- Editor's note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California's Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
There are two schools of thought about Mario Ferraro.
On one side, Ferraro is seen as a coach’s dream: The defenseman’s compete level, in games and practices, is off the charts. He’s a culture-setter, a natural-born leader, who also happens to be a superior skater.
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It was no surprise, entering just his third season this past year, that the San Jose Sharks named Ferraro alternate captain.
On the other side, while Ferraro is used as a top-pairing shutdown defender, the results haven’t necessarily followed in kind.
Over the last two seasons, Ferraro, when paired with regular partner Brent Burns, has a -238 5-on-5 shot attempt differential. Per Natural Stat Trick, that’s the worst among 26 qualified defensive pairings (1000+ 5-on-5 minutes together) in this period of time.
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Basically, nobody bled shot attempts like Ferraro-Burns over the last two years.
Of course, these analytics don’t account for the pairing’s zone deployment (hard) and teammate quality (low).