George and Gordon Gund were awarded the franchise in 1990 after successfully selling their ownership share of the Minnesota North Stars. 1)
The name “Sharks” was chosen from over 5,000 fan entries, replacing the first-place choice “Blades” to avoid any connotations with local street gangs. 2)
Artist Terry Smith designed the team's iconic original crest, which features a shark fiercely biting completely through a hockey stick. 3)
The Sharks played their first regular-season NHL game on October 4, 1991, officially debuting with a loss to the Vancouver Canucks. 4)
During their first two seasons, the team was forced to play their home games at the historic, heavily undersized Cow Palace in Daly City. 5)
The franchise secured its first-ever victory just a few days into their inaugural season by defeating the Calgary Flames 4-3 on October 8, 1991. 6)
In their painful second season, the Sharks lost 71 games, setting an NHL record for the most losses by a team in a single campaign. 7)
Right winger Pat Falloon was the very first draft pick in Sharks history, selected second overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. 8)
Veteran defenseman Doug Wilson was named the very first captain in the history of the San Jose Sharks franchise. 9)
The team's permanent home arena, originally called the San Jose Arena and now heavily known as the SAP Center, finally opened in 1993. 10)
During pregame introductions, Sharks players skate onto the ice through a massive, 17-foot open shark head featuring flashing red eyes and fog. 11)
The Sharks essentially introduced and popularized the color teal in North American professional sports merchandise during the early 1990s. 12)
The team's beloved, high-energy mascot, S.J. Sharkie, made his first official appearance at a home game in January 1992. 13)
In 1999, S.J. Sharkie famously got stuck suspended by wires high above the ice before a game, requiring a delayed puck drop to carefully rescue him. 14)
The Sharks' American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, play in the exact same city at the Tech CU Arena. 15)
In 2015, the Sharks hosted their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Kings, in an outdoor NHL Stadium Series game at Levi's Stadium. 16)
The Sharks traveled to Prague, Czechia, to globally open their 2022-23 regular season with back-to-back games against the Nashville Predators. 17)
Veteran goaltender Kelly Hrudey was famous for wearing a bright blue bandana under his mask while playing for the Sharks in the late 90s. 18)
Drafted second overall in 1997, Patrick Marleau spent the vast majority of his incredible 23-season career wearing a San Jose Sharks uniform. 19)
In 2021, Marleau officially broke Gordie Howe's all-time NHL record for the most regular-season games played in league history. 20)
Patrick Marleau became the first player to have his jersey number (12) officially retired and raised to the rafters by the San Jose franchise. 21)
The Sharks acquired superstar center Joe Thornton in a franchise-altering November 2005 blockbuster trade with the Boston Bruins. 22)
Thornton won the Hart Trophy in 2005-06, becoming the only player in NHL history to win the MVP award during a season in which he was traded. 23)
Evgeni Nabokov holds nearly every major goaltending record in Sharks history, heavily leading the franchise in all-time wins and career shutouts. 24)
Jonathan Cheechoo won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy during the 2005-06 season by leading the entire NHL with 56 goals. 25)
Fan-favorite Brent Burns won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's absolute best defenseman following an incredible 2016-17 season. 26)
After retiring as a player, original captain Doug Wilson served as the Sharks' General Manager for 19 continuous years from 2003 to 2022. 27)
In their first-ever playoff appearance in 1994, the heavily outmatched eighth-seeded Sharks shocked the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings in seven games. 28)
Forward Jamie Baker etched his name in franchise history by scoring the iconic series-winning goal in the third period of Game 7 against Detroit in 1994. 29)
At the 1997 NHL All-Star Game in San Jose, Owen Nolan famously pointed at the net before scoring a hat-trick goal on legendary goalie Dominik Hasek. 30)
The Sharks secured their first and only Presidents' Trophy by posting the NHL's absolute best regular-season record during the 2008-09 campaign. 31)
In just his third NHL game in 2013, rookie Tomas Hertl scored four goals, perfectly capping the night with a spectacular between-the-legs shot. 32)
The 2015-16 season marked the Sharks' first and only appearance in the Stanley Cup Final, where they ultimately fell to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 33)
Logan Couture led all NHL players in postseason scoring with 30 total points during the Sharks' historic 2016 Stanley Cup run. 34)
Goaltender Martin Jones made a spectacular 44 saves in Game 5 of the 2016 Final to single-handedly stave off elimination against Pittsburgh. 35)
In Game 7 of the 2019 playoffs, the Sharks rallied from a 3-0 third-period deficit by scoring four goals on a single five-minute major penalty against Vegas. 36)
Barclay Goodrow completed the miraculous 2019 Game 7 comeback against the Golden Knights by scoring the series-clinching goal in overtime. 37)
The Sharks traded highly skilled defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh to the Colorado Avalanche in 1995 to acquire power forward Owen Nolan. 38)
Joe Pavelski, who would eventually become team captain and a franchise pillar, was famously drafted in the seventh round (205th overall) of the 2003 draft. 39)
Pavelski developed into an elite scorer and holds the all-time NHL record for the most career playoff goals by an American-born player. 40)
In 2018, San Jose executed a massive, multi-player trade to acquire two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators. 41)
During the 2022-23 season, Erik Karlsson became the first NHL defenseman in over 30 years to score 100 points, earning his third Norris Trophy. 42)
Kicking off a major franchise rebuild, the Sharks selected highly touted offensive forward Will Smith fourth overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. 43)
In 2024, the Sharks drafted Macklin Celebrini first overall, marking the very first time in franchise history they held the number one pick. 44)
Acquired in 1997, Mike Ricci's missing teeth, long hair, and relentlessly gritty two-way play made him one of the most beloved cult figures in Sharks history. 45)