13 Reasons Why You Should Think The 1991-1995 San Jose Sharks Teams Were Awesome
1. The Cow Palace
The Sharks first home arena, located in Daly City, just outside of San Francisco. The arena was SO BAD, that the NHL previously rejected its use for the California Golden Seals back in 1967. Capacity: 11,089. It’s the hockey equivalent to playing 40 basement shows a year.
2. The Jerseys
The original San Jose Sharks jersey brought a brand new edge with their colours, using Deep Pacific Teal as its primary colour. Awesome then, painfully 90’s now.
3. The Logo
If I need to explain to you why this logo was the most bad-ass logo in hockey at the time, then this article is not for you.
4. The Cards
After the expansion draft, Upper Deck released the most GQ looking cards to showcase the first rag-tag pickups of the San Jose Sharks.
5. October 5th, 1991
Laser Light shows. Fuck yes.
6. The Enforcer
“The Missing” Link Gaetz
7. The Creation of ‘The Chomp’
The Hockey equivalent of the Atlanta Braves’ Tomahawk chop, It’s kind of like ‘The Wave’ but better.
8. The Second Round of the 1991 NHL Entry Draft
The Sharks selected Ray Whitney 23rd overall. Whitney, in my opinion, has been the most underrated and under-appreciated forward in the NHL for the past 15 years. To date, Whitney has played 629 more games and has 655 more points than the Sharks first ever pick from that same draft, Pat Falloon (selected 2nd overall) Whitney is also 23 points away from 1000 in his career.
9. The 1993-94 Western Conference Quarter Finals Upset
The Sharks entered their first playoff round against the Detroit Red Wings, who finished the regular season atop the West with 100 points. The Sharks took the Wings to a 7th game, and Jamie Baker scored the game-winning goal in the 3rd period, capping off one of the greatest upsets in playoff hockey during the 90’s. They went on to the Conference Semi-Finals, and took the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 7th game as well.
10. The Coach and The Turnaround
Kevin Constantine was hired as head coach at the start of the 93-94 season, and with him behind the bench, the Sharks would achieve an NHL Record for the largest improvement by a team for finishing 58 points higher in the standings than it had the previous season. Other than that, and leading the Sharks to their first two playoff berths, everything else he did was shit.
11. The Rainout
The 1995 Sharks were part of the only NHL game to be “Rained Out” in its history. In March, the banks of the Guadeloupe River in San Jose flooded over, causing the cancellation of a game between the Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings.
12. The Pads
Arturs Irbe’s equipment.
13. The Mask
Brian Hayward’s mask. Changed the way goaltenders looked at mask designs and still, to this day, one of the top ten greatest masks in hockey history
And THAT is why you should give a Baker's Fuck about the San Jose Sharks.