The Hockey News recently published its best 50 players list for the coming NHL season and the Sharks are a big part of the picture. The rankings are clearly subjective and different writers would each have alternate rankings, however, there is no doubt those making the list are among the League’s elite.

For San Jose, the franchise placed four players in the arbitrary grouping and they include Joe Thornton (25), Dan Boyle (34), Dany Heatley (38) and Patrick Marleau (42). The four skaters ranked tied for second with clubs like Washington and Chicago for team representation.

The leader among all clubs, with five players on the list, was the Vancouver Canucks.

The magazine was kind to San Jose in another well deserved area. It ranked HP Pavilion as the fifth toughest place to play in the history of the NHL, with only Joe Louis Arena (3, Detroit) ranking higher among current buildings. Past indoor stadiums that finished just ahead of HP Pavilion are the Montreal Forum (1), Boston Garden (2) and the Spectrum (3, Philadelphia).

5 YEAR TRENDS
In the last five seasons, the Sharks rank second only to Detroit in wins with an average of 49.6 per campaign.