The clock began ticking on a Joe Pavelski contract extension the moment the St. Louis Blues eliminated the San Jose Sharks from the playoffs. Today we learned that clock may be about to strike midnight, ending an era in Northern California.

Just spoke with Joe Pavelski’s agent, Dan Plante. The overwhelming sense now is that Pavelski will be moving on to another team as a free agent. Sounds like the end of an era in San Jose

— Kevin Kurz (@KKurzNHL) June 28, 2019

Kevin Kurz of The Athletic tweeted out a "Kurz Bomb." *BOOM*

I never thought it would get to this point. I never, ever thought the captain, the leader, the heart and soul of the Sharks locker room would be wearing another sweater in the fall. Even after the Erik Karlsson extension. Even with all the cap issues. Even with all the chatter pointing towards a dissolution of this partnership. Even with all the writing on the wall, I never thought this day would come.

Nothing is set in stone, but it sure sounds like the Sharks may not have number 8 on the roster this fall.

Since taking over the San Jose blog several seasons ago, Pavelski has been my favorite Shark. Not the fastest guy on the ice, but A guy that works hard. A guy that puts himself in harm's way for the greater good of his team. A guy that makes it very easy to like him on and off the ice.

When Pavs went down in game 7 against Vegas, the entire team rallied around him - genuine concern on their faces and revenge on their minds. Not physical retribution, but revenge on the scoreboard, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead and a series win. Hard hats on and back to work - because that's what the captain would do.

Captain since 2015, Pavelski is not the most flamboyant guy in the team, but he epitomizes what it means to play for San Jose - a lunch pale type of guy that punches the clock, puts his head down and busts his a** every shift. If this ruly is the end, I'm going to miss all of that - San Jose will too.

The Sharks will also miss the consistent offensive production.

Pavelski's collected 761 points in 963 games in teal and black. The 35-year-old ranks 4th in games played, second in goals (355), 3rd in assists (406), 3rd in total points and second in power play goals (121). He's scored at least 20 goals in nine of his 13 seasons and eclipsed the 40-goal mark in 2013-14. Pavelski makes his living tipping pucks in front of the net, a truly freakish skill that cannot easily be replaced. Oh, one last thing, he's 55% in his career from the dot.

The fact of the matter is this... the Sharks just don't have the money, or time, to make it work. Pavelski wants to be paid and he wants term on what could be his last NHL contract. You can't blame him for shooting for the stars or catching lightning in a bottle (see what I did there?). San Jose would be irresponsible to structure an unreasonable contract on sentiment alone.

If this really is the end - I wish Captain America the best wherever he ends up.

How are you feeling? Let's hear it.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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