Evgeni Nabokov Era Officially Over in San Jose
While it was inevitable that the Evgeni Nabokov era in San Jose was about to reach its conclusion, it is now official. The Russian, who became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st, has now signed a four year contract in the Kontinental Hockey League.
The former San Jose Sharks goaltender will now join St. Petersburg for the next four seasons.
Nabokov was one of the two big-name free agent goalies, along with Marty Turco. Teams around the league have shown very little interest in the two as they have elected to go with cheaper options.
As we saw in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, you don’t always need the expensive franchise goalie to have success. If Michael Leighton and Antti Niemi were able to lead their teams that far, that proves that a great team can win the Cup with a decent NHL goalie.
It now appears that Nabokov may have played his last game in the NHL. Despite the fact that he has not won a Stanley Cup, he has still enjoyed a successful career. He has helped the San Jose Sharks reach the next level in the league.
Letting Nabokov walk was just something the Sharks felt needed to be done as they have cap issues and the bottom line is, they still have not won a Cup. Also, perhaps it was time to go in a different direction.
This past season, the Sharks made it back to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2004, before they were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks in four games. Nabokov enjoyed a great year as he won a career best 44 games, but once again, he could not lead the Sharks to the promise land.
While Nabokov is not to blame for the Sharks’ playoff demons, changes have to be made to improve a team and it was just a matter of business for San Jose. Certainly, they have lost a very good goaltender, but they have to think of ways that they can reach the next level, which is nothing short of the Stanley Cup.
Nabokov has had a very good NHL career and the numbers speak for themselves. In his 10 NHL seasons, Nabokov has played 563 games. He has 293 wins, 2.39 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage and 50 shutouts.
His playoff numbers are respectable, but not enough to bring the Sharks a cup. He has played 80 post-season games and has a record of 40-38. He does have a 2.12 GAA and a .913 save percentage, but it has not translated into much playoff success for the Sharks.
Year after year, the Sharks end the regular season near the top, or at the top of the league, but fail to live up to expectations in the playoffs.
The franchise better hope that Nabokov’s departure doesn’t result in goaltending problems, because while respectable goaltending can be enough for a team, that’s not always the case. Amazing goaltending can also carry a mediocre team a long way.
So now the Shark tank has lost a solid member, but they are ready to move on and take other measures to help the organization. Nabokov will likely enjoy success in the KHL and become an even richer man and who knows, one day we may see him back in the NHL. One day, he will be a cheaper acquisition for a team in search of an experienced goaltender.
Now the Sharks have to prove that this was the right move for the franchise. They have to finally get over the hump and do what is expected of them. When a team has this much talent and has been to the playoffs so many times in the last decade, anything short of a Stanley Cup is now a failure. It’s a tough truth, but it is the truth nonetheless.
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