After losing in conference finals in 2 straight years, Sharks look to finally reach Finals and win

The San Jose Sharks are the 2nd of three teams in the league who need to win the Cup now. Back in the 2004 playoffs, the Sharks seemed destined to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, but ran into a hot goaltender in Mikka Kiprusoff of Calgary, yes the same Kiprusoff who backed up Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose. They lost to Calgary in 6 games in a series which saw the road team win every game until Game 6, when Calgary defeated the Sharks in Alberta.

Ever since that year, expectations grew for San Jose as they are still seeking their 1st Stanley Cup in Franchise history. Also, since 2004 they saw their in-state rivals Ducks win the Cup in 2007 and upset them in Round 1 of the 2009 playoffs. In November 2005, the Sharks made a blockbuster trade with Boston getting star center Joe Thornton, but based on the Bruins winning the cup this past year, that deal turned out as a loss for the Sharks despite the Bruins not having any of the return pieces playing for them anymore.

However, the 2009 loss to the Ducks was seen as a huge missed opportunity for the Sharks considering they won the President's Trophy that season for the league's best record. They went on to acquire Dany Heatley that summer from Ottawa and reached the Conference Finals where like in 2009 when they ran into a hot Jonas Hiller, they could not solve Antti Niemi of the Blackhawks and were swept out of the playoffs in 2010. This past season with a cup winning goaltender in Niemi, they could not get past Vancouver, but they were a huge underdog against them.

After two straight missed opportunities, the Sharks decided to change their chemistry and went on to trade Heatley to the Wild for Martin Havlat. Heatley was seen as a disappointment in the playoffs for San Jose and they also made two more deals with Minnesota acquiring Brent Burns for Devin Setoguchi and James Sheppherd for a draft pick. They also brought in veteran center Michal Handzus and locked up Niemi long-term. So, hopefully the changing of the guard helps San Jose win their elusive Stanley Cup.