San Jose Sharks Totally Explained

Everything about San Jose Sharks totally explained

Doug Wilson |head_coach = Vacant |captain = Patrick Marleau |minor_league_affiliates = Worcester Sharks (AHL)
Phoenix RoadRunners (ECHL) |stanley_cups = None |conf_titles = None |division_titles = 2001-02, 2003-04, 2007-08 }} The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their home games at the HP Pavilion at San Jose.

Franchise History

Bringing hockey back to the Bay Area

Although Northern California wasn't considered a particularly fertile hockey market, the NHL's 1967-68 expansion included a Bay Area team, primarily because the terms of a new television agreement with CBS called for two of the new teams to be located in California. Thus, the Oakland Seals were one of the six expansion teams added, but were a failure both on the ice and at the gate. After nine money-losing seasons and continued low attendance, 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 years of losses, the Gunds were permitted to merge the Barons with the financially struggling Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas 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 in the late 1980s, but were vetoed by the league. Meanwhile, 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 a compromise was struck by the league, where 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 NHL season. 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 in the Bay Area, based in San Jose. Over 5000 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 negative connotations (weapons, etc.) and went with the runner-up, "Sharks." The name was said to have been inspired by the large number of sharks living in the Pacific Ocean. Seven different varieties live there, and one area of water 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."

Cow Palace years (1991-93)

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. George Kingston was their first coach during their first two seasons. They were one of the worst teams in the NHL, as often happens to expansion teams — the 71 losses in 1992-93 is an NHL Record, and they also suffered a 17-game losing streak, while earning a mere 24 points in the standings, winning just 11 games. Kingston was fired following the end of the 1992-93 season.

Early success and rebuilding (1993-97)

For their third season, 1993-94, the Sharks moved to their current home, the San Jose Arena (now the HP Pavilion at San Jose). Under head coach Kevin Constantine, the Sharks pulled off one of the biggest turnarounds 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, one of the favorites in the Western Conference to win the Stanley Cup. 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 where, moments before Toronto's decisive goal, Johan Garpenlov's shot rang off the Toronto crossbar.
In 1994-95, the Sharks returned to the playoffs and again made it to the second round. 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 1989 Stanley Cup (a streak they wouldn't break until 2004). Key Sharks players were goalie Arturs Irbe, defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov. The 1995 season also saw the only rainout in the history of the NHL, when the Guadalupe River flooded its banks in March 1995, making it impossible for anyone to get into the San Jose Arena for a game between the Sharks and the Red Wings. 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. Their standing would help them draft Patrick Marleau (no.2 overall) in the 1997 NHL entry draft.

Darryl Sutter years (1997-2002)

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 two 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'd pulled on Detroit six years earlier, the Sharks managed to eliminate the Blues in the full seven games. San Jose, however, managed to last only five more games before being eliminated by the Dallas Stars that year.
In 2000-01, 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 for Jeff Friesen and Steve Shields. In the 2001 playoffs, the Blues downed the Sharks in six games in the first round, avenging the 2000 defeat to San Jose. The team's breakout year was 2001-02. Veteran Adam Graves was acquired for Mikael Samuelsson. 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 the 2001-02 season, the Gunds sold the Sharks to a group of local investors headed by team president Greg Jamison. Kyle McLaren was acquired in a three-way trade with the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins for checking-line winger Niklas Sundstrom and promising prospect Jeff Jillson, and Dan McGillis was acquired for Marcus Ragnarsson, but the team couldn't turn itself around. Sutter was fired and replaced by Ron Wilson midway through that season.

Ron Wilson years (2003-2008)

In 2003, Owen Nolan was traded to Toronto, and the newly-acquired McGillis, Bryan Marchment, AHL star Shawn Heins, and forward Matt Bradley were moved. Selanne left to sign with the Colorado Avalanche. Centers Alyn McCauley (from the Maple Leafs) and Wayne Primeau (from the Pittsburgh Penguins) were brought in to stabilize the locker room. Jim Fahey, who led all rookie defensemen in points despite playing in only 43 games. 2003-04 saw another turnaround for the team, resulting in the team's best season ever. An injection of youth, with players like Christian Ehrhoff and Tom Preissing, and the influx of energy with Alexander Korolyuk jump-started San Jose. 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. In the playoffs, the Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4 games to 1 in the conference quarterfinals and stopped the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 in the conference semifinals. The San Jose Sharks, for the first time, went to the conference finals. However, they fell to the Calgary Flames and ex-coach Sutter 4-2 in the conference finals with former Sharks goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff in net for the Flames. Kiprusoff was traded early in the season to the Flames for a second round pick (Marc-Edouard Vlasic was drafted for that 2nd pick).
The Sharks started the 2005-06 season slowly, dropping to last place in the Pacific Division. After a 10 game losing streak, what was widely recognized as one of the biggest trades in NHL history took place. The Sharks traded Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm to the Boston Bruins for Joe Thornton. The trade re-energised the team, and with excellent play by backup goaltender Vesa Toskala, the Sharks rallied back from their early season slump to clinch the 5th seed in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 in the conference quarterfinals before falling to the Edmonton Oilers 4-2 in the conference semifinals. Joe Thornton was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP, as well as the Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in points, with a total of 125. Jonathan Cheechoo was awarded the Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy for scoring the most goals during the regular season, with a total of 56. The Sharks entered the 2006-07 season as the youngest team in average age, as well as the biggest team in average weight, and they raced out to a 20-7-0 start, the best in franchise history. Ron Wilson chose the uncommon strategy of alternating both Vesa Toskala and Evgeni Nabokov every other game. Two significant trades were made at the trade deadline for defenseman Craig Rivet and winger Bill Guerin. The trades coincided with Nabokov, playing full time while Toskala recovered from an injury, putting together a string of outstanding performances and earning the number one job. The Sharks finished the regular season with the best record in franchise history at 51-26-5. In the conference quarterfinals, the Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators for the second year in a row with the same 4-1 result. In the Western Conference semifinals, the Sharks faced the Detroit Red Wings. After taking a 2-1 series lead, they lost a pivotal game 4 when the Red Wings scored the tying goal with 33 seconds left and went on to win in overtime. The Sharks would go on to lose the next two games in a row, losing the series to Detroit 4-2. In advance of the 2007-08 season, the Sharks updated their logos and jerseys to adjust to the new Rbk EDGE jersey. The Sharks rode on a very hot streak in the month of March, going the entire month without a regulation loss, and captured their third division title gaining a franchise record 108 points, second in the league to the Detroit Red Wings. San Jose started the 2007-2008 playoffs beating the Calgary Flames 4 games to 3 in San Jose's first ever home Game 7, advancing to play the 5th seeded Dallas Stars in the second round. On Monday April 21st, goalie Evgeni Nabokov was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina trophy for the NHL's most valuable goaltender. San Jose eventually lost to Dallas 4-2 in the Western Conference Semifinals. Game 6 required four overtime periods, and was the longest game in the team's history.
The Ron Wilson era officially came to an end on Monday, May 12th when the Sharks fired Wilson, citing the Sharks' disappointing second round losses in the past three seasons. Wilson ended his tenure in San Jose with a overall record of 206-134-45 in 385 regular-season games and a 28-24 record in 52 postseason games.

Season-by-season record

This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by the Sharks. For the full season-by-season history, see San Jose Sharks seasons Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Records as of May 5, 2008.

2003-04	82	43	21	12	6	104	219	183	1091	1st, Pacific	Lost in Conference Finals, 2-4 (Flames)
2004-05	Season cancelled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005-06¹	82	44	27	—	11	99	266	242	1058	2nd, Pacific	Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Oilers)
2006-07	82	51	26	—	5	107	258	199	939	2nd, Pacific	Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Red Wings)
2007–08	82	49	23	-	10	108	222	193	—	1st, Pacific	Lost in Conference Semifinals, 2-4 (Stars)

Notable players

Current roster

As of May 5th, 2008. (External Link

)

Goaltenders
#	align=left	Player	Catches	Acquired	Place of Birth
1	Thomas Greiss	L	2004	Füssen, West Germany
20	Evgeni Nabokov	L	1994	Ust-Kamenogorsk, U.S.S.R.
33	Brian Boucher	L	2008	Woonsocket, Rhode Island

Defensemen
#	align=left	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
3	Douglas Murray	L	1999	Bromma, Sweden
4	Kyle McLaren	L	2003	Humboldt, Saskatchewan
6	Brad Norton	L	2007	Cambridge, Massachusetts
10	Christian Ehrhoff	L	2001	Moers, West Germany
18	Matt Carle	L	2003	Anchorage, Alaska
21	Alexei Semenov	L	2007	Murmansk, U.S.S.R.
24	Sandis Ozolinsh	L	2007	Riga, U.S.S.R.
44	Marc-Edouard Vlasic	L	2005	Montreal, Quebec
51	Brian Campbell	L	2008	Strathroy, Ontario
52	Craig Rivet – A	R	2007	North Bay, Ontario

Forwards
#	align=left	Player	Position	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
8	Joe Pavelski	C	R	2003	Stevens Point, Wisconsin
9	Milan Michalek	LW	L	2003	Jindrichuv Hradec, Czechoslovakia
11	Marcel Goc	C	L	2001	Calw, West Germany
12	Patrick Marleau – C	C	L	1997	Swift Current, Saskatchewan
14	Jonathan Cheechoo	RW	R	1998	Moose Factory, Ontario
16	Devin Setoguchi	RW	R	2005	Taber, Alberta
17	Torrey Mitchell	C	R	2004	Greenfield Park, Quebec
19	Joe Thornton – A	C	L	2005	London, Ontario
25	Mike Grier – A	RW	R	2006	Detroit, Michigan
27	Jeremy Roenick	C	R	2007	Boston, Massachusetts
29	Ryane Clowe	LW	L	2001	Fermeuse, Newfoundland
34	Patrick Rissmiller	C	L	2003	Belmont, Massachusetts
37	Curtis Brown	C	L	2006	Unity, Saskatchewan
39	Tomas Plihal	LW	L	2001	Frydlant v Cechach, Czechoslovakia
45	Jody Shelley	LW	L	2008	Thompson, Manitoba

Team captains

Doug Wilson, 1991-93
Bob Errey, 1993-95
Jeff Odgers, 1995-96
Todd Gill, 1996-98
Owen Nolan, 1998-2003

Rotating captains for much of 2003-04

Mike Ricci (first 10 games)
Vincent Damphousse (next 20 games)
Alyn McCauley (next 10 games)

Patrick Marleau, 2004- present

Honored Members

Hall of Famers: The Sharks have had no Hockey Hall of Fame members as part of their franchise. Retired numbers: The Sharks have not retired any numbers. However Wayne Gretzky's number 99 was retired league-wide February 6, 2000.

First-round draft picks

1991: Pat Falloon (2nd overall)

1992: Mike Rathje (3rd overall) & Andrei Nazarov (10th overall)

1993: Viktor Kozlov (6th overall)

1994: Jeff Friesen (11th overall)

1995: Teemu Riihijarvi (12th overall)

1996: Andrei Zyuzin (2nd overall) & Marco Sturm (21st overall)

1997: Patrick Marleau (2nd overall) & Scott Hannan (23rd overall)

1998: Brad Stuart (3rd overall)

1999: Jeff Jillson (14th overall)

2000: None

2001: Marcel Goc (20th overall)

2002: Mike Morris (27th overall)

2003: Milan Michalek (6th overall) & Steve Bernier (16th overall)

2004: Lukas Kaspar (22nd overall)

2005: Devin Setoguchi (8th overall)

2006: Ty Wishart (16th overall)

2007: Logan Couture (9th overall) & Nick Petrecki (28th overall)

Franchise scoring leaders

These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season. Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game Player

Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Patrick Marleau*	C	795	238	301	539	.67
Owen Nolan	RW	568	206	245	451	.79
Jeff Friesen	LW	512	149	201	350	.68
Joe Thornton*	C	222	71	231	302	1.36
Vincent Damphousse	C	385	92	197	289	.75
Marco Sturm	LW	553	128	145	273	.49
Mike Ricci	C	529	101	162	263	.50
Jonathan Cheechoo*	RW	374	153	109	262	.70
Pat Falloon	RW	258	76	86	162	.63
Mike Rathje	D	671	27	128	155	.23

* = current Sharks player

NHL awards and trophies

Art Ross Trophy

Joe Thornton*: 2005-06 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Tony Granato: 1996-97 Calder Memorial Trophy

Evgeni Nabokov: 2000-01 Hart Memorial Trophy

Joe Thornton*: 2005-06 Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy

Jonathan Cheechoo: 2005-06 (* - traded from the Boston Bruins during the 2005-06 season)

Miscellaneous

Since 2007, the team sponsors Beijing's Asia League Ice Hockey team, known as the China Sharks.

Broadcasters

Television

Randy Hahn, Play-by-play

Drew Remenda, Color commentator

John Shrader, Intermission host

Radio

Dan Rusanowsky, Play-by-play

Jamie Baker, Color commentator

David Maley, Color commentatorFurther Information

Get more info on 'San Jose Sharks'.

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