and on March 10, 2002 he scored a goal against the Vancouver Canucks, both the first European goalie to do so, and the first goalie to score a powerplay goal. At the start of the 2002–03 season, Nabokov held out in a contract dispute. After making less than $1 million the previous two seasons, he felt he deserved an increase in salary, speculated to be around $4 million per season. He missed five games before the team signed him to a two-year contract worth slightly more than $3.5 million per season. Both Nabokov and the Sharks had a poor season, with the team missing the playoffs for the first time in six years, and Nabokov only winning 19 games, and finishing with a losing record. This was improved upon in 2003–04 though, as Nabokov's 31 wins helped the team reach the playoffs again, where they reached the third round for the first time in team history. A further two-year extension signed in 2004 saw him earn almost $4.5 million per year. Nabokov was considered one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, and was often ranked as one of the top ten, if not top five goaltenders in the NHL by ESPN The Magazine and The Hockey News. However, the 2005–06 season was an off year for Nabokov, and his save percentage of under .900 was a big concern to the team. He was relegated to the role of backup goaltender behind Vesa Toskala. Despite his less-than-stellar play, Nabokov was signed to a four-year contract extension worth roughly $21.5 million in February 2006. The contract had a no-trade clause that was activated on the condition that San Jose made the playoffs. During the 2006–07 NHL season, Nabokov split the starting goaltending duties with Toskala. In the Sharks 82 games Nabokov started 49. Nabokov played all 5 games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2007 NHL playoffs, helping the Sharks defeat the Nashville Predators in 5 games. During the first half of the 2007–08 NHL season, Nabokov started the first 43 games for the Sharks, however on January 13, 2008, in Anaheim he received his first day off when Thomas Greiss started his first NHL game. Nabokov was recognized as one of the "Three Stars" for the NHL in the last week of December 2007, along with Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals and Jaromír Jágr of the New York