SAN JOSE – Like a handful of NHL goaltenders, Martin Jones prefers not to speak to the media on the morning of nights he's playing. So when the 27-year-old Sharks netminder was named as an All-Star before a game in Edmonton on Tuesday, the media in attendance respected his typical game day routine.
His friends and family, though, may not have been aware of his preference for limited interaction. Congratulations were in order for Jones, who will be a part of the Pacific Division team in Los Angeles for All-Star weekend from Jan. 27-29.
"I was trying to push it to the next day, obviously we had a game that night," Jones said. "Lots of texts from family and friends. Everyone was pretty excited."
Jones knew it was a possibility that he might be named. In his second season as the Sharks' primary starter, and coming off of a brilliant playoff run, he's tied for fifth in the NHL with 21 wins and his 2.26 goals-against average is ninth. He'll return to the venue where he started his NHL career as a backup to Jonathan Quick from 2013-15.
Asked for his reaction when he got the news Tuesday morning, which was also his birthday, he said: "I was excited, it's going to be a fun event. Just going to be really cool to play with all those guys, and it's kind of fun that it's in L.A., as well."
Other than Brent Burns, a case can be made that Jones' is the Sharks' most valuable player through the first half. The club hasn't been scoring goals at its typical rate; rather, it's been relying on its defensive structure to keep the other team from getting on the board.
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That, of course, includes Jones. Although he doesn't often see many shots, as the Sharks are give up the third-fewest at 27.0, he usually has to make a handful of difficult saves on a nightly basis. That's a result of Pete DeBoer wanting his club to play an aggressive style, in which defensemen are encouraged to get involved in the offensive end.
"I'd like to think that we're aggressive and we still don't give up a lot of chances, but there's no doubt we give up a handful of quality chances a night," DeBoer said. "That's the difference in the games, and [Jones] knows that. He might not get 40 or 50 shots, but he's going to get 25 and a handful of quality chances. If he can make a couple big saves a night for us, that's usually the difference."
Paul Martin said: "I think he solidifies our team in general. When you have him back there to make the easy consistent saves, and stand on his head and make big saves – you need those in critical parts of the game. I think he's continued just to get better, as well."
Jones has been much more consistent than the start of last season, when he got off to a scorching start, cooled off in November and December, but was a rock over the second half and in the playoffs.
This season, he posted a 2.15 GAA and .916 SP in October, followed by a 1.96 GAA and .924 SP in November, followed by a 2.24 GAA and .916 SP in December.
That's consistency, and it's all an NHL team wants from it's goaltender. The knowledge that he will be there to make the routine saves with some spectacular ones mixed in gives confidence to the group to just play its game. Jones is doing that.
DeBoer said: "The guys just want to know what to expect every night, and that he's going to stop the ones that he should stop. That's all anyone's looking for, and I think he does that as well as anyone in the league."
There's another part of it, too, according to the coach. It's something that can't be measured on scoresheets.
"The guys like him," DeBoer said. "That's the other part about goaltending that you have to remember, is the guys have to want to play hard for you. He's a great teammate, and a real popular guy, and the guys want to go the extra mile when he's in there because of that."
That's why on that morning in Edmonton, while Jones was in game-prep mode, his teammates were happy to comment on their goaltender, who they will need to continue to play well over the next three months and beyond. The All-Star nod is the latest evidence that Jones is well on his way to establishing himself as one of the NHL's best.
"This year with the year he's had and getting the All-Star nod, it's nice to see that he's become a star in this league now," Joe Thornton said on that chilly morning in Alberta, while Jones was sitting in the corner, unstrapping his pads.