After a decade or so of rapid expansion from 1967-1979, professional hockey stabilized itself before adding its next team in the early 1990s: the San Jose Sharks. It was a bit of a surprise to go back to the Bay Area after the Golden Seals fled east in 1976, but the Sharks have done decently for themselves despite never winning a Stanley Cup. NHL Saturday explores an interesting list today of the best players to wear teal.

No. 10: Dan Boyle, D—49 PS (2008-2014)

Joining the Sharks at age 32, he immediately made the All-Star team, although he never made it again after that. In posting 24:37 ATOI in his six seasons with San Jose, however, Boyle certainly helped the team maintain its streak of 10 straight postseasons by 2014. With 48 points in 62 playoff games, too, he did his job on the blue line while also adding 25:07 ATOI in the process. Not bad for an undrafted free agent, really.

No. 9: Tomáš Hertl, C—50 PS (2013-2024)

He was the No. 17 overall pick, which means he was a disappointment with zero All-Star nods. It’s actually tough to find anything positive to say about him, which is a relative first for this miniseries. He was always “best” as a lower-line guy; as the team’s talent disappeared, his play dropped off with promotion to the top line(s). His 8.3 Point Shares in 2018-2019 were a career high; the team has not made the postseason since.

No. 8: Antti Niemi, G—53 PS (2010-2015)

He won the Stanley Cup as a rookie with Chicago—and then came to San Jose with high expectations that all but ended with an epic postseason collapse in 2014. In between, he topped the league in wins once (2013), while finishing in the Top 8 Vezina vote twice as well (2011, 2013). Yet he was just 19-20 in four postseasons with San Jose after going 16-6 with the Blackhawks in that one successful year. Disappointing.

No. 7: Logan Couture, C—81 PS (2009-present)

Another guy who looked good as a complementary part before struggling to be a leader later in his career: not good for the No. 9 overall pick. He’s never made All Star, and he peaked at age 22 with 8.2 PS as well. Last season at age 34, he literally posted 0.0 PS in six games, after missing most of the season an injury despite being the team’s highest-paid player. That says it all about why the Sharks hit rock bottom again.

No. 6: Marc-Édouard Vlasic, D—84 PS (2006-present)

For a second rounder, he has endured for a long time with the Sharks, despite never really being a top-line defenseman (just 20:48 ATOI for his career). His peak season—8.2 PS—came in 2008-2009, and it seems like he just hangs around year after year with the team. With just 1.2 PS last year at age 36, his time may be coming to an end in San Jose, but the fans will always appreciate his contributions to 12 postseasons.

No. 5: Joe Pavelski, C—95 PS (2006-2019)

One of the most beloved players in franchise history, he was a hard-working seventh rounder, and the team went into the tank after letting him walk. He was an All Star in 2014, and he topped the NHL in game-winning goal two seasons later as the Sharks made their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2016. In that playoff season, he also led the league in goals scored (14), even-strength goals, power-play goals, and GWGs.

No. 4: Brent Burns, D/RW—97 PS (2011-2022)

One of the more versatile players in recent NHL memory, he made three All-Star teams while with San Jose (2016-2017, 2019)—all as a defenseman. He delivered 24:24 ATOI in seven postseasons with the Sharks, including that 2016 run to the Cup Finals. We gave him our Norris in 2016, but he won the vote on his own in 2017 when his 15.3 PS, a career best, also led the NHL. Overall, he had three seasons of at least 12 PS here.

No. 3: Evgeni Nabokov, G—98 PS (1999-2010)

He won the Calder in 2001, but he may be the most overrated player in franchise history: a goaltender that always played just well enough to lose and avoid blame, really, as his 40-38 postseason record reveals. He made the All-Star squad in 2008, when he topped the NHL with 46 victories and a whopping 77 starts—but then went 6-7 in the playoffs. Yet, for a ninth-round draft pick, maybe he was underrated, you know? Hmm.

No. 2: Joe Thornton, C—112 PS (2005-2020)

Arguably the best player in franchise history, the Sharks acquired him in his prime and rode him for a lot of miles: he won the Hart vote in 2006, when he topped the NHL in points (125) and assists (96), and then he was the assists king for the next two seasons as well. Oddly, he made just three All-Star teams (2006, 2008, 2016) while with San Jose, but with 1,055 points in 1,104 games, he was a longtime force on the ice here.

No. 1: Patrick Marleau, C/LW—126 PS (1997-2017, 2019-2021)

Easily the most disappointing player in franchise history, despite the fact he set an NHL record for most games played ever: as the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, he only managed 1,111 points in 1,607 regular-season games with the Sharks and never posted a 100-point season. He also never made an All-Star team, which is pretty nuts. He delivered just a single season of double-digit value, in 2010-2011 with 11.4 PS. Ouch.