What Made Joe Pavelski Such a Special Leader? (+)

“We were never the same.”

Peter DeBoer saw it firsthand, after the San Jose Sharks let captain Joe Pavelski go in free agency in the summer of 2019.

The next year, the then-Sharks head coach was fired mid-season, and the 2019 Western Conference finalist missed the playoffs, ushering in a franchise record five years and counting out of the post-season.

“On paper, people might have said we had as good a team as we had before,” DeBoer said, then reiterating. “But without him there, we were never the same.”

Meanwhile, Pavelski, who signed a three-year, $21 million contract with the Dallas Stars, and two more one-year deals after that, put up 121 goals in that period of time, surpassing 25 goals in a season four times. He also helped lead the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, and 2023 and 2024 Western Conference Finals.

Overall, Pavelski led the 2003 Draft class with 476 goals and 1,068 points. He was also part of a 2016 Stanley Cup Final, and 2010, 2011, and 2019 Western Conference Finals squads with the Sharks.

DeBoer wasn’t talking just about the absence of Pavelski’s scoring though, special as he was in that department.

What Made Joe Pavelski Such a Special Player? (+)

“Sometimes, you can overthink those situations, and forget what made Joe great wasn’t his physical tools. It was his attitude and his brain and his leadership,” the now-Dallas head coach, who coached Pavelski in San Jose from 2015 to 2019, said.

The bench boss wasn’t criticizing then-GM Doug Wilson’s decision to let the 34-year-old Pavelski go.

“There was zero doubt that in the coach’s room, we recognized his value and wanted him back. I really think Doug recognized that too,” he said. “It was like anything, it was cap and term. Those are the decisions that those guys up there have to make.”

Wilson Pays Tribute to Pavelski, Regrets Letting Him Leave Sharks

So what made Pavelski so special as a leader? What did the Sharks miss after 2019?

DeBoer and Wilson are among those who spoke to San Jose Hockey Now about Pavelski’s leadership, on the occasion of the ex-Sharks captain’s recent retirement.

Todd McLellan, Ryane Clowe, Brenden Dillon, Jason Demers, and Kevin Labanc also shared their insight about “Captain America”.