1997–98 San Jose Sharks season

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1997–98 San Jose Sharks
Division4th Pacific
Conference8th Western
1997–98 record34–38–10
Goals for210
Goals against216
Team information
General managerDean Lombardi
CoachDarryl Sutter
CaptainTodd Gill (Oct-Mar)
Vacant (Mar-Apr)

The 1997–98 San Jose Sharks season was the Sharks' seventh season of operation in the National Hockey League (NHL). Following their second last-place finish in as many years, the Sharks unceremoniously fired first-year head coach Al Sims; he was replaced by Darryl Sutter, who had previously coached the Chicago Blackhawks. At the time of his hiring, Sutter was the first head coach in franchise history to have previously coached another NHL team.

The Sharks' coaching switch was accompanied by a handful of player acquisitions and debuts. Of these, the addition of five-time NHL All-Star goaltender Mike Vernon proved most important. On August 18th, 1997, the Sharks acquired Vernon from the Detroit Red Wings for a pair of second-round picks; at the time of the trade, Vernon was only two months removed from backstopping the Red Wings to victory in the 1997 Stanley Cup Finals. Additionally, the Sharks drafted highly-touted forward Patrick Marleau with the second overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Despite a lackluster rookie season, Marleau would enjoy considerable success with the Sharks over the following two decades. Lastly, 1996 first-found pick Marco Sturm was added to the roster early in the season. Sturm and Marleau, in particular, supplemented a burgeoning collection of young forwards that already included mainstays Jeff Friesen and Owen Nolan.

In Sutter's first season at the helm, the Sharks' play improved substantially. While they once again failed to post a winning record, the team managed to clinch the Western Conference's eighth (and final) playoff berth. In the first round of the 1998 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Sharks faced the top-seeded Dallas Stars. The Sharks quickly dropped their first two games in Dallas; upon returning to San Jose, however, the Sharks rallied to tie the series at two games apiece. An upset was not to be, however, as the Stars responded with a pair of one-goal victories to win the series in six games. Despite a quick exit from the playoffs, the 1997-98 season would prove to be a turning point for the franchise. After finishing with the Western Conference's worst record in four of their first six seasons of play, the Sharks would miss the postseason just twice between 1998 and 2019.

Offseason[]

Regular season[]

Captain Todd Gill is traded to the St. Louis Blues, in March.

Final standings[]

Pacific Division
No. GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Colorado Avalanche 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
2 Los Angeles Kings 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
3 Edmonton Oilers 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
4 San Jose Sharks 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
5 Calgary Flames 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
6 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
7 Vancouver Canucks 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; Pts = Points
         Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference[1]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 p – Dallas Stars CEN 82 49 22 11 242 167 109
2 x – Colorado Avalanche PAC 82 39 26 17 231 205 95
3 Detroit Red Wings CEN 82 44 23 15 250 196 103
4 St. Louis Blues CEN 82 45 29 8 256 204 98
5 Los Angeles Kings PAC 82 38 33 11 227 225 87
6 Phoenix Coyotes CEN 82 35 35 12 224 227 82
7 Edmonton Oilers PAC 82 35 37 10 215 224 80
8 San Jose Sharks PAC 82 34 38 10 210 216 78
9 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 82 30 39 13 192 199 73
10 Toronto Maple Leafs CEN 82 30 43 9 194 237 69
11 Calgary Flames PAC 82 26 41 15 217 252 67
12 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim PAC 82 26 43 13 205 261 65
13 Vancouver Canucks PAC 82 25 43 14 224 273 64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy


Schedule and results[]

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 L October 1, 1997 3–5 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 0–1–0
2 W October 4, 1997 3–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 1–1–0
3 L October 7, 1997 0–1 Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 1–2–0
4 L October 9, 1997 2–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 1–3–0
5 W October 11, 1997 5–2 Boston Bruins (1997–98) 2–3–0
6 L October 13, 1997 2–3 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 2–4–0
7 L October 16, 1997 2–5 New York Islanders (1997–98) 2–5–0
8 L October 19, 1997 3–5 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 2–6–0
9 L October 22, 1997 2–5 Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 2–7–0
10 W October 25, 1997 4–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 3–7–0
11 W October 27, 1997 2–1 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 4–7–0
12 L October 29, 1997 3–4 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 4–8–0
13 L October 31, 1997 3–5 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 4–9–0
14 L November 1, 1997 0–2 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 4–10–0
15 T November 4, 1997 0–0 OT Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 4–10–1
16 L November 7, 1997 3–4 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 4–11–1
17 W November 8, 1997 3–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 5–11–1
18 W November 10, 1997 6–4 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 6–11–1
19 L November 12, 1997 2–5 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 6–12–1
20 L November 13, 1997 3–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 6–13–1
21 L November 15, 1997 2–3 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 6–14–1
22 W November 18, 1997 4–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 7–14–1
23 W November 20, 1997 3–0 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 8–14–1
24 W November 22, 1997 5–2 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 9–14–1
25 T November 24, 1997 2–2 OT @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 9–14–2
26 L November 25, 1997 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 9–15–2
27 L November 28, 1997 2–4 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 9–16–2
28 L November 30, 1997 1–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 9–17–2
29 L December 1, 1997 2–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 9–18–2
30 W December 4, 1997 3–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 10–18–2
31 T December 10, 1997 3–3 OT Washington Capitals (1997–98) 10–18–3
32 W December 12, 1997 1–0 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 11–18–3
33 W December 14, 1997 2–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 12–18–3
34 W December 16, 1997 5–1 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 13–18–3
35 T December 18, 1997 0–0 OT Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 13–18–4
36 W December 21, 1997 4–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 14–18–4
37 L December 26, 1997 0–4 Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 14–19–4
38 L December 29, 1997 1–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 14–20–4
39 T December 30, 1997 2–2 OT @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 14–20–5
40 W January 2, 1998 4–1 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 15–20–5
41 L January 3, 1998 0–3 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 15–21–5
42 L January 6, 1998 1–5 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 15–22–5
43 W January 10, 1998 5–2 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 16–22–5
44 L January 12, 1998 1–3 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 16–23–5
45 L January 14, 1998 2–4 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 16–24–5
46 T January 15, 1998 2–2 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 16–24–6
47 W January 21, 1998 7–1 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 17–24–6
48 W January 23, 1998 3–2 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 18–24–6
49 T January 24, 1998 1–1 OT Florida Panthers (1997–98) 18–24–7
50 W January 27, 1998 4–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 19–24–7
51 L January 29, 1998 0–3 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 19–25–7
52 W January 31, 1998 5–2 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 20–25–7
53 L February 2, 1998 2–3 New York Rangers (1997–98) 20–26–7
54 W February 4, 1998 3–0 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 21–26–7
55 L February 5, 1998 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 21–27–7
56 L February 7, 1998 3–6 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 21–28–7
57 W February 26, 1998 3–1 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 22–28–7
58 L February 28, 1998 1–4 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 22–29–7
59 L March 2, 1998 1–3 Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 22–30–7
60 W March 5, 1998 5–4 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 23–30–7
61 W March 6, 1998 3–0 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 24–30–7
62 W March 9, 1998 3–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 25–30–7
63 L March 11, 1998 3–5 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 25–31–7
64 L March 12, 1998 1–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 25–32–7
65 W March 14, 1998 2–1 @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 26–32–7
66 W March 16, 1998 2–1 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 27–32–7
67 L March 18, 1998 1–3 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 27–33–7
68 L March 21, 1998 0–2 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 27–34–7
69 L March 22, 1998 1–3 @ Phoenix Coyotes (1997–98) 27–35–7
70 L March 24, 1998 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 27–36–7
71 W March 26, 1998 5–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 28–36–7
72 W March 28, 1998 4–1 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 29–36–7
73 L March 30, 1998 2–6 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 29–37–7
74 W April 1, 1998 3–2 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 30–37–7
75 T April 2, 1998 3–3 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 30–37–8
76 W April 4, 1998 5–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 31–37–8
77 W April 7, 1998 6–0 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 32–37–8
78 W April 9, 1998 5–2 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 33–37–8
79 T April 11, 1998 1–1 OT Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 33–37–9
80 T April 15, 1998 3–3 OT @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 33–37–10
81 L April 16, 1998 1–4 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 33–38–10
82 W April 18, 1998 4–1 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 34–38–10

[2]

Playoffs[]

In a Conference Quarter-final series, the Sharks met the #1 seeded and Presidents' Trophy-winning Dallas Stars. The Sharks were eliminated by the Stars in six games.

Dallas (1) vs. San Jose (8)
Date Away Home OT
April 22 San Jose 1 4 Dallas
April 24 San Jose 2 5 Dallas
April 26 Dallas 1 4 San Jose
April 28 Dallas 0 1 San Jose OT
April 30 San Jose 2 3 Dallas
May 2 Dallas 3 2 San Jose OT
Dallas wins series 4–2.

[3]

Player statistics[]

Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Jeff Friesen LW 79 31 32 63 40 8 7 6 7
Owen Nolan RW 75 14 27 41 144 -2 3 1 1
John MacLean RW 51 13 19 32 28 0 5 0 2
Patrick Marleau C 74 13 19 32 14 5 1 0 2
Bill Houlder D 82 7 25 32 48 13 4 0 2
Marco Sturm LW 74 10 20 30 40 -2 2 0 3
Stephane Matteau LW 73 15 14 29 60 4 1 0 2
Murray Craven LW 67 12 17 29 25 4 2 3 3
Bernie Nicholls C 60 6 22 28 26 -4 3 0 0
Tony Granato RW 59 16 9 25 70 3 3 0 2
Marcus Ragnarsson D 79 5 20 25 65 -11 3 0 2
Mike Ricci C 59 9 14 23 30 -4 5 0 2
Todd Gill D 64 8 13 21 31 -13 4 0 1
Mike Rathje D 81 3 12 15 59 -4 1 0 0
Andrei Zyuzin D 56 6 7 13 66 8 2 0 2
Shawn Burr LW/C 42 6 6 12 50 2 0 0 0
Marty McSorley D 56 2 10 12 140 10 0 0 0
Doug Bodger D 28 4 6 10 32 0 0 0 1
Jarrod Skalde C 22 4 6 10 14 -2 0 0 0
Joe Murphy RW 10 5 4 9 14 1 2 0 0
Al Iafrate D 21 2 7 9 28 -1 2 0 0
Ron Sutter C 57 2 7 9 22 -2 0 0 1
Dave Lowry LW 50 4 4 8 51 0 0 0 1
Viktor Kozlov C 18 5 2 7 2 -2 2 0 0
Shean Donovan RW 20 3 3 6 22 3 0 0 0
Alexander Korolyuk LW 19 2 3 5 6 -5 1 0 0
Rich Brennan D 11 1 2 3 2 -4 1 0 0
Bryan Marchment D 12 0 3 3 43 2 0 0 0
Steve Guolla C 7 1 1 2 0 -2 0 0 0
Andrei Nazarov LW 40 1 1 2 112 -4 0 0 0
Mike Vernon G 62 0 2 2 24 0 0 0 0
Barry Potomski LW 9 0 1 1 30 1 0 0 0
Niklas Andersson LW 5 0 0 0 2 -1 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 28 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Jason Muzzatti G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ken Sutton D 8 0 0 0 15 -4 0 0 0
Dody Wood C 8 0 0 0 40 -3 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Mike Vernon 3564 62 30 22 8 146 2.46 5 1401 1255 .896
Kelly Hrudey 1360 28 4 16 2 62 2.74 1 600 538 .897
Jason Muzzatti 27 1 0 0 0 2 4.44 0 13 11 .846
Team: 4951 82 34 38 10 210 2.54 6 2014 1804 .896
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
John MacLean RW 6 2 3 5 4 1 1 0 0
Bernie Nicholls C 6 0 5 5 8 -2 0 0 0
Owen Nolan RW 6 2 2 4 26 -1 2 0 1
Mike Ricci C 6 1 3 4 6 0 0 0 0
Bill Houlder D 6 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0
Murray Craven LW 6 1 1 2 0 -2 0 0 0
Joe Murphy RW 6 1 1 2 20 -1 1 0 0
Al Iafrate D 6 1 0 1 10 -4 1 0 0
Mike Rathje D 6 1 0 1 6 -3 1 0 0
Ron Sutter C 6 1 0 1 14 -1 0 0 0
Andrei Zyuzin D 6 1 0 1 14 -2 0 0 1
Jeff Friesen LW 6 0 1 1 2 -1 0 0 0
Patrick Marleau C 5 0 1 1 0 -1 0 0 0
Stephane Matteau LW 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Shawn Burr LW/C 6 0 0 0 8 -1 0 0 0
Tony Granato RW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kelly Hrudey G 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Dave Lowry LW 6 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 0
Bryan Marchment D 6 0 0 0 10 1 0 0 0
Marcus Ragnarsson D 6 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0
Marco Sturm LW 2 0 0 0 0 -2 0 0 0
Mike Vernon G 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Mike Vernon 348 6 2 4 14 2.41 1 138 124 .899
Kelly Hrudey 20 1 0 0 1 3.00 0 6 5 .833
Team: 368 6 2 4 15 2.45 1 144 129 .896

[4]

Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; +/- = plus/minus; PIM = Penalty minutes; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
      MIN = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Awards and records[]

Transactions[]

Draft picks[]

Round # Player Position Nationality College/Junior/Club Team
1 2 Patrick Marleau Center  Canada Seattle Thunderbirds
1 23 Scott Hannan Defence  Canada Kelowna Rockets
4 82 Adam Colagiacomo Right Wing  Canada Oshawa Generals
5 107 Adam Spylo Right Wing  Canada Erie Otters
7 163 Joe Dusbabek Right Wing  United States Notre Dame
8 192 Cam Severson Left Wing  Canada Prince Albert Raiders
9 219 Mark Smith Center  Canada Lethbridge Hurricanes

Farm teams[]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "1997-1998 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  2. ^ "1997–98 San Jose Sharks Games". Hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. ^ "1997-98 San Jose Sharks Schedule and Results - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  4. ^ "1997-98 San Jose Sharks Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2009-06-24.

External links[]

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