San Jose Sharks – Stanley Cup Finals Drought
By Ilya Davydov
Stanley Cup Finals Drought
Jun 15, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks players celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in game six of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in the past six years. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, and Jonathan Toews will all be getting their third set of Stanley Cup rings later this year. There are debates as to whether it is time to start calling the Blackhawks a dynasty. The residents of Chicago will have another victory parade to attend, an event that is turning into a regular occurrence (2010, 2013, and 2015). When will the San Jose Sharks get their turn? When is it going to be a time for their parade?
As I was watching Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, I thought to myself – when will come a day when the Sharks will finally reach the Finals? Of course, your favorite team winning the Stanley Cup is the ultimate dream of any NHL fan, but reaching the Finals is a feat of its own.
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These sentiments are something Sharks fans have never experienced before. Since its inception, the team from Northern California, sporting teal colors, has never won the Stanley Cup, or reached the Stanley Cup Finals for that matter. It’s been 22 seasons since the Sharks had their inaugural season, and the fans are still searching for that first Finals berth. The wait is becoming a tad extensive. If you were a person born at the time when the Sharks played their first official NHL game, by now you probably would likely finished your school studies, tertiary college education, and found a job. In fact, there are only four franchises with a longer Stanley Cup Finals drought than the Sharks.
| Team | Last appearance in Stanley Cup Final |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1966–67 |
| St. Louis Blues | 1969–70 |
| Arizona Coyotes | never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) |
| New York Islanders | 1983–84 |
| San Jose Sharks | never (inception of franchise in 1991–92) |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1992–93 |
| Florida Panthers | 1995–96 |
| Nashville Predators | never (inception of franchise in 1998–99) |
| Washington Capitals | 1997–98 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 1998–99 |
When you look at the table above, and take things into perspective, the absence of Finals appearances is being dwarfed by the nearly 50-year drought from the Toronto Maple Leafs. At this stage, out of the five teams with the longest Stanley Cup Finals drought, the St.Louis Blues and the New York Islanders appear to be closer to breaking the drought than the Sharks, and even more so than the Leafs or the Arizona Coyotes, but that is an entirely different talking point.
As far as actually winning the Stanley Cup, the Sharks are 11th worst in the Stanley Cup drought category. There are 10 fan bases going through even longer droughts than Sharks fans, but that does not make it any easier for those in Sharks Territory.
| Team | Last Stanley Cup |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 1966–67 |
| St. Louis Blues | never (inception of franchise in 1967–68) |
| Buffalo Sabres | never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) |
| Vancouver Canucks | never (inception of franchise in 1970–71) |
| Washington Capitals | never (inception of franchise in 1974–75) |
| Philadelphia Flyers | 1974–75 |
| Arizona Coyotes | never (franchise entered the NHL in 1979–80) |
| New York Islanders | 1982–83 |
| Calgary Flames | 1988–89 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 1989–90 |
| San Jose Sharks | never (inception of franchise in 1991–92) |
| Ottawa Senators | never (inception of franchise in 1992–93) |
| Montreal Canadiens | 1992–93 |
| Florida Panthers | never (inception of franchise in 1993–94) |
| New York Rangers | 1993–94 |
Traded to the Right Team at the Right Time
Apr 3, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Andrew Desjardins (11) during the game against the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Kimmo Timonen was traded to the Blackhawks and had a glimmer of hope to retire on a high note. The Finn certainly did that – winning his first Stanley Cup after 16 seasons in the NHL. It was his last shot, and he was fortunate to be on the winning team. However, Timonen was not the only player who joined the Blackhawks during the season. Other notables include Antoine Vermette and Andrew Desjardins. Desjardins who started the season with the Sharks won his first Stanley Cup earlier this week. Desjardins left the Sharks organization only three months ago when he was traded to Chicago in exchange for Ben Smith.
It was a bittersweet feeling to see Desjardins celebrate winning the Cup on a Monday night at the United Center. The sweetness came from the fact that Desjardins has been an honest player, who represented the Sharks organization for six-and-a-half years (Worcester and San Jose), created some good memories for the fans, and it is always great to see a player with any form of connection to the Sharks win the Cup. The bitterness came from the fact that Desjardins was skating around with the Cup wearing the wrong jersey, surrounded by the likes of Toews and Kane instead of Joe Pavelski and Patrick Marleau.