San Jose Sharks Top Five Lists
I remember way back in junior high school, the San Jose Sharks were the newest expansion addition to the NHL. All the so-called cool kids were clad in teal Sharks' parkas, toques, caps, whatever, it was all teal. The Sharks were the first step by the NHL in establishing itself as a sports power in the Southern California region. If Wayne Gretzky isn't traded to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988, no way there's a team in San Jose today. Kudos to the Bay Area fanbase though, as they've fervently supported this team, throughout a few very trying seasons, not to mention a couple of setback seasons as well.
So far this season, the Sharks have taken their time getting the ol' team chemistry back together. This is a team that made very few roster moves before & after the lockout. Team management is apparently satisfied with the personnel they currently have & are willing to make another go at it with the relatively same cast of players. I've predicted the Sharks to place 2nd in the Western Conference this season, so we'll see how that goes.
For more information on the history of the San Jose Sharks, click here.
Top Five All Time Penalty Minute Leaders - prior to 2005-06 season
5. Andrei "The Nazmanian Devil" Nazarov (1993 - 98) LW - 169 GP - 490 PIM
4. Jayson More (1991 - 96) D - 287 GP - 545 PIM
3. Bryan "Knee on Knee" Marchment (1997 - 2003) D - 334 GP - 706 PIM
2. Owen "The Belfast Bruiser" Nolan (1995 - 2003) RW - 568 GP - 934 PIM
1. Jeff Odgers (1991 - 96) RW - 334 GP - 1001 PIM
Top Five All Time Captains
5. Todd Gill (1996 - 98) - veteran player captained the team back into the first round of the playoffs
4. Doug Wilson (1991 - 93) - the Sharks' current GM was the original captain of the fledgling franchise, having to endure some pretty horrible seasons, but creating a solid leadership foundation from the start
3. Patrick Marleau (2003 - present) - time will tell whether Marleau rises or falls, though last season he did captain the team to their first ever Western Conference Final, losing in 6 games to the Calgary Flames
2. Bob Errey (1993 - 95) - captained the Sharks to their first two playoff appearances, not to mention two seperate first round upsets over decidedly favourite teams in the Detroit Red Wings & the Calgary Flames in subsequent seasons
1. Owen Nolan (1998 - 2003) - the Sharks never missed the playoffs in all the full seasons of Nolan's captaincy, though they never went further than the second round either
Top Five All Time Head Coaches
5. Jim Wiley (1995 - 96)
4. Al Sims (1996 - 97) - the Sharks have only had six head coaches, so numbers 4 & 5 were just better statistically
3. Ron Wilson (2003 - present) - coached the Sharks to their first ever Western Conference Final, losing in 6 games to the Calgary Flames
2. Kevin Constantine (1993 - 96) - coached the team to their first couple playoff appearances, as well as startling first round upsets over the Red Wings & Flames in subsequent seasons
1. Darryl Sutter (1997 - 2002) - turned the Sharks into a Western Conference powerhouse, coaching the team to five straight seasons of improvement, though they seemed to have hit a plateau when he was summarily dismissed in the 2002-03 season; Sharks never missed the playoffs in a full season under Sutter
Top Five All Time Seasons
5. 2000-01 (40-27-12-3) 95 PTS - strong regular season still led to a first round playoff defeat
4. 1999-2000 (35-30-10-7) 87 PTS - first season the Sharks ever finished over .500, & they made it to the second round of the playoffs
3. 1993-94 (33-35-16) 82 PTS - the Sharks make the playoffs for the first time, & after a surprising first round upset of the Detroit Red Wings, were a crossbar away from advancing to the Conference Finals
2. 2001-02 (44-27-8-3) 99 PTS - won first ever division title & for the second time in their history, the Sharks were one game away from advancing to the Conference Finals in the playoffs, but ended up losing; Darryl Sutter's last full season coaching the Sharks
1. 2003-04 (43-21-12-6) 104 PTS - statistically, the Sharks' best season ever, as well as the first time they made it past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs
Top Five All Time Points Leaders - prior to 2005-06 season
5. Mike Ricci (1997 - 2004) - 529 GP - 101 G - 162 A - 263 PTS Centre
4. Vincent Damphousse (1999 - 2004) - 385 GP - 92 G - 197 A - 289 PTS Centre
3. Patrick Marleau (1997 - present) - 558 GP - 153 G - 174 A - 327 PTS Centre
2. Jeff Friesen (1994 - 2001) - 512 GP - 149 G - 201 A - 350 PTS Left Wing
1. Owen Nolan (1995 - 2003) - 568 GP - 206 G - 245 A - 451 PTS Right Wing, my favourite Nolan moment was during the third period of the 1998 All Star Game held in San Jose, where he called a shot on Dominik Hasek, of all people, & subsequently scored
Top Five Current Team Points Leaders - prior to 2005-06 season
5. Scott Hannan (1998 - present) - 348 GP - 15 G - 64 A - 79 PTS Defenceman, 30th All Time in Points Scoring
4. Scott Thornton (2000 - present) - 271 GP - 67 G - 59 A - 126 PTS Left Wing, 15th All Time in Points Scoring
3. Brad Stuart (1999 - present) - 354 GP - 34 G - 107 A - 141 PTS Defenceman, 11th All Time in Points Scoring
2. Marco Sturm (1997 - present) - 530 GP - 122 G - 135 A - 257 PTS Left Wing, 6th All Time in Points Scoring
1. Patrick Marleau (1997 - present) - 558 GP - 153 G - 174 A - 327 PTS Centre, 3rd All Time in Points Scoring
Top Five All Time Goaltenders
5. Kelly Hrudey (1996 - 98) - 76 GP - 20 Wins
4. Steve Shields (1998 - 2001) - 125 GP - 48 Wins
3. Mike Vernon (1997 - 2000) - 126 GP - 52 Wins probably future Hall of Famer, though more for his records with other teams, though he's a proven winner with almost anyone
2. Arturs Irbe (1991 - 96) - 183 GP - 57 Wins the way the playoff system used to be set up allowed many weaker teams the opportunity to reach the postseason, which is where Irbe really got his chance to shine
1. Evgeni Nabokov (1999 - present) 258 GP - 121 Wins won the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 2001, has proven to be a top-tier goaltender, finally backstopping his team to the Conference Finals last season; has also scored a goal, a rarity for a goalie
The Skooch's Top Five All Time Sharks
5. Teemu Selanne (2000 - 03) - 176 GP - 64 G - 67 A - 131 PTS Right Wing, though he only played parts of three injury-plagued seasons with the Sharks, I've always enjoyed watching "The Finnish Flash" play, whatever the team he's playing for; put up pretty solid numbers in his relatively brief time in San Jose
4. Gary Suter (1998 - 2002) - 227 GP - 22 G - 79 A - 101 PTS Defenceman, a probable future Hall of Famer, Suter brought his years of experience to a relatively young Sharks squad & helped mentor them into the powerhouse team they've become
3. Arturs Irbe (1991 - 96) - 183 GP - 57 Wins Goaltender, without Irbe in between the pipes, there's no way the Sharks would've made the playoffs those first two magical runs
2. Mike Rathje (1993 - 2004) - 671 GP - 27 G - 128 A - 155 PTS Defenceman, 1st in Franchise Games Played, a long-time fixture on the Sharks blueline, went through horrible & great seasons with the franchise & kept growing as a player
1. Owen Nolan (1995 - 2003) - 568 GP - 206 G - 245 A - 451 PTS Right Wing, 1st in Franchise Points Scoring, 2nd in Games Played (though I think he's fallen to 3rd now), 1st in Goals Scored, etc. etc. for parts of 8 seasons, was the model Shark player
Previous NHL Top Fives by theskooch
Atlanta / Calgary Flames
Kansas City Scouts / Colorado Rockies / New Jersey Devils
Pittsburgh Penguins