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Best player on the San Jose Sharks?

May 21, 2020, 12:01 PM ET [11 Comments]
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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our choices for best player on the San Jose Sharks.

Todd Cordell

Timo Meier.

He has quickly developed into one of the top wingers in the game. The guy drives play and is as efficient as they come offensively. Only 23 forwards have put up more points at 5v5 over the last two seasons – put another way, he’s scoring like a No. 1 forward at full-strength – and his efficiency stats make him look even better. Points per 60? He’s 22nd, sandwiched between Nathan MacKinnon and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Shot generation? He’s 4th on a per 60 basis. Chances? Even better. Meier sits 3rd behind only Auston Matthews and Brendan Gallagher, who I’m pretty sure exclusively parks himself directly in front of opposing goaltenders.

The guy has a crazy mixture of high-end skill and power that make him nearly impossible to defend. And at 23, he’s still getting better.

With continued development, and proper usage (he played a hair more than 17 minutes per game), I don’t think it’ll be long before he flirts with 40 goals. The sky’s the limit for this kid.

Sean Maloughney

Erik Karlsson came on stronger as this season progressed but I'm not prepared to call him the best player on the Sharks right now. While he certainly has that upside I'm instead going to throw some love towards Tomas Hertl.

Last season Hertl finished second in points behind Brent Burns with a brilliant 35 goal season. While injury hurt him this year the 26 year old forward was still close to being on pace for another 30+ goal season. San Jose had a number of issues this season and were a train wreck allowing the second most 5 on 5 goals in the league with only the Red Wings being worse. Despite that, Hertl still maintained solid possession numbers and still outchanced the opposition whenever he was on the ice. Despite playing 22 fewer games due to injury, Hertl still finished 3rd in even strength goals.

He might not be as established as Couture or as flashy as the younger Timo Meir but Hertl is a consistent force whenever he is on the ice. When not dealing with an injury, Hertl is able to be one of the best players in the league and plays above the likes of the two Sharks mentioned above.

James Tanner

The best player on the Sharks is Erik Karlsson who remains one of the best defenseman in the NHL, despite a couple of injury filled years.

Despite playing on one of the NHL's worst teams, Karlsson was a positive force for the Sharks, who were a favorite to win any time Karlsson stepped on the ice.

Karlsson was sixth among NHL defensemen in 5v5 points per 60, while being over 50% in all categories. Even with a slight age related decline, he's still among the best in the world, and easily the Sharks best player.

Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com

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