Sharks Expect Fast Start With Dahlen On Board

If the San Jose Sharks are as good this abbreviated NHL season as they were at the end of last season, winger Ulf Dahlen might be their most valuable player.

Sure, goalie Arturs Irbe and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov were invaluable to the Sharks last season. But the team didn’t reach full bloom until Dahlen was obtained from the Dallas Stars in a March 19 trade for defensemen Doug Zmolek and Mike Lalor.

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Before the trade, the Sharks were 25-33-13 and fighting to secure their first playoff berth. After the trade, they finished the season with an 8-2-3 run, upset the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs and came within an eyelash of beating the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round.

Dahlen had 12 points in 13 regularseason games with the Sharks and five points in 14 playoff games.

The Sharks were a miserable powerplay team before Dahlen’s arrival (14.8 percent, 23rd in the NHL), but they had one of the league’s best power plays after the deal. The Sharks were 16 for 73 on the power play in Dahlen’s 13 games (21.9 percent), and he had a hand in six of the goals.

“I just came in at a good point,” said Dahlen, who signed a five-year contract in October worth $6.5 million. “Everybody was picking up their game, and the team just went on a roll.”

Jack Ferreira, the general manager of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, said Dahlen helped make it happen.

“I think that was one of the best trades made last year,” said Ferreira, who rates Dahlen, 28, among the top three players in the league at playing the puck in the corners. “Ulf is smart, he’s strong with the puck and he makes the players around him better. I was trying to get him myself all winter, but I didn’t have enough to give.”

Dahlen, who skated mostly with center Todd Elik and left wing Gaetan Duchesne at the end of last season, has averaged 27 goals in seven seasons.

“He’s probably the best puck protector in the league,” Sharks coach Kevin Constantine said. “He eats up possession time with the puck along the boards, which takes some pressure off your defense because he’s controlling the puck in the offensive zone.”

Constantine also praised Dahlen’s leadership qualities.

“He’s been in the league eight years and he’s a lot more of a leader than he gets credit for,” Constantine said. “That leadership is very important. He gets respect. People know he’s a good, honest player. … I’d be surprised if he’s not the captain of this team before his playing days are done.”