San Jose Sharks

Question
First question is how were the San Jose Sharks established? Also I want to
find out who were hockey legends that were in the San Jose Sharks? What were the captains from then
to now? Who were the coaches from then to now? How good was the San Jose from the start? When
did the San Jose Sharks start playing? Was San Jose Sharks there first name? Was HP Pavilion their only
stadium they played? Why did San Jose start playing? What was their best result in the playoffs? What
their best result in the regular season?
Why is the Sanly Cup called the Stanly cup? Was it the first cup?

Answer
Hi Zack,

The Gunds family wanted to bring a pro team to San Jose in the 1980's but were denied in moving a team by the NHL. Then in 1991-1992, the NHL wanted to make the league bigger, so gave Gunds the opportunity to have an expansion team. From 91-93, they played in an older arena called Cow Palace. Then in 1993, they moved to the new arena which was formerly called San Jose Arena and now known as the HP Pavilion.

The Sharks have one player who had played for them in the Hall of Fame (since being a newer team, not many have been up for vote-ins yet). His name is Igor Larionov and he played for 2 seasons from 93-95 and was inducted just this past year.

The captains are:
   * Doug Wilson, 1991?3
   * Bob Errey, 1993?5
   * Jeff Odgers, 1995?6
   * Todd Gill, 1996?8
   * Owen Nolan, 1998?003
   * Rotating captains for much of 2003?4
         o Mike Ricci (first 10 games)
         o Vincent Damphousse (next 20 games)
         o Alyn McCauley (next 10 games)
   * Patrick Marleau, 2004?present

The coaches were:
   * George Kingston, 1991?3
   * Kevin Constantine, 1993?6
   * Al Sims, 1996?7
   * Darryl Sutter, 1997?3
   * Ron Wilson, 2003?8
   * Todd McLellan, 2008朠resent

The Sharks actually struggled its first 2 seasons, setting a record in 92-93 with 71 losses and only winning 11 games. Then they had a big turnaround in 93-94, improving by 58 points and making the playoffs.

The Sharks have struggled in the playoffs, never reaching the Stanley cup Finals. The closest they have been to the finals is the 3rd round (Conference Finals) in 2003-04 and they lost to the Calgary Flames 4 games to 2.

The best regular season for the Sharks is actually this year. They finished with a league best 117 points. Their second and 3rd best seasons have been the past 2 seasons as well.

The Stanley Cup is named after Frederick Stanley, the Governor of Canada who donated the trophy to 1892 to the amateur hockey league in Ottawa. In 1915 it was given to the winner of the NHA (National Hockey Association) and PCHA (Pacific Coast Hockey Association) in a match of respective league champions. Then in 1926 it became the cup it is known now of the NHL. Stanley Cup has been called that since the very beginning in honor of the donor.

I hope this helps you with learning some history of the Sharks and the Stanley Cup, if you  have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

Thanks,

Guy