All Upcoming San Jose Sharks Games & Tickets
Conference: Western
Division: Pacific
Stadium: SAP Center (capacity 17,435-19,190)
Head Coach: David Quinn (2022-present)
Starting Goaltender: Mackenzie Blackwood
Star Players: Tomas Hertl (C), Mikael Granlund (C), William Eklund (LW)
2022-23 Regular Season: 22-44-16 (14th in Western Conference)
2023 Playoffs: Did not qualify
Legendary Former Players: Joe Thornton (F), Patrick Marleau (F), Evgeni Nabokov (G), Owen Nolan (RW)
Stanley Cups (NHL Championships): 0
For years after the collapse of the short-lived California Golden Seals (who played in the, er, Cow Arena) in the 1970s, San Francisco had long harbored dreams of NHL hockey returning to the Bay Area. Fortunately for local hockey fans, the first expansion franchise in ? years was granted to San Jose in 1991, where the owners chose a far fiercer and cooler animal when they named their team the San Jose Sharks and went with an awesome logo that featured a shark biting a hockey stick in half (not the most effective way to use a hockey stick, but never mind). The Sharks’ new home arena, the SAP Center, inevitably acquired one of the coolest nicknames in the league: the Shark Tank. The Sharks began like most expansion franchises, losing heavily in their first two seasons, including an 11-71-2 sophomore outing that ranked as one of the worst NHL seasons in history. The toothless new team soon gained some teeth, however, not only making the playoffs in 1994, but beating the Detroit Red Wings in seven before falling to a strong Toronto Maple Leafs team in Game Seven of the following round. Bolstered by strong draft picks and players acquired through trades, the Sharks grew stronger as the years went on, reaching back-to-back Western Conference Finals in 2010 and 2011 but losing both times heavily to the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks’ best chance to win a Stanley Cup came in 2015-16, when, led by Joel Ward and Joe Pavelski, the team overturned a poor start to the regular season and hit the playoffs in full stride, brushing aside the Los Angeles Kings before winning two tough series against the Nashville Predators and St. Louis Blues to reach their first-ever Stanley Cup Finals. Unfortunately (for the Sharks), they came up against a powerful Pittsburgh Penguins team led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin and lost in six games. In the years since, the Sharks have not been back to the Finals, though they did make one more run to the Conference Finals in 2019, where they lost in six to the Blues. Since 2019, the Sharks have missed the playoffs in four consecutive seasons. Fans of the team will be hoping that their Sharks can surge back into contention very soon and bring a first Stanley Cup to the Bay Area before long (perhaps with a few bite marks in it?).
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