The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference. The franchise is owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises. The Sharks were founded on May 9, 1990, after the owners of the Minnesota North Stars sold that team and purchased an expansion team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Beginning play in the 1991–92 season, the team initially played its home games at the Cow Palace, before moving to its present home, now named SAP Center at San Jose, in 1993; the SAP Center is known locally as "the Shark Tank". They were the first team to be based in the region since the California Golden Seals relocated to Cleveland in 1976. The Sharks have advanced to the Stanley Cup Final once, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016. They have won the Presidents' Trophy once, as the team with the league's best regular season record in the 2008–09 season. They have also won six division titles as a member of the Pacific Division since 1993.
The Sharks are affiliated with the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL.
History
San Francisco Bay Area hockey Ice hockey in the San Francisco Bay Area began with the San Francisco Seals of the Western Hockey League (WHL) when they were awarded an expansion franchise for San Francisco on April 23, 1961. The Seals won two WHL championships and were renamed to the California Seals in 1966.
In 1967, the California Golden Seals joined the NHL as part of the 1967 NHL expansion. They played their seasons from 1967 to 1976, but were neither successful on the ice nor at the box office. Gordon and George Gund III became minority owners of the Golden Seals in 1974, and were instrumental in their move to Cleveland in 1976 and a 1978 merger with the Minnesota North Stars, which they purchased that year.
In 1988, a group led by former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin was pushing the NHL to bring a team to San Jose, where a new arena was being built. Eventually, the League struck a compromise: the Gunds would sell their share of the North Stars to Baldwin's group, with the Gunds receiving an expansion team in the Bay Area to begin play in the 1991–92 season and being allowed to take a certain number of players from the North Stars to their new club.
San Jose Sharks birth 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 to Baldwin and were awarded a new team for the Bay Area, based in San Jose. The owners paid to the league an expansion fee of US$45 million and the new franchise was approved on May 9.
Over 5,000 potential names were submitted by mail for the new team. While the first-place finisher was "Blades", the Gunds were concerned about the name's potentially negative association with weapons, and went with the runner-up, "Sharks". The name was inspired by the large number of sharks living in the Pacific Ocean. Seven varieties live there, and one area of water near the Bay Area is known as the "red triangle" because of its shark population. Matt Levine—the team's first marketing head—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." Jack Ferreira was hired as the team's first general manager.
Cow Palace years (1991–1993)
For their first two seasons, the Sharks played at the Cow Palace in Daly City, just outside San Francisco. Pat Falloon was their first draft choice and led the team in points during their first season. The team was placed in the Campbell Conference's Smythe Division. George Kingston was their first head coach. Though the 1991–92 roster consisted primarily of NHL journeymen, minor leaguers and rookies, the Sharks had at least one notable player when they acquired 14-year veteran and former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Doug Wilson from the Chicago Blackhawks on September 6, 1991. Wilson was named the team's first captain and All-Star representative in the inaugural season. However, the team struggled in its first two seasons. Between their first and second seasons, they fired Ferreira, promoting Kingston, director of player personnel Chuck Grillo, and assistant GM Dean Lombardi as the shared general manager. Their 71 losses in the 1992–93 season is an NHL record. During this season, they suffered a 17-game losing streak (a then-NHL record), and won only 11 games while earning 24 points in the standings. Kingston was fired following the end of the 1992–93 season.
Despite the Sharks' futility in the standings, the team led the NHL's merchandise sales with $150 million, accounting for 27% of the NHL's total and behind only National Basketball Association champions Chicago Bulls among all North American leagues.
The inaugural year also saw the introduction of the San Jose Sharks mascot, "S. J. Sharkie". On January 28, 1992, at a game against the New York Rangers, the then-unnamed mascot emerged from a Zamboni during an intermission. A "Name the Mascot" contest began that night, with the winning name of "S. J. Sharkie" being announced on April 15, 1992.
Early success and rebuilding (1993–1996)
For their third season, 1993–94, the Sharks moved to their new and current home, the San Jose Arena, and were placed in the Western Conference's Pacific Division. Under new head coach Kevin Constantine, they finished with a 33–35–16 record and made the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in team history with 82 points, an NHL record 58-point jump from the previous season. They were seeded eighth in the Western Conference playoffs and faced the Detroit Red Wings, the top-seeded Western Conference team and a favorite to win the Stanley Cup. In one of the biggest upsets in Stanley Cup playoff history, the Sharks defeated the Red Wings in seven games. In game seven at Joe Louis Arena, Jamie Baker scored the game-winning goal in the third period after goaltender Chris Osgood was out of position and the Sharks won 3–2, becoming the first eighth-seed in the history of North American professional sports to defeat the first seed in a playoff series. In the second round, the Sharks had a 3–2 series lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but lost the final two games in Toronto.
In 1994–95, the Sharks earned their second-straight playoff berth and again reached the second round. Ray Whitney scored the double-overtime game-winning goal of game seven of the conference quarterfinals against the Calgary Flames. Despite their success against Calgary, they lost in a four-game sweep to Detroit. Constantine was given a three-year deal prior to the 1995–96 season.
In the regular season, Constantine was fired after a 3–18–4 start to the season and replaced by Jim Wiley. The Sharks finished last in the Pacific Division and failed to make the playoffs. The team also traded out defenseman Sandis Ozoliņš to the Colorado Avalanche for Owen Nolan. Grillo was also fired with Lombardi holding the sole responsibility of general manager.
Dean Lombardi era (1996–2003) The 1996–97 season was no better under Al Sims, with the Sharks again finishing last and winning only 27 games. Sims was fired after his one season of play. Their standing would help them draft Patrick Marleau second overall in the 1997 NHL entry draft. The Sharks returned to the playoffs in 1997–98 with goaltender Mike Vernon, whom they acquired from the Red Wings, and new head coach Darryl Sutter. They were eliminated by the Dallas Stars in the conference quarterfinals. Over the summer, they acquired goaltender Steve Shields, and during the 1998–99 season, San Jose acquired Montreal Canadiens forward Vincent Damphousse. However, the Colorado Avalanche defeated them in the conference quarterfinals. In the playoffs, the Sharks eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning St. Louis Blues by coming back from a 3–1 series deficit to win in seven games. However, the Sharks were defeated in the second round of the playoffs by the Stars.
In 2000–01, Kazakh goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who was originally drafted in 1994, won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie. The team also acquired Finnish star forward Teemu Selänne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In the 2001 playoffs, the St. Louis Blues eliminated the Sharks in six games in the first round. In 2001–02, the Sharks won their first Pacific Division title, but they fell to the Avalanche in the second round in seven games.
Following the 2001–02 season, the Gunds sold the Sharks to a group of local investors headed by team president Greg Jamison. The 2002–03 season did not start well for the Sharks as they began 8–12–2–2 and fired Sutter as head coach. Ron Wilson was hired as head coach a few days later. Near the 2003 NHL trade deadline, captain Owen Nolan was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lombardi's tenure with the team ended with his dismissal on March 18, 2003. Doug Wilson was named to the role on May 13.
Doug Wilson era (2003–2022)
Resurgence and arrival of Joe Thornton (2003–2008) The 2003–04 season saw the team turn around their record from the previous season, finishing atop the Pacific Division. In the 2004 playoffs, the Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues in the conference quarterfinals and the Colorado Avalanche in the conference semifinals, advancing to the conference finals. However, they fell to the Calgary Flames in six games. During that season, without a captain following Nolan's trade, San Jose utilized a rotating captaincy. When the job eventually fell to Patrick Marleau, he kept the captaincy. During the offseason, forward Vincent Damphousse was left in free agency to the Colorado Avalanche.
During the 2005–06 season the Sharks traded Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau, and Marco Sturm to the Boston Bruins in exchange for star player Joe Thornton. In the 2006 playoffs, the Sharks fell to the Edmonton Oilers in the conference semifinals. Thornton was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player, as well as the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points, with 125. Jonathan Cheechoo was awarded the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals during the regular season with 56.
During the 2006–07 season they traded for defenseman Craig Rivet and winger Bill Guerin at the trade deadline. The Sharks finished the regular season second in the Pacific Division with a 51–26–5 record. In the conference quarterfinals, the Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators for the second consecutive year. In the conference semifinals, the Sharks were defeated by the Detroit Red Wings.
In the 2007–08 season, the Sharks picked up Brian Campbell at the trade deadline, giving up Steve Bernier. The Sharks captured their third Pacific Division title with a franchise-record 108 points. San Jose started the 2008 playoffs beating the Calgary Flames four games to three. San Jose eventually lost to the Dallas Stars in the conference semifinals. Game six required four overtime periods, and was the longest game in the team's history. Following the playoff loss, the Sharks fired Ron Wilson as head coach.
Todd McLellan as head coach (2008–2015)