Franchise History

Although Northern California was a hotbed of hockey in the latter part of the Original Six era, starting with the 1967 season, the first attempt to bring NHL hockey to the region was a dismal failure. The Oakland Seals were one of the six expansion teams added, but weren't very successful. In 1976, the Seals were sold to Cleveland businessmen George and Gordon Gund and moved to Cleveland, where they became the Barons. After two more money-losing years, the Gunds merged the Barons with the Minnesota North Stars. The Gunds emerged as the owners of the North Stars as part of the deal.

The Gunds had long wanted to bring hockey back to the Bay Area, and asked the NHL for permission to move the North Stars there. The NHL vetoed the move, but as a compromise allowed the Gunds to dissolve the North Stars-Barons merger and take some of the North Stars players to the Bay Area. In return, the North Stars would be allowed to participate as an equal partner in an expansion draft with the new Bay Area team.

On May 5, 1990, the Gunds officially sold their share of the North Stars and were awarded a new team in the Bay Area, based in San Jose. Over 5000 entries were submitted by mail for the new team. While the first-place finisher was "Blades," the Gunds were concerned about the name's negative connotations (weapons, etc) and went with the runner-up, "Sharks." The name was inspired by the large number of sharks living in the Pacific Ocean. Seven different varieties live there, and one portion near the Bay Area is known as the "red triangle" because of its shark population. The team's first marketing head, Matt Levine, said of the new name, "Sharks are relentless, determined, swift, agile, bright and fearless. We plan to build an organization that has all those qualities."

For their first two seasons, the Sharks played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, just outside San Francisco. During this time, under coach George Kingston, they were one of the worst teams in the NHL, as often happens to expansion teams. In 1992-93 they set two single-season NHL records--71 losses and a 17-game losing streak, while earning a mere 24 points in the standings.

For their third season, 1993-94, the Sharks moved to their current home, the HP Pavilion (known as the San Jose Arena until 2001). Under head coach Kevin Constantine, the Sharks pulled off the biggest turnaround in NHL history, finishing with a 33-35-16 record, making the playoffs with 82 points--a 58-point jump from the previous season. They were seeded 8th in the Western Conference playoffs and faced the Detroit Red Wings, the heavily favored top seed in the conference. However, in one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup playoff history, the underdog Sharks shocked the Red Wings in seven games. In the second round, the Sharks had a 3-2 lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but lost the final two games in Toronto; including an overtime loss in Game 6.

In 1994-95, the Sharks returned to the playoffs and made the second round as well. Ray Whitney scored a goal in double overtime of Game 7 of the conference quarterfinals against the Calgary Flames, adding to Calgary's streak of not winning a playoff series after they won the 1988-89 Stanley Cup (a streak they wouldn't break until 2004). Key Sharks players were goalie Arturs Irbe, defensemen Sandis Ozolinsh and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov.

In 1995-96, the Sharks finished last in the Pacific Division and failed to make the playoffs. The team also underwent major changes: During the season they traded Ozolinsh and Larionov; Irbe, who had suffered an off-ice injury, was released at the end of the season. The team began rebuilding, acquiring forward Owen Nolan from the Colorado Avalanche, as well as several other players. Constantine was fired midway through the season and replaced by interim coach Jim Wiley. The next season was no better under Al Sims, with the Sharks again finishing last and winning only 27 games.

The Sharks returned to the playoffs in 1997-98, with goalie Mike Vernon, whom they acquired from the Red Wings (the season after Vernon won the Conn Smythe Trophy), and new head coach Darryl Sutter. For the next 2 years, the Sharks made the playoffs, yet never advanced past the first round. This changed in the 1999-2000 season, when the Sharks finished with their first-ever winning record, but earned a match-up against the Presidents' Trophy champion St. Louis Blues in the first round. However, in an upset on par with the one they had pulled on Detroit six years earlier, the Sharks managed to eliminate the Blues in seven games. San Jose, however, managed to last only five more games before being eliminated by the Dallas Stars that year.

In the 2000-01 season, Kazakh goalie Evgeni Nabokov won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie. The team also acquired Finnish star forward Teemu Selanne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, who played for the team until 2003. The team's breakout year was 2001-02. The Sharks won their first Pacific Division title, and defeated the Phoenix Coyotes in the first round, but fell to the Colorado Avalanche in second. Following that season, the Gunds sold the Sharks to a group of local investors headed by team president Greg Jamison. The transition caused the team to miss the playoffs in 2002-03. Sutter was fired and replaced by Ron Wilson midway through that season.

2003-04 saw another turnaround for the team, resulting in the team's best season ever. They posted the third-best record in the league with a team-record 104 points (31 more than the previous season, and the first time the team had earned 100 points), won the Pacific Division championship, and were seeded second in the Western Conference. They charged through the playoffs; taking down the Blues 4 games to 1 in the conference quarterfinals and stopping the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in the conference semis—before falling to the Calgary Flames 4-2 in the conference finals.

The Sharks started the 2005-06 season slowly. Inconsistent goaltending and an inability to score goals dropped the team to last place in the Pacific Division. On November 30, 2005, after losing their 10th consecutive game which dropped their record to a 8-12-4, the Sharks traded winger Marco Sturm, defenseman Brad Stuart, and center Wayne Primeau to the Boston Bruins for star center Joe Thornton. Thornton had 2 assists in his first game as a Shark, a 5-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres which broke their losing streak. "Jumbo Joe" and his line went on a tear throughout the months of December and January. With Thornton as his new teammate, up and coming sharpshooter Jonathan Cheechoo went on a goal scoring spree with his new linemate. The red hot Cheechoo has been the leading goal scorer of the NHL since Thornton's arrival.

On February 7, 2006, the San Jose Sharks signed two of their brightest young stars, seemingly securing their future. Jonathan Cheechoo, the 25-year old right wing, was signed to a 5-year deal worth $15 million. Thirty year old Evgeni Nabokov, the 2000-01 Calder Trophy winner, was signed to a 4-year deal worth $21.5 million. Nabokov holds virtually every major Sharks goaltending record.