The culture of winning in San Jose has faded from the days of old. When Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns, and the core of this team were getting to the Stanley Cup Finals and trying to get the first Stanley Cup championship in the history of the organization. There's been a lack of success as all of the old core have found greener pastures. Some have retired, and some are on new teams.
It's up to the San Jose Sharks organization to find a way to unlock the past and bring back that feeling of winning. It's happened recently with three straight wins against the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers, but that isn't enough for a team that will want to compete. More needs to be demanded and losing cannot be acceptable. I'm not saying losing is accepted by the team, but you can become numb when you endure multiple 10+ game losing streaks.
This winning streak will remind the team about the joys of winning and being better than your opponents on the ice. But that needs to sink into the minds of the younger players that are going to form the core of the new team moving forward. Players like William Eklund and Henry Thrun need to understand that they are going to be expected to win more often than not for an organization with the competitive history of the Sharks.
Team Teal has endured a long spell of pain as they are rebuilding. Some will argue that winning will ruin their odds at drafting first overall, and while that does hold some weight, the team needs to figure out a way to be more consistently in the win column. On more than one occasion, the Sharks have gone a month without one. San Jose needs to make sure these habits stay around the hockey club and continue with the new young core.