired by the Sharks and, while he is not yet eligible, he is likely to make the Hall of Fame.
#3: Joe Pavelski
Joe Pavelski is another forward who was a key part of the competitive Sharks teams in the 2010s. He put up 10 20-goal seasons in his 13 years with the Sharks which puts him second in franchise history in goals. He put up 100 points in 134 playoff games including team-high 14 goals in the 2016 playoffs.
Pavelski is a one-time All-Star and was never nominated for a major award. He just announced his retirement after five seasons with the Dallas Stars, so his jersey retirement in San Jose could be coming soon. Pavelski will be an interesting Hall of Fame case but he should get in because of his 1000 game and 1000 point career.
#4: Evgeni Nabokov
Every great team needs a goalie and Evgeni Nabokov was excellent in his time with the Sharks. He finished in the top five in wins five times and is 23rd all-time in goals against average. His best playoff performance came in 2004 when the Sharks lost to the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference Final. He posted a .935 save percentage and a 1.71 goals-against average in 17 games.
Nabakov finished off his career by backing a young New York Islanders team to the playoffs in 2013. He played one season with the Lightning and retired in 2015. He is not in the Hall of Fame and does not have his jersey retired.
#5: Owen Nolan
The first great Sharks player was Owen Nolan. He was the first overall pick in 1990 by the Quebec Nordiques but did not thrive and was traded to the Sharks in 1995. He was named the captain of the team and immediately became the face of the franchise. His most iconic moment came in the All-Star game when he pulled off a Babe Ruth impression.
While there are no postseason All-Stars or awards and his number isn't retired, Nolan had a tremendous impact on the franchise. Every expansion team needs the guy that gets the fanbase to buy in and Nolan was exactly that for the Sharks.
#6: Brent Burns
The first defenseman on the list, Brent Burns clocks in at number six. While he started his career as a winger, he became the premier defenseman in Sharks history. Burns spent 11 seasons in San Jose and sits in the top 10 on the franchise leaderboards in games player, goals, assists, and points.
He is a three-time All-Star and won the 2016-17 Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman. His Sharks career ended when they traded him to the Hurricanes in 2022. He is still excelling for Carolina and is set to be a top-four defender on a Cup contender in 2024-25.
#7: Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Recent performance has hurt the public opinion on Marc-Edouard Vlasic but it cannot be forgotten how important he was to the conference championship in 2017. Vlasic has played his entire 18-year career with the Sharks and is signed through 2026. He combined with Justin Bruan to make one of the best second-pairs in the league for nine seasons.
Vlasic signed a massive extension and immediately fell off which has hurt his career as a whole. Without Vlasic, it's easy to see the Sharks never getting to that Cup Final and he should be remembered as an important piece.
#8: Tomas Hertl
Tomas Hertl was the biggest name moved at the 2024 NHL trade deadline. The Sharks stunned everyone by dealing the 30-year-old with six years left on his deal. Before the trade, he supplemented the aging offensive core to finally get them to the Stanley Cup Final.
He finished his Sharks career in the top 10 in games played, goals, assists, and points after 11 seasons. The trade signified the last move to tear down the competitive core ahead of this offseason. Now, they have first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini who they hope can recreate that offensive production soon.
#9: Logan Couture
The second piece of the young core from the 2016 run is center Logan Couture. He is still with the Sharks but has had injuries derail recent seasons. He sits third in franchise history in goals and needs 32 more to pass Pavelski for second. Couture has spent his entire 15-year career with the Sharks and is signed through 2027.
Couture also has no All-Star nods or major awards and won't have a great Hall of Fame case. His best career accolade is leading the Sharks in the 2016 playoffs with 20 assists and 30 points. While it has been a rough end of his career, Couture is an important player in Sharks' history.
#10: Martin Jones
Martin Jones is very clearly the second-best goaltender in Sharks' history. He put up a .923 save percentage on the way to the Cup Final and was fantastic in that regular season as well, with a .918 save percentage. Jones has bounced around the league and steadily declined since, and his six years in San Jose remain his best.
Jones sits second in wins with 170, which is seven more than Antti Niemi. While he is 123 losses behind Nabokov, he was the goalie that got them to the Cup Final and deserves this spot because of that.
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