Vlasic Still Loves the Game, Talks Sharks’ Next ‘Golden Age’

With Logan Couture stepping away from professional hockey, Marc-Edouard Vlasic is the only full-fledged member of the San Jose Sharks’ “golden age” remaining on the roster.

The 38-year-old defenseman missed the majority of the 2024-25 season with an upper-body injury, however, appearing in just 27 games, going through a grueling rehab to make even that many appearances.

Despite missing a considerable amount of time, it was a historic season for Vlasic. In March, Vlasic passed Mark Giordano’s career shot-blocking record to become the NHL’s shot-blocking king. He was also named by the San Jose PHWA chapter as the Sharks’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

As the oldest player on the San Jose Sharks, Vlasic has a unique role on a team defined by its youth. He’s one of two Sharks, the other being Barclay Goodrow, to have played alongside Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith.

Vlasic is headed into the last year of his contract next season.

In his exit interview, Vlasic spoke about still loving the game and overcoming his injury, the next golden era of the San Jose Sharks, and his lofty expectations for the team next season.

Here are some of the highlights.

Vlasic, on the San Jose Sharks’ youth:

We’re very young. Very, very young. Mack and Will bring tons of childish energy, in a sense, if you watch those guys warm up. I didn’t do that at 19, but they’re fun kids, good kids, great players, fun to have around. So it was great, we had a lot of young guys, young energy, and it kind of helped me feel a lot younger than I am.

Vlasic, on why players should join the Sharks:

Why should you come? Because we’ll have a good team. I know it doesn’t seem like it now.

But it’s a great city, great fans, good organization. I’ve been here 19 years, I could tell them, if I didn’t like it, I’d be somewhere else.

Vlasic, on being the last member of the Sharks’ golden age standing:

I didn’t think about that. I just keep playing, enjoying playing as long as I can. I’m sure 20 or 30  years from now, there’ll be another golden age of the Sharks when Mack, Smith, Asky, and Shakir all decide to leave.

Vlasic, on his sustained love of the game:

When you play for a long time, injuries happen. I’m dealing with one now, but I still play. I still love to play. The young guys know, I was told when I came in, enjoy it, it goes by fast. I tell them the same thing, and I didn’t believe the players [who] had told me. Now, 19 years later, I’m here. I have very few years left compared to what I did. So I play as long as I can, as long as I still enjoy it, and I still do.

Vlasic’s expectations for the San Jose Sharks next season:

Next year, to make the playoffs.

[For a] couple of years now, we’ve been at the bottom. We’ve been at the bottom long enough. So yeah, next year would be playoffs, and it’s not a big jump. We’re in close games. You need to win them.

The games with Calgary were one-goal games, and they were three points out of a playoff spot. Minnesota, we went to overtime. Vancouver, [we had] a couple of close games, and they were almost in the playoffs. So it’s not unreasonable.

Vlasic’s thoughts on Ryan Warsofsky:

It’s been a year. Give him more time, but I thought he was good. I think a coach at that age was helpful for the guys, because he’s younger than I am, so he kind of feels like he’s one of the guys. Thought he was fun to be around, joking around with the guy, serious when he needed to be. He was fun to have around. I’m sure this year helped him realize what he needs to do, and  I’m sure he’ll be even better next year.