We almost certainly over-estimate the importance of leadership in the NHL. At best we give far too much leadership credit based on on-ice performance and at worst we know next to nothing about what an NHL player wants or doesn't want out of a captain.
So when I say Joe Pavelski leads by example, I'm not talking about his work ethic or his fantastic pre-game speeches. Pavelski dominates on the ice, both making the Sharks a better team as a whole and taking pressure off his teammates by soaking up the toughest competition St. Louis offers.
Of course he did all that before sewing the C to his chest and likely would have continued to do that had the Sharks gone captain-less in 2016.