[7] The Sharks were founded on May 9, 1990 after the owners of the Minnesota North Stars sold the stake to award the NHL franchise based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Gordon and George Gund III became minority owners of the Seals in 1974, and were instrumental in their move to Cleveland in 1976 and a 1978 merger with the Minnesota North Stars, which they purchased that year.

Meanwhile, a group led by former Hartford Whalers owner Howard Baldwin was pushing the NHL to bring a team to San Jose, where a new arena was being built.

[14] Though the 1991–92 roster consisted primarily of NHL journeymen, minor leaguers and rookies, the Sharks had at least one notable player when they acquired 14-year veteran and former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Doug Wilson from the Chicago Blackhawks on September 6, 1991.

On November 17, 1992, San Jose goaltender Arturs Irbe recorded the first shutout in team history, defeating the Los Angeles Kings 6–0.

In Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena, Jamie Baker scored the game-winning goal in the third period after goaltender Chris Osgood was out of position and the Sharks won 3–2.

Key Sharks players included goaltender Arturs Irbe, defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and forwards Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov.

Despite their success against Calgary, round two would prove to be a disaster for the Sharks, when they lost in a four-game sweep to Detroit (in a rematch of the previous year) without even holding a single lead in all four games.

However, the 1995 season also saw the only rainout in the history of the NHL, when the Guadalupe River flooded its banks in March 1995, making it impossible for anyone to get into the San Jose Arena for a game between the Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings.

In addition, the newly acquired McGillis was traded to Boston, Bryan Marchment went to Colorado, and American Hockey League (AHL) star Shawn Heins and forward Matt Bradley were moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

An injection of youth, with players like Christian Ehrhoff and out-of-college signing Tom Preissing, and the influx of energy from Alexander Korolyuk jump-started San Jose.

After a ten-game losing streak, the Sharks traded Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau and Marco Sturm to the Boston Bruins in exchange for star player Joe Thornton.

The trade re-energized the team, and with Nabokov sharing starting duties with backup goaltender Vesa Toskala, the Sharks rallied back from their early-season slump to clinch the fifth seed in the Western Conference.

The Ron Wilson era officially came to an end on May 12 when the Sharks fired him, citing San Jose's disappointing second-round losses in the previous three seasons.

At the trade deadline, San Jose acquired checking-line winger Travis Moen and the injured defenseman Kent Huskins from the Anaheim Ducks.

On June 23, 2010, Wilson announced that they would not offer an unrestricted free agent contract to long-time goaltender Evgeni Nabokov after playing ten seasons with the team.

However, they would not become the fourth team in history to pull off the comeback as the Sharks prevailed, 3–2, with the game-winning goal scored by former captain Patrick Marleau who had endured media criticism from former teammate and now NBC Sports Network television personality Jeremy Roenick for his lackluster play in Game 5 of the series against the Red Wings.

However, they lost the fourth game of the series and eventually were eliminated from the playoffs after a Game 5 in Vancouver that featured a game-tying goal by the Canucks' Ryan Kesler with 18.3 seconds remaining in the third period as well as a quirky bounce off a side stanchion that allowed Kevin Bieksa to score the overtime goal that advanced Vancouver to their third Stanley Cup Finals and left the Sharks eliminated in Round 3 for the second consecutive postseason.

Along with the two coaches, veteran defenseman Brad Stuart was re-acquired in order to bolster the Sharks' blue line, and on January 12, he played in his first game at HP Pavilion in over seven years.

Nearly one year after Peter DeBoer's arrival and a shaky start, the Sharks surged in the second half of the season to return to the playoffs, finishing with 98 points and third in the Pacific Division.

The 2018–19 season saw another playoff berth for the Sharks, overcoming a 3–1 series lead, once again by the Vegas Golden Knights, and in a dramatic comeback in the third period of game seven in the first round.

Following a series of smaller trades in January and early February, San Jose and New Jersey Devils executed a blockbuster 11-piece trade on February 26, in which the Sharks sent star forward Timo Meier to New Jersey in exchange for multiple future assets, including two conditional first-round draft selections, 2020 first-round pick Shakir Mukhamadullin and winger Fabian Zetterlund.

San Jose received a conditional first-round selection from Pittsburgh in the 2024 NHL entry draft, along with forwards Mikael Granlund and Mike Hoffman and defenseman Jan Rutta.

[78] The Sharks introduced their future road (later home) jersey as an alternate during the 1997–98 season, featuring a darker teal base, wide gray sleeve and shoulder striping and modernized lettering.

In the 2001–02 season, the Sharks began wearing a black third jersey, featuring the return of the fin logo on the shoulders and minimalist teal and white sleeve stripes.

Both jerseys replaced gray with orange trim on the stripes and lettering, added numbers on the right chest, and featured the full-body (or "jumping") shark logo on the shoulders.

The jersey served as the basis of their new set introduced before the 2013–14 season, which removed the shoulder yoke, orange accents, and tail stripes while adding neckline laces.

[85] Television: Radio: One of the first group of broadcasters for the Sharks was Joe Starkey, who did play-by-play alongside Dennis Hull in 1991–92 and Pete Stemkowski for both 1991–92 and 1992–93 and Brian Hayward (1991–92 when sidelined with injuries) on color commentary.

Other television color commentators include Chris Collins (1996–97), Steve Konroyd (1997–2000), Drew Remenda (2000–06; 2007–14), Marty McSorley (2006–07), Jamie Baker (2014–20), and Kendall Coyne Schofield (2019–20).

Sharks personalities Dan Rusanowsky, Randy Hahn, Bret Hedican, Drew Remenda, Ted Ramey and Tara Slone all contribute to the network's programming.