SAN JOSE — As the Sharks gathered for their first training camp in 1991, they carried with them the optimism that precedes every team’s season
At the time, 16 of the league’s 22 teams qualified for the playoffs. To the Sharks’ players, being one of the 16 wasn’t entirely out of the question, even as an expansion team.
“I distinctly remember looking at some of the weaker teams in the league and thinking, ‘Maybe we’ve got a shot to do something. Who knows?'” said Sharks assistant coach Rob Zettler, a defenseman on that expansion team.
“As the season went on and we started to lose some games, it became unrealistic.