Now that we know who will play for the San Jose Sharks, we can start talking about what to expect for the season. Every year, there are milestones that players close in on, whether it be the number of games played, goals scored or career points.
While there may not be a lot to look forward to this season, we can always take a moment to celebrate the little victories, especially for the individual players. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the milestones some of the Sharks could achieve in this 82 game season.
(Quick props to our friends at Raw Charge, who I stole this story idea from.)
NHL games played
1 game played
Ty Emberson – Emberson did not play for the New York Rangers during his first few seasons in the NHL and has yet to suit up for the Sharks. When he does, he will get to take that solo skate around the ice as is tradition.
100 games played
Kyle Burroughs – Burroughs has played 97 games as of this writing. He could reach the century mark as early as Saturday, Oct. 21 against the Nashville Predators.
Fabian Zetterlund – Zetterlund sits at 83 games played after opening night and could reach his century mark as early as Nov. 22 against the Seattle Kraken.
Nikolai Knyzhov – Knyzhov has played one of two games to start the season. He has played 72 games in the NHL and should reach 100 games played sometime this season.
200 games played
Filip Zadina – Zadina has 192 career NHL games after opening night and will likely achieve 200 games played in early November.
Alexander Barabanov – Barabanov’s sitting at 162 career games played at the moment and should easily achieve the 200 games played mark by Dec. 19.
300 games played
Jan Rutta – Rutta is closing in on the 300 games milestone. He’s at 296 and counting and should achieve 300 later this month.
Luke Kunin – Kunin has played 284 in the NHL so far and should reach 300 in late November.
Mario Ferraro – Young Ferraro should hit the 300 games played mark before his 26th birthday in September of next year. He currently sits at 254 career NHL games.
500 games played
Anthony Duclair – Duclair is closing in on 500 games. He has already played 491 and should achieve 500 when he skates onto the ice against the Washington Capitals on Oct. 29.
Matt Benning – Benning has 444 career NHL games. On a Sharks team that seems light on NHL-caliber defensemen, it’s easy to see him reaching that 500 mark this year.
Kevin Labanc – Opening night’s healthy scratch won’t help, but provided Labanc earns a spot on the roster, he could reach 500 games played this season. He currently sits at 432 games.
700 games played
Mike Hoffman – Hoffman is 19 games away from reaching the 700 games played plateau. He’s now at 681.
Tomas Hertl – With 666 career NHL games, Hertl will hit the 700 mark midseason.
800 games played
Mikael Granlund – Barring any injury, Granlund will also hit a milestone this season. He has played 752 NHL games in his career and should hit 800 before the year is through.
1,000 games played
Logan Couture – 1,000 games played in the NHL is a huge milestone and if Couture gets healthy ASAP, he could still reach that mark this season. The Sharks’ captain has played 927 career games to date and needs just 73 more to reach 1,000.
1,300 games played
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – With 1,241 games played, Vlasic continues to hold second place in games played in a Sharks’ sweater, trailing only Patrick Marleau. Vlasic has played 126 more games in teal than Joe Thornton and counting. He could reach 1,300 games played in the spring.
Career goals in the NHL
First NHL goal
With so many young players entering the lineup, there are a few that are looking for the firsts of their career.
Thomas Bordeleau, finally got the first of his career in his 18th NHL games. Interestingly, while he did have a goal on the shootout against Vegas, it technically doesn’t count in this stat.
Checking off the first of many NHL goals ✅ pic.twitter.com/zkmzOXVZIo
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) October 15, 2023
Meanwhile, Henry Thrun has played in the pros for nine games but has yet to light the lamp. He’ll be looking for his first NHL career goal in the coming days.
Finally, once Emberson finally gets his first NHL game, he’ll start looking to a new milestone, his first goal. The young defenseman has shown offensive upside in the past, so it should happen sometime this season.
100 goals
Kevin Labanc – Labanc will have to get into the lineup first, but once he does a strong season could help him go from 80 career goals to the 100 mark.
Career assists in the NHL
First NHL assist
Unlike the goals category, Emberson is the only uninjured Sharks player looking for his first career assist.
300 assists
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – It is perfectly reasonable to think that Vlasic, who has 287 career assists to date, could hit 300 by season’s end.
400 assists
Logan Couture – While Couture’s health is certainly a factor, it’s hard to see number 39, who had 40 assists last season, miss hitting 400 assists this season. He currently has 377 assists in his NHL career.
Career points in the NHL
Again, Emberson is the only current, uninjured player on the Sharks roster looking to hit this milestone.
100 points
Alexander Barabanov – Barabanov has 94 career points. By November, he could/should reach that century mark.
Jan Rutta – Rutta is not known for his offensive prowess, so achieving 100 points might be a stretch this season. However, he currently has 70 career points so he’s going on the list.
Filip Zadina – Zadina scored his first goal in a teal sweater on opening night, pushing him one point closer to 100. He has 69 points to date and if he keeps scoring at this goal per game pace, he’ll definitely reach the milestone.
Nico Sturm – Sturm isn’t getting the power play time he saw last season, but he’s within reach of 100 points just the same. The forward currently has 65 career points.
300 points
Anthony Duclair – Duclair has 261 career points. He’s speedy, he’s smart and he’s looking to prove he’s a top six player. He’ll easily reach 300 points this season.
500 points
Mikael Granlund – Granlund is the first of a trio of Sharks that could reach 500 points this season. He has 484 in his career so far and should have 500 before Christmas.
Mike Hoffman – Hoffman likes to score and if he can get back to form, he can go from 465 career points to 500 by the spring.
Tomas Hertl – Hertl wants better from himself this season and a 70-80 point campaign would definitely do that. It would also get him to that 500 points milestone. He currently has 451 after he was credited with an assist on Zadina’s opening night goal.
Franchise leaders
Games played in teal
Hertl has a ways to go until he catches Patty Marleau on the franchise leaderboard for games played, but he’s getting close to Mike Rathje, who is currently seventh on the list. Rathje played 671 games for the Sharks while Hertl has 665 under his belt. Look for Hertl to pass Rathje sometime this month if all goes well.
Meanwhile, Couture is closing in on Joe Pavelski on that franchise games played leaderboard. Couture trails the Big Pavelski by 36 games. Pavelski is fourth all time on the list behind Jumbo, Pickles and Patty.
Goals, assists and points scored for the Sharks
Couture is also close to passing Pavelski on the franchise leaderboard in a series of stats. Pavs is second on the team list of goals scored with 355. Couture trails by 32 tallies. When it comes to assists, Pavelski is fourth with 406, and Couture is just 29 short of that. As for points, Couture might have to stretch it to pass Pavelski this season, especially with his current injury situation. Pavelski is third on the team list with 761 career points in teal while Couture is fourth with 700 points.
Hertl is also trying to climb the franchise leaderboard in a few categories. He’s sixth on the list in goals with 203 and trails Owen Nolan by just three tallies. Hertl could conceivably pass Nolan later this month, and if he has a good season, he could also pass Thornton who has 251 career goals for the Sharks. Hertl is also tied with Nolan for sixth on the Sharks’ all-time list in points. Both players have 451.
Other franchise milestones
There are a few other, lesser-known milestones that Sharks players could hit this season.
For example, Vlasic could move up the team’s penalty minute list this season. Currently, Vlasic is tenth on the all-time list with 444 penalty minutes. If he gets 28 more this season, he’ll pass Dody Wood for ninth all-time.
When it comes to goals at even strength, Hertl is fifth on the list and Jumbo is fourth. Thornton has 161 even-strength goals to Hertl’s 153.
When it comes to power play goals, both Hertl and Couture have a chance to climb the leaderboard. Couture has 83 and is fourth all-time on the list. Thornton is third with 87. Meanwhile, Hertl is eighth on the list with 45. Brent Burns is seventh with 54.
On the other end of things, Couture is tied for second all-time in short-handed goals. He has 14, as do Marco Sturm and Nolan. If Couture scores one more, he’ll sit alone at second. Patrick Marleau holds the franchise lead with 17 short-handed goals.
Couture is chasing Pavelski in the game winning goals category. Currently, Captain Couture is third all-time with 55 game winners. Pavelski is second with 60. Hertl is also working his way up the list. He’s sixth all-time with 34 while Jonathan Cheechoo is fifth with 36 and Thornton is fourth 40.
Hertl is tied for second all-time on the franchise leaderboard in hat tricks. He, Pavelski and Marleau all have five. One more hat trick this season will place Hertl all alone in second. Cheechoo leads the Sharks with nine career hat tricks in teal.
Goaltending milestones
Mackenzie Blackwood could reach the 200 games played if he gets a few more starts this season than Kaapo Kahkonen. Blackwood has 153 games played in his career. He would need 48 starts to reach the 200 mark.
Meanwhile, it’s hard to believe but Kahkonen could place his name on the Sharks’ list of all-time franchise leaders in wins this season. Currently, Alex Stalock is tenth on the list with 24 wins, while James Reimer is ninth with 37 wins. Aaron Dell and Steve Shields are tied for seventh with 48 wins. Kahkonen currently has 11 wins with the Sharks and has an entire season to try and pass any or all of them.
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