Former Sharks GM Doug Wilson says he made mistake with Joe Pavelski

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Cooper Godin
August 4, 2024 (11:15)

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Former San Jose Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson says he a made mistake with Joe Pavelski by letting him leave the organization.

In the summer of 2019, the San Jose Sharks made the very difficult decision to move on from their captain Joe Pavelski, who went on to sign with the Dallas Stars as an unrestricted free agent.

Pavelski would go on to spend the final five seasons of his NHL career with the Dallas Stars, helping them reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, along with back-to-back Western Conference Final appearances in 2023 and 2024.

In a recent interview, former San Jose Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson admitted he made a mistake by letting Joe Pavelski leave the organization as an unrestricted free agent and said that they should have kept him around.

"We should have found a way to get it done," Wilson said. "It was a mistake."

He added, "Sometimes, you can overanalyze things. But I as a GM, with my love for Pavs and realizing how special he was, I look back, I probably should have dismissed historical analysis of contracts for players that age and said screw it."

Since Joe Pavelski departed from the organization in 2019, the San Jose Sharks have seen plenty of change and haven't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, finishing last in their division on two occasions including the 2023-24 campaign, which landed them their first-ever first overall pick. The Sharks are hoping to turn the page on their rebuild next season, led by two of their top prospects - Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

Last month, Joe Pavelski announced that his time in professional hockey has come to an end after 18 seasons in the National Hockey League. Pavelski finished his career with 1,068 points (476 goals, 592 assists) in 1,332 games, along with 143 points in 201 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It'll be interesting to see how long Pavelski has to wait before he receives a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame.

If the San Jose Sharks kept Joe Pavelski in the summer of 2019, there's a very good chance that they would've kept their core around for at least a couple more attempts at a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But now after a rebuild, the Sharks are embarking on a new era and will look to have playoff success once again in the coming year.