How Would The Sharks Fare if they got the 1st Overall Pick in 1991?

[popo]

The Sharks jersey was revolutionary, and extremely popular back in '91-'92. I remember every second minor hockey team naming themselves the Sharks also.

However put me in the skeptical crowd with regards to Lindros' willingness to sign there. They were a brand new expansion team who no one expected to compete. Secondly they were playing out of the Cow Palace for the first couple years. Not sure if the exposure or money was truely there to the Lindros' satisfaction. It certainly wasn't going to be a competitive team.

 

[Mayor Bee]

Really? I'd be interested to hear more about that.

Was it really that bad? I remember the expansion, but I grew up in the Bay Area so instead we were excited about everything. They really were a phenomenon in the area right up until the late 90s, I'd say. The uniforms were certainly eye-catchers but it's pretty funny people got so antagonistic about them considering they've arguably been the most successful Sun Belt/expansion franchise off the ice.

The peoples of the north (Canada and the states along the US/Canada border) have been observed to be associated with something called "tall poppy syndrome". Unlike "crab mentality", which involves aggressively tearing down someone who would dare to achieve, tall poppy syndrome simply involves heaping scorn or contempt upon someone or something successful.

So when NHL teams, which were full of guys who wouldn't look at a camera and have always been regarded as being team guys where the name/logo on the front is more important than on the back, the idea of bringing attention to oneself is always something that has been the object of scorn. To make a huge break away from the "traditional" bland color schemes and basic logos by going with the most garish color and an in-your-face logo was seen as a violation of a basic tenant of northern culture, which is "don't bring attention to yourself".

Had San Jose called themselves the Blades and gone with red and black trimmed in silver, it never would have been a problem.

It had more to do with EVERY expansion team in every league going with teal during the 90's.

San Jose (91-92) - teal, black, gray, white
Tampa Bay (92-93) - black, silver, navy, white
Ottawa (92-93) - black, red, white
Florida (93-94) - navy, red, yellow, white
Anaheim (93-94) - "eggplant and jade" (purple and green)
Nashville (98-99) - navy, yellow, silver, white
Atlanta (99-00) - navy, red, bronze, white

This actually started with the expansion that brought the Kings/Flyers/Pens/Stars/Oakland/St Louis into the NHL.

I read an article from Sports Illustrated from the late 60's about how those American teams will ruin the NHL.

Indeed, this is a sentiment that seems to have dwindled dramatically when expansion, relocation, and absorption hit "acceptable" cities. To bring San Jose into the fold ("Southern, no matter how north it is!") with a weird scheme and logo...it brought all that back out.

By the same token, I maintain that no one would have uttered a word about Columbus if not for the original color scheme with bright green and a bug alternate logo.

 

[Anthrax Jones]

Say what you want, but I think in the end it all comes down to money. In the mid of all the Lindros frenzy a deal between the Nordiques and the Red Wings was rumoured: Lindros to Detroit, Steve Yzerman to Quebec. [/I]

Talk about a deal that could have really changed the dynamic of the entire decade. First, thinking about a team built around Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan, and Steve Yzerman up the middle is mind-bending. Can we safely assume the Leafs and Nords still make the Clark/Sundin deal? Are the Nords more likely to offer up Sakic instead of Sundin, given the similarities of pre-Bowman Yzerman and a younger Sakic?

 

[Derick*]

Talk about a deal that could have really changed the dynamic of the entire decade. First, thinking about a team built around Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Owen Nolan, and Steve Yzerman up the middle is mind-bending. Can we safely assume the Leafs and Nords still make the Clark/Sundin deal? Are the Nords more likely to offer up Sakic instead of Sundin, given the similarities of pre-Bowman Yzerman and a younger Sakic?

 

[Anthrax Jones]

I wish I could facepalm myself. Good call.

Flame away, I have it coming.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

To make a huge break away from the "traditional" bland color schemes and basic logos by going with the most garish color and an in-your-face logo was seen as a violation of a basic tenant of northern culture, which is "don't bring attention to yourself".

Had San Jose called themselves the Blades and gone with red and black trimmed in silver, it never would have been a problem.

Whatever backlash there was against the Sharks was almost certainly put somewhat in perspective when the Mighty Ducks entered the league.

I think it was at that time when people realized the NHL would do just about anything provided they got paid in advance.

 

[seekritdude]

*rubs chin*

Does this also mean that when larionov comes back he goes BACK to Vancouver instead of San Jose. And for sake of theory, the canucks also go and get Makarov. For some Bure Larionov Makarov ish line?

 

[ozzie]

I think the Lindros camp said everything and anything it needed to, to get out Quebec.

I believe they would of come up with a ton of excuses to not report to San Jose. Expansion team, West Coast, Being terrible for years to come. Whatever it took to force a trade.

I also believe they had a small list of teams, like NY, Philly, Chicago, Toronto, big hockey markets with hockey history, thats all they wanted.

 

[Blades of Glory]

The last thing a first-year expansion franchise in a non-traditional market needs is controversy. Eric Lindros was not the type of figure that you build a new entire hockey market around. The reason San Jose fell in love with the Sharks to such great extent was because the players endeared themselves to the fans from very early on. The players did not come into town with a sense of entitlement nor the "I'm too good for you" attitude that Lindros displayed.

The Sharks built a very successful hockey market by winning, both early and as the years went on, and also because they have always employed players that are extremely friendly, down-to-earth, and genuinely want to be a part of the relationship between the city and the team on a personal level. It is why Igor Larionov still gets standing ovations when he is shown in the stands at a game. It is why Arturs Irbe and Owen Nolan and Marco Sturm and Jonathan Cheechoo and so many other ex-players are still adored. San Jose loves the Sharks because the players here have never tried to be larger-than-life off the ice, even if they were exactly that on it. When a Hart Trophy winner pulls over to talk to you because you yelled "Good game Joe!" as he left the parking lot after a game, he knows how to leave his superstar self on the ice. Eric Lindros was not going to care about helping build a hockey market. He was a superstar, a freak of nature, a God on skates, and he acted like it. Eric Lindros was too big for some random expansion team based in a place that was not ideal for his marketing value. He was not going to play here.

Besides, during his prime years, the Sharks were not an Eric Lindros away from winning the Cup. They were not even a Mario Lemieux away from winning a Cup. One player can only take a mediocre team so far.

 

[Eisen]

Makes quite an interesting "What if" -situation... What kind of cultural impact would it had, had the check that destroyed the Next One been delivered by a Russian player instead of another Canadian national hero in Stevens?

Actually it was. Kasparaitis gave him the first concussion and he was not quite the same afterwards. But somehow always Stevens gets mentioned here as the one destroying Lindros` career.

On topic: I doubt that Lindros would have played for the Sharks but they would have gotten the same kings ransom that Quebec did.

 

[Blades of Glory]

Makes quite an interesting "What if" -situation... What kind of cultural impact would it had, had the check that destroyed the Next One been delivered by a Russian player instead of another Canadian national hero in Stevens?

What if it did happen? Russian destroyer Darius Kasparitis delivered the hit that began the downhill slide for Lindros. He never fully recovered his pre-Kasparitis form. Scott Stevens merely dropped the hammer on a nail that was already hammered 90% in. So, there you go. Kasparitis caused one hell of a cultural conflict, didn't he?

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

I love how the Pens players are all smiles and pat Kasparaitis on the shoulder, a red mist would descend upon HFBoards if that happened today in a rivalry game no less.

 

[Eisen]

I love how the Pens players are all smiles and pat Kasparaitis on the shoulder, a red mist would descend upon HFBoards if that happened today in a rivalry game no less.

Lindros was not really liked around the league.

 

[Jules Winnfield]

What if it did happen? Russian destroyer Darius Kasparitis delivered the hit that began the downhill slide for Lindros. He never fully recovered his pre-Kasparitis form. Scott Stevens merely dropped the hammer on a nail that was already hammered 90% in. So, there you go. Kasparitis caused one hell of a cultural conflict, didn't he?

That video should be shown to kids as a reason why they shouldn't skate with their head down looking at the puck.

 

[Briere Up There*]

What if Bonnie and Carl had meddled less? What if someone grabbed a 15 year old Eric Lindros and told him to keep his head up?

What if Martians could play hockey?

 

[God Bless Canada]

I believe that vadim, in his earlier post, was talking about Florida and Anaheim for the 1993 Draft. The real reason they weren't given a shot at the first overall pick in 1993 was because Florida and Anaheim were awarded expansion teams midway through the 1992-93 season, about six or seven months before the 1993 draft.

The NHL was in the midst of the unforgettable tenure of Gil Stein - the worst commissioner/president in North American major pro sports history. At the same time as Stein's botched tenure, Disney released the Mighty Ducks movie. And North America loved it. Disney wanted to get into the NHL, and Stein and the NHL BOG, seeing the Disney dollar signs, wanted them in. To balance it out between east and west, they added the Florida Panthers, too.

The other teams would have revolted if Anaheim and Florida would have received teams in the fall of 1992, been admitted into the league in the fall of 1993, and in the meantime, received the top two picks in the 1993 draft. So they were slotted in at 4 and 5, and guaranteed the top two picks in 1994. (I could go into what else happened between the fall of 1992 and the 1994 draft, but that's another long-winded story for another time).

Anyways, I don't think Lindros would have gone to San Jose. There were a lot of reasons he didn't go to Quebec City. One of them was market size. He might have been willing to be a Shark - it was a chic new team, playing on the West Coast at a time when being in California was still pretty cool thanks to Gretzky). But I doubt it. I know Lindros would have accepted playing for one Canadian team: Toronto. He wouldn't have accepted playing for teams like New Jersey, Minnesota, Washington or St. Louis, either.

Of course, the Sharks would have received an incredible return for the Big E, which would have left them set for the next dozen years.

Perhaps the better question would be:

What if the Sharks would have known that Pat Falloon would be such a heavy drinker, with a poor commitment to conditioning, and selected Scotty Niedermayer instead?

 

[popo]

Another spin-off hypothetical question, to what lengths would Toronto have gone to tank the '90-'91 season had they not dealt away their 1st overall pick. That pick of course turned out to be 3rd overall, Scott Neidermayer. This was a Leafs team before Gilmour, Potvin, etc. In goal they had the likes of Peter Ing and Alan Bester, so maybe it wasn't possible to get any worse.