Milestones to look forward to for the Sharks

Every year, players come and go from the sharks, but the core group of guys have stayed the same for the sharks for a while now. This year is no different. With the top 6 forwards resigned and geared up for a new season, here are some milestones to look out for.

Joe Thornton: 300 Goals - This milestone seems certain for Jumbo this season, as he is a perennial 20 goal scorer. Joe needs 15 goals to reach the 300 goal mark, so look for that to happen further down in the season, but Joe might surprise us this year... NOT. I guess that this milestone will come in January against the Maple Leafs.

Joe Thornton: 700 Assists - He only needs 54 assists to get this one, so i would put it in the bag. This is a huge milestone for Jumbo considering that he has a lot of hockey left in him and this could easily set him up so that he gets to 1000 assists before his career is over. I think that knowing Joe, and his ability to be an assist a game guy, this record will come in January too, hopefully against the leafs too.

Joe Thornton: 1,000 Career NHL Points - This is the most exciting milestone we will most probably see this season. He needs 69 points to get here and he has put up at least 86 points for the last 4 seasons. Hopefully we will get to celebrate this moment while on home ice. Considering that he goes a point per game or faster, he will reach this milestone in March, but i think Joe is going to be amazing this season, and will get this milestone against the Penguins in February.

Dany Heatley: 300 Goals - Finally, we will get to see the 300th NHL goal for Heatley come after waiting at the end of the regular season last year. There was the Dany Heatley shot that went in and he was awarded his 300th goal, but upon video review, Marleau had tipped the puck in. Then there was Heatley's inability to score throughout the last couple games and into the playoffs. All this being said, Heatley will score AT LEAST 1 goal this season and get his 300th goal of his career. Lets hope this happens while the sharks are in Sweden against the CBJs.

Dany Heatley: 700 Points - This is also a great milestone for Heatley and this one will surely come this season too. Heatley reaching 700 points will happen for sure and lets hope he regains his 50-50 form and dominates with the rest of the HTML line.

Patrick Marleau: 400 Assists - Marleau is the career leader in almost every stat for the Sharks, but he might lose this one soon. Nonetheless, He will reach 400 assists in his career and really makes any true sharks fan feel good for him, because the amount of media attention that he has received over the past couple years, it is about time that the media has some good news about him too.

Patrick Marleau: 700 Points -  Career Shark reaches 700 points. First Sharks player to accumulate 700 points with the Sharks. Marleau has held the gauntlet for Sharks points leader for a while now, and every milestone makes him more ingrained in Sharks history. He only needs 7 points to get to this milestone, so look forward for this happening real soon.

Ryan Clowe: 100 Assists, 200 Points - Here is a real tough guy to put on this list for me. i feel as though Clowe is not officially part of the core that the sharks have created and will not be traded. This means that if Clowe plays up to the standards that we have for him, then he will have his 100 assists early, and get his 200 points somewhere in March. 

Joe Pavelski: 100 Assists, 100 Goals, 200 Points - The Big Pavelski is about to hit the big time now. He grew tremendously in the playoffs and if he plays that style in the regular season, then he is due for a large point output this season, too. Pavs is not the heart and soul of all Sharks fan along with the top line. Pavelski earned his 4 year deal and all Sharks fans want to keep him around forever. When the 200 point milestone comes, I think we should all throw a party.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic: 100 Assists, 100 Points - Oh Vlasic, it is because of you that our defense is even considered a defense. No one on the sharks even comes close to how good this man is when it comes to defending in his own zone. In terms of defensive responsibility Vlasic is the god for the sharks, but offensively, we do not demand anything from him. That is why celebrating the offensive side of Vlasic's game will be really fun.

Scott Nichol: 50 Goals - There is not much to say about Nichol. Just 2 goals away from the big 50, this energetic old guy deserves to be mentioned. When Nichol scores his 50th goal, that day will be cemented in Nichol's memory forever, and as an unsung hero on a team full of offensive stars, Nichol getting 50 goals will make for a real feel good story.

Kent Huskins: 50 Assists - Slowly, I have decided to accept Kent Huskins as a shark, so I decided to add him to this list. Kent Huskins played solid hockey last season and really held his own against bottom line pairings.He will be counted on to do the same again this year and that should be enough to get him at least 9 assists to reach this mark. Huskins knows his role and, yes, we overpaid for him, but i think it is time to accept him a bit more.

Jamal Mayers: 200 Points - Well Jamal Mayers really has not played a game with the sharks, but he is destined to reach 200 points this season, because he only needs 12 points to get there. Together on a line with Nichol, i think that these two can really feed off each other. Both of them are hard nosed, fast skaters that are very physical. This might be able to cause some mismatches, or at least some favorable situations, leading to these two putting up good numbers.

A lot of Milestones to look forward to and some may be bigger than others, but to the players, these are huge confidence boosters, too. As you can see, i did not include any goalies in here, because I really do not know how that is going to play out throughout the season, so i cannot promise anything. Hopefully i am not done adding to this list, because the sharks will add someone, but it will be fun watching the players get career milestones.