Joe Pavelski’s 2016-17 season was a bit of a step back from the previous one, and while a portion of that can be attributed to the Sharks’ slight step back as a whole, his age and style of play do concern me.
The Big Pavelski rang up 68 points in 81 games, good for a point per game average of 0.84. A productive season, to be sure, but a significant step back from his 0.95 PPG in 2015-16, and his lowest point total since the lockout shortened season of 2012-13, when he posted 31 points in 48 games (0.