Pavelski said to be Dallasbound
Joe Pavelski, the Sharks’ captain and one of the most popular players in franchise history, is reportedly leaving the Sharks after 13 seasons to sign with Dallas.
The deal, first reported by TSN’s Darren Dreger, is said to be for three years with an average annual salary of $7 million. The NHL’s free agency period begins Monday at 9 a.m.
According to the contract-tracking website spotrac.com, Pavelski made $6 million with the Sharks last season. He entered this offseason as an unrestricted free agent.
Pavelski’s departure continues a busy offseason for the Sharks. On June 17, they made Erik Karlsson the bestpaid defenseman in NHL history with an eightyear $92 million deal and a day later sent defenseman Justin Braun to Phil
adelphia for a pair of draft picks.
Pavelski missed two weeks during this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs after suffering a head injury in Game 7 of the Sharks’ firstround series with Vegas. That occurred April 23 and he wasn’t back on the ice until May 8 when San Jose won another Game 7, beating Colorado in the Western Conference semifinals.
San Jose’s season ended in the next round when it lost to eventual Stanley Cupchampion St. Louis in six games. Pavelski played in the first five, but was injured in Game 5 and unable to play in the series clincher.
Pavelski, 35, was a seventhround pick by San Jose in 2003. He scored his first NHL goal in his debut with the Sharks on Nov. 22, 2006, against the Kings. Joe Thornton — who will turn 40 on Tuesday — was the only player on the San Jose roster older than Pavelski.
The team captain since the beginning of the 2015 season, Pavelski is in the top five of nearly every major statistical category in franchise history. He is second in goals (355, trailing only Patrick Marleau’s 508), third in assists (406, behind Marleau and Thornton) and points (761, again trailing No. 1 Marleau and Thornton) and fourth in games (963).
Last season, Pavelski had 38 goals and 26 assists in 75 games.
Five times he scored at least 30 goals in a season and 10 times he had at least 20. He scored a careerhigh 41 in 201314 when he was named to the first of his three AllStar teams.
In 134 playoff games, he has 100 points — 48 goals and 52 assists.