San Jose Sharks season snapshot awards

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.

Today, the award-worthy candidates for the San Jose Sharks at the pause:

The San Jose Sharks lost 11 of their first 15 games this season (4-10-1), and injuries to key players, including defenseman Erik Karlsson and forwards Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl, thwarted any attempt of making a run at their fifth consecutive appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Despite the setbacks and inconsistency, there were some players who were able to provide a bit of optimism for San Jose moving forward.

To showcase some of those performances, here are the top players in various categories:

MVP

Couture experienced his fair share of growing pains in his first season as Sharks captain, including a fractured ankle that kept him out seven weeks (17 games). But the 31-year-old ranks fifth on San Jose with 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) in 52 games and has exemplified what it means to be a leader on and off the ice.

Rookie

Mario Ferraro made the jump straight from college to the NHL after the defenseman had 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 41 games as a sophomore to help UMass Amherst advance to the NCAA championship game last season playing with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar. The 21-year-old has 11 points (two goals, nine assists) in 61 games and ranks first among remaining Sharks defensemen with 120 hits (Brenden Dillon had 178 before he was traded to the Washington Capitals on Feb. 18). Ferraro should be a fixture at defenseman for San Jose for years to come.

Defenseman

Brent Burns' production has dipped a bit from last season when he led NHL defensemen with 83 points, but he ranks third on the Sharks with 45 points (12 goals, 33 assists), four fewer than forward Timo Meier for the lead. Burns has made strides in his own end, and he leads San Jose in blocked shots (115), ranks third in takeaways (49), and is second in average shorthanded ice time per game (2:28).

Defensive forward

Evander Kane is probably known more as a goal-scorer, but his presence as a two-way player has been a bright spot for San Jose. Someone who is not afraid to stick up for his teammates, Kane is second among Sharks forwards in hits (135) and takeaways (45), and he is tied for the San Jose lead in shorthanded goals with Hertl (two).

Comeback player

Aaron Dell had the lowest save percentage among NHL goalies to play at least 20 games last season (.886), but he has rebounded with a .907 save percentage in an NHL career-high 30 starts. Dell briefly took over the No. 1 goalie job from Martin Jones, who has struggled again this season with an .896 save percentage, second worst among goalies to start at least 30 games (Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators, .895).