The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice
hockey team based in San Jose, California. They play in the National
Hockey League.
The Sharks, along with the New Orleans Hornets of the NBA, are often
credited with popularizing teal as a color for American sports teams.
They are also referred to as Los Tiburones.
2003-04 saw another turnaround for the team,
resulting in the team's best season ever. An injection of youth, with
players like Christian Ehrhoff and Niko Dimitrakos, and the influx of
energy with Alexander Korolyuk jump started San Jose. They posted the
third-best record in the league with a team-record 104 points (31 more
than the previous season, and the first time the team had earned 100
points, all thanks to Primeau in OT on March 28 against the Stars), won
the Pacific Division championship, and were seeded second in the Western
Conference. They charged through the playoffs; taking down the Blues 4
games to 1 in the conference quarterfinals and stopping the Colorado
Avalanche 4-2 in the conference semis—before falling to the Calgary
Flames 4-2 in the conference finals. At the 2006 NHL Awards Show at The Centre in
Vancouver for Performing Arts, Joe Thornton was awarded the Hart Trophy
as the league's Most Valuable Player, as well as the Art Ross Trophy for
leading the league in points, with a total of 125 points, the most ever
by a player playing for two teams in the same season. Thornton is also
the third player in three years to win both the Hart Trophy and the Art
Ross in the same year, following Peter Forsberg in 2003 and Martin St.
Louis in 2004. Thornton is the first Shark ever to be the league MVP.
Jonathan Cheechoo also received the Rocket Richard Trophy for netting
the most goals during the regular season, with a total of 56.