Former Sharks stars providing full value to Stanley Cup-bound teams
If recent history is any indication, Joe Pavelski will send Barclay Goodrow a congratulatory text message before Saturday night.
Then the two former Sharks teammates will probably cut off all casual communication — at least until one of them wins the Stanley Cup.
Goodrow and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders in six games Thursday night to win the Eastern Conference title. It was Goodrow who assisted on the winning goal in overtime, collecting a loose puck behind the Islanders’ net and passing in front to Anthony Cirelli, who beat goalie Semyon Varlamov for a 2-1 Tampa Bay win.
“That was a hell of a play by Goody to fake backhand and get that to me,” Cirelli said after the win.
Now the Lightning face Pavelski and the Dallas Stars, who beat the Vegas Golden Knights in five games in the Western Conference final earlier this week. The Cup final started Saturday night at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta.
Both Pavelski and Goodrow played major roles in helping their teams get this far, showing they were well worth the steep price their respective teams paid to acquire them.
“Would these two teams be in the Stanley Cup Final without the additions of Goodrow and Pavelski? Maybe,” NHL on NBC analyst Eddie Olczyk said in a conference call Friday. “But probably a better chance of getting here with these guys than without them, because of the impact that they’ve had.
“I don’t think anybody could argue what these guys have done for these teams.”
Before Dallas’ series with Vegas began earlier this month, Pavelski sent Pete DeBoer and Steve Spott — his coaches with the Sharks for four years — a text message to congratulate them on getting to the final four.
Then Pavelski said he’d only talk to them again after the series was over.
“He’s there for one thing, and that’s to win,” DeBoer said Sept. 5, “and you respect the hell out of him for that attitude, because when you were coaching him, that’s what you loved about him and that’s what carried a lot of the teams we had through the runs that we went on.”
Pavelski had a goal and an assist in the series and averaged 17 minutes and 53 seconds of ice time, second most among all Stars forwards. In 21 games since the postseason began, Pavelski has nine goals and five assists. He’s also won 54.6 percent of his team-leading 280 faceoffs.
Those type of stats should look familiar to Sharks fans.
From 2007 to 2019, Pavelski played in 134 playoff games for the Sharks and had 100 points, behind only Joe Thornton (106) and Logan Couture (101) in that time.
Across the NHL, Pavelski’s 12 game-winning goals for San Jose over those 13 years is matched only on Evgeni Malkin and Johan Franzen.
It was the type of resume that Stars general manager Jim Nill coveted after his team came within one goal last year of advancing to the West final. On July 1, Pavelski signed a three-year deal worth $21 million, a term and dollar figure too great for the Sharks to match.
“That was one of the reasons why I liked Dallas so much to come out of the Western Conference,” Olczyk said. “The experience, the big time contributions in all parts of the game — faceoffs, scoring big goals. When you bring in a guy like that, it sends another message inside that locker room.”
Goodrow, similarly, has fit right in with the Lightning’s deep and talented roster.
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois paid a hefty price to land Goodrow at the
NHL trade deadline, sending Tampa Bay’s first round pick and minor league player Anthony Greco to the Sharks for Goodrow and a 2020 third rounder.
What seemed like an overpay at the time looks well worth it now.
“I’m a big believer in our management and Julien. You have to give assets, and draft picks are assets — there’s no question,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said earlier this week.
“But I don’t think you can value that saying that if it’s a first-round pick, you have to get a 50-goal scorer. It’s not how it works. You’re trying to build your own team. There’s a reason Barclay Goodrows are at a premium and you have to give a first-round pick for him.”
Olczyk said he thought the Lightning, at the time, overpaid for Goodrow, but credits BriseBois for making the deal.
“No disrespect to future draft picks, but the players inside the locker room don’t really care about what picks you’re trading,” Olczyk said. “They just look at, ‘we’ve got a chance to win, we’re going all in.”
Goodrow was as versatile a player as the Sharks had earlier this season, playing in just about every forward slot — including the No. 1 center role for a short period of time when Couture and Tomas Hertl were both out of the lineup.
He blocked shots, played physical, stood up for teammates, was arguably the Sharks’ best penalty killer and grew into a responsible two-way forward.
He’s doing all of that as well for the Lightning.