A strong case can be made that Vlasic has been just as valuable to the Sharks ' recent success as Burns .
Vlasic still routinely skates against the opposition 's best players and has earned the reputation as one of the league 's best shutdown defenders .
A strong case can be made that Vlasic , who still routinely skates against the opposition 's best players and has earned the reputation as one of the league 's best shutdown defenders , has been just as valuable to the Sharks ' recent success as Burns .