Would you consider the San Jose Sharks a successful franchise?

[Mattb124]

Good detailed response, lots of factual info there!

If you feel happy with sharks playoff history, good for you. Ultimately it's still been continual playoff failure.

I'm actually curious about the amount of playoff losses though

Failure = not winning the cup, which 30 teams do each year. What a hot take.

 

[780il]

It is incredibly hard to win the Stanley Cup.

San Jose ices a consistently competitive roster. I respect the hell out of them.

This.

I don't like them, but I respect what they've been doing.

 

[Voight]

For the people who are downplaying the no cup thing, what else do teams play for? The goal is to win it all, not get a bunch of wins and make the playoffs ever year.

TB/ANA came in around the same time and have both won cups. STL, LA & WSH have all won their first championships recently while teams like CHI & BOS have won after long droughts.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

I would argue the Sharks are a more successful franchise than some that won a cup, such as Dallas, Tampa, Carolina, Anaheim.

I think Doug Wilson is the best GM in the NHL and doesn't get enough credit because he's never won the cup.

 

[OVO16]

They've been Regular Season dominant for so long but always choke when it comes to getting the big prize.

Until they get a Cup...they're not gonna get the love they should receive. Thats the way of sports

 

[Dan Kelly]

ain't gonna get any easier for the Sharks after losing 38 goal man Joe Pavelski !

 

[Salsa Shark]

Yes they ice a good team yearly and have a big fan base.

 

[Torontonian]

100% All you need to do is make the playoffs and anything can happen. San Jose has done a great job being competitive year after year.

 

[kingsholygrail]

The league hasn't had to step in and take control, so yeah.

 

[ziggyjoe212]

For the people who are downplaying the no cup thing, what else do teams play for? The goal is to win it all, not get a bunch of wins and make the playoffs ever year.

TB/ANA came in around the same time and have both won cups. STL, LA & WSH have all won their first championships recently while teams like CHI & BOS have won after long droughts.

I don't think it's downplaying the cup thing. SJ has been a perennial contender for the past 15 years. In this span they've always had elite players.
Compare this to Carolina, Tampa, and Anaheim who have been awful for the majority of their existence. I don't think 1 playoffs run overshadows many good years.

 

[JeremyTB]

I would even consider the Sharks more successful than some teams that have won the cup. For example are you considered a successful organization if you win 1 cup but have had like 5 good seasons in the last 20 years.

 

[Voodoo Child]

They brought hockey to an at the time 'unconventional' market and they largely compete every year.

They're absolutely successful.

 

[Voight]

I don't think it's downplaying the cup thing. SJ has been a perennial contender for the past 15 years. In this span they've always had elite players.
Compare this to Carolina, Tampa, and Anaheim who have been awful for the majority of their existence. I don't think 1 playoffs run overshadows many good years.

I'd rather have 1 cup and 10 seasons of mediocrity than 15 seasons of playoffs. The goal is to win the cup.

 

[Pinkfloyd]

I'd rather have 1 cup and 10 seasons of mediocrity than 15 seasons of playoffs. The goal is to win the cup.

I agree with what you'd rather have and what the goal is but that doesn't solely define what success is for a sports franchise. A sports franchise's success is also based on the business side of the organization and the more charitable side of the venture. It's about being able to make money, sell out the building, be a presence in the community, and maintain interest. The Sharks do this on so many levels. In pretty much every metric, the Sharks franchise is a success. They haven't achieved the ultimate goal and that's what they play for but the franchise is more than just the players and what they play for.

 

[Goose]

Successful regular season franchise, but this is the place players go when they want to enjoy the weather and not play into the spring.

I hope that's a joke about players not wanting to play into spring? You can never tell on hfboards.

 

[Dolemite]

Yes, they may have never built a roster that could go deep until recent years but their playoff appearances year in and year out is a mark of success.

 

[GreatGonzo]

Yes, they may have never built a roster that could go deep until recent years but their playoff appearances year in and year out is a mark of success.

This. People seem to think they have been serious contenders for awhile now. It’s highly debatable. 2006 and 2007 they were not a strong enough team to win anything, despite a peak Thornton. 2008 and 2009 were our first years as a top end team in the regular season. Unfortunately that did not translate well into the playoffs due to overall depth on both ends of the ice, which was a big issue for many years. This including our first “choke” job against a very underrated Anaheim team. We became more playoff savvy in 2010 and 2011, but we simply lost to better teams in the conference finals. 2012 and 2013 we remained a strong playoff team but started going through a “re-tooling” phase. 2014, great team.....only to have one of the biggest collapses in playoff history to the Stanley cup champions LA. But to be honest I don’t see us getting past Chicago even if we beat LA. We just weren’t strong enough. 2015 we miss the playoffs. 2017 and 2018 were once again a re-tooling phase with many of our core guys getting older with younger guys starting to gain momentum. Sort of a changing of the guard type of thing. I mean Brent Burns was our best player those years while our forward depth was struggling.

The 2016 and 2019 teams were our best and deepest teams by far and both suffered losses in the playoffs. Our lack of speed caught up with us in the finals while injuries plagued us this past year. I can see how the sharks have been favorites multiple times through out the years, but to take those seriously is nonesense.

 

[GreatGonzo]

I'd rather have 1 cup and 10 seasons of mediocrity than 15 seasons of playoffs. The goal is to win the cup.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a successful one, especially if they don’t make the playoffs a majority, if not all of those 10 years. Any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to win the cup. Some teams just have that one juggernaut year only to fall from grace. Either way consistency is the key to a successful franchise. I mean I’m sure many would call the Dallas a successful franchise due to their dominance from the late 90s to the mid 2000s, but what have they done lately?

 

[SjMilhouse]

I'm sure this thread will be friendly and not just a bunch of random fans of other teams trolling the Sharks. I can't wait

 

[inthewings]

Yes. Playoffs are a crapshoot, and they'll win eventually if they keep getting in.

 

[Hatfield]

If there's ever been a time for winning your first Cup, it's now. The 00s were a time of young franchises getting their first (27, 12 and 14 years old), the 10s were for older franchises (45, 44 and 52 years old). The Sharks are older now than Hartford/Carolina was when they won.

Damn that makes me feel old.

 

[Ms Maggie]

Certainly.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

Getting a cup is by far without question the highest metric of success for a franchise. That being said, they have had consistent regular season and consistent playoff appearances. They have a very loyal fan base. For a team founded in 91' you can't ask much more except for a cup win. Until they finally do win a cup I think that will be a thing that negatively defines them especially with all the regular season success and play off appearances they have had but other than a championship they really have done everything you should expect of a 90's expansion team.

 

[Voight]

But that doesn’t mean it’s a successful one, especially if they don’t make the playoffs a majority, if not all of those 10 years. Any team that makes the playoffs has a chance to win the cup. Some teams just have that one juggernaut year only to fall from grace. Either way consistency is the key to a successful franchise. I mean I’m sure many would call the Dallas a successful franchise due to their dominance from the late 90s to the mid 2000s, but what have they done lately?

I can't speak for Stars fans but I am sure they are very happy with their title from 20 years ago, even if they've struggled since.

Consistency isn't bad, but you play to win the cup. Canes fans saw their team win the cup in 2006 and then make the playoffs once in the 12 years after it, however I'm sure they'd much rather have the cup + multiple years of no playoffs than 12 years of playoffs and no cup. History remembers the teams that won, not the ones that lost.

If you ask someone if they'd rather have 1 cup + 14 years of no playoff games or 15 years of playoff games, if they say the latter then they are lying.

 

[vanarchy]

Depends. Are we talking about them being successful in a financial or athletic sense?