The San Jose Sharks have lived a very interesting existence these past 10 years. In the 2005-06 season, the first following the lockout, they started slow but ended up finishing the season on fire after trading for Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe ended up winning the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP, with 126 points. The Sharks were dynamic, and easily turned aside their first round opponent Nashville Predators in five games. A spate of upsets left them, despite being seeded 5th, as the highest seed remaining out West. Yet, six games later in a loss to the Edmonton Oilers, the Sharks were bounced by a #8 seed, starting off a very interesting 10 years to examine.
There is often a test case given out to all sports fans, would you rather root for a team that makes the playoffs once every decade and wins a title that year, or a team that makes the playoffs each year but never makes the finals. The Sharks are the prototypical example of the latter. They made the playoffs all but one year of the last ten (last season), and only twice even made the Conference Finals, winning one out of nine games against two dominant teams - the 2010 Blackhawks and 2011 Canucks. They countless other times flamed out against worse teams, such as losing in 6 games to 5th seeded Dallas in 2008 in the 2nd round, or losing the next year to the 8th seed Ducks in 6 games after winning the President's Trophy. The wort was the most recent, a stunning collapse against the Kings, losing in seven after taking a 3-0 lead, including losing 3-0 and 5-1 in their two potential clinchers in San Jose.
It was a disaster, it was everything wrong about the Sharks in the playoffs. They showed the dominance they often showed during the regular season in those first three games, but all their issues, whether it was goaltending or their top players disappearing, cropped up in those last four. The Sharks flame out seemed to be signal the death of the Thornton & Marleau era, with the captaincy stripped from Jumbo Joe and given to Joe Pavelski. It would have been the end in reality of either player was willing to waive their no trade clause. Whether it was pride or believe, they didn't, and two years later, they beat the Kings down in 5 games - only trailing for four minutes of hte entire series. They were the faster, stronger, and hungrier team. They didn't back down after blowing a 3-0 lead in the 2nd period of Game 5. They finished strong. They vindicated themselves, but the opportunity to do so vindicated the Sharks plan all along.
San Jose became a team in the mid-90's, one of the first expansion cities that became Gary Bettman's unending drive of his commissionership. He wanted to grow the game, and for him doing so meant expanding outwards in the US, to the 'non-traditional' hockey markets. Few have been as successful as San Jose, and that is a testament to the way they've built and maintained that team. The Sharks have been close to selling out the SAP Center (previously HP Pavillion) for years now. They have built a true following in that market, and can be the NHL version of the Warriors in the richest area of the country west of New York. That is all because they never turned the page.
The other half of the fan equation is a team like Carolina, who have won a Stanley Cup in the past 10 years, but made the playoffs just three other times and have hit the reset on their rebuild a few times now. They are way behind the Sharks in terms of fan interest, and while their fans do have their 2006 Cup as a lasting memory, the Sharks consistently pleasant regular seasons and playoff runs, while ending in loss, are probably more effective in building a regional footprint.
The Sharks could have hit the reset button, and in a way they did. They spent years trying to supplement Thornton and Marleau with veterans who could help them win, like Dany Heatley, Martin Havlat, Brian Campbell, Jeremy Roenick and on and on. Those teams were always a step slow in the playoffs. Finally now, though, they went the opposite route, building with youth, moving the Captain badge from Thornton (who himself inherited it from Marleau - I wonder how many teams have ever had two former captains on the team) to Pavelski. The Sharks won with depth and youth in 2016. It just so happens that they didn't cut the cord with Marleau and Thornton to do it.
There is a lesson to be learned in the Sharks, and beyond them to their comparisons in other sports - like the Colts, or Packers, or Tigers or Mavericks. Teams can be competitive and good and even if they fall short, it is better to keep pushing the good cards in. Sooner or later, the chips will fall correctly, like it did for the Mavs in 2011, or Colts in 2006. The best way to win is to have as many chances as possible. The Sharks maybe just got their best chance.
