head coach: Darryl Sutter

roster: C - Jeff Friesen*, Bernie Nicholls, Ron Sutter, Dody Wood. LW - Viktor Kozlov, Tony Granato, Steve Guolla, Ville Peltonen*, Nicklas Andersson, Barry Potomski, Stephane Mattaeu. RW - Owen Nolan, Murray Craven, Shawn Burr, Shean Donovan, Andrei Nazarov*, Todd Ewen. D - Bill Houlder, Doug Bodger, Marcus Ragnarsson, Todd Gill, Al Iafrate, Mike Rathje, Marty McSorley. G - Mike Vernon, Kelly Hrudey.
*-Unsigned free agent.

injuries: None.

transactions: 07/09 - Signed free agent defenseman Bill Houlder (Tampa Bay) to a four-year contract; signed Andrei Zyuzin, a first-round pick in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft; signed defenseman Richard Brennan. 07/25 - Traded center Darren Turcotte to the St. Louis Blues for forward Stephane Matteau; acquired forward Murray Craven from the Chicago Blackhawks for left wing Petri Varis and Chicago's sixth-round draft pick in 1998. 08/13 - Signed unrestricted free-agent center Jarrod Skalde (Calgary); signed unrestricted free-agent goaltender Jamie Ram (NY Rangers). 08/15 - Signed unrestricted free-agent left wing Barry Potomski and unrestricted free-agent defenseman Peter Allen. 08/18 - Signed goaltender John Nabokov. 08/21 - Announced left wing Ville Peltonen and right wing Jan Caloun have signed individual contracts with European club teams for the 1997-98 season; bought out the contract of forward Ray Whitney, making him an unrestricted free agent; signed center Peter Roed. 08/22 - Traded defenseman Vlastimil Kroupa to the New Jersey Devils for a third-round pick in the 1998 draft. 09/02 - Signed unrestricted free-agent goaltender Kay Whitmore and center Mike Casselman; signed right wing Marko Makinen, a 1995 third-round draft pick. 09/05 - Named Cap Raeder professional scout. 09/10 - Signed free-agent left wing Niklas Andersson, who had been with the New York Islanders. 09/12 - Reassigned center Mike Casselman to Cincinnati of the International Hockey League; goaltender Kay Whitmore to Long Beach of the International Hockey League and center Peter Roed, right wings Marko Makinen and Alexei Yegorov, and defenseman Jason Widmer to Kentucky of the American Hockey League; sent center Cory Cyrenne, left wings Cam Severson and David Thibault, right wing Matt Bradley and goaltender Terry Friesen to their respective junior clubs. 09/13 - Returned defenseman David Bell and center Mark Smith to Kentucky of the American Hockey League; sent right wings Adam Colagiacomo and Adam Nittel to their respective junior teams.

standings:

1996-97 FINAL RESULTS
RECORD:     
 OVERALL      27-47-8
 HOME         14-23-4
 ROAD         13-24-4        
POINTS:             62 (25th)
GOALS SCORED:      211 (26th)   
GOALS AGAINST:     278 (24th)
POWER PLAY:      14.3% (20th)
PENALTY KILLING: 83.9% (12th) 

game results:

PRE-SEASON RESULTS
9/14 Los Angeles        L 4-3  @San Diego 

team news:

by Michael Dell, editor-in-chief

SUTTER GIVES SHARKS BITE

Last season was a complete debacle in San Jose. The club finished with the worst record in the Western Conference and missed the playoffs by 19 points. An overall lack of discipline was the main reason for the team's woes. The only thing the Sharks led the league in was dumb penalties. San Jose was the NHL's most penalized team, spending 2,085 minutes in the box. That was a full 245 minutes more than their nearest competitor, the Buffalo Sabres. The difference between the two teams, of course, being that Buffalo's penalties usually had a purpose behind them. Most of the Sharks just came as a result of playing undisciplined hockey.

Whenever a team plays like the Sharks did, it's the coach that takes the fall, and rightfully so. If a coach can't control his players, he has no business being the coach. Replacing the fired Al Sims behind the bench will be Darryl Sutter. As is the case with most of the Sutter brothers, Darryl is known for his work ethic, stern manner, and discipline. He hasn't coached since 1994-95 when he was the main man in Chicago, but he should be the perfect leader for the Sharks. Speaking of the Sutter brothers, Darryl will have the pleasure of coaching little brother Ronnie this season in the Shark Tank. Hey, think you can name all the Sutter brothers? Well, let's see... there's Darryl, Ronnie, Brian, Brent... um, Kenny... Larry... Pepe... Donner and Blitzen.

OFFENSE: More Veteran Role Players Added

The Sharks worked some trading magic over the off-season to add three quality role players to the roster in the forms of Shawn Burr, Murray Craven, and Stephane Matteau. All three are nice additions that give the Sharks some quality checking depth. Craven can play either the wing or center, Burr is one of the best pound-for-pound hitters in the league, and Matteau can still work the boards with the best of 'em. The trio will join the aforementioned Ronnie Sutter to try and clamp down on the defensive end of things. Toughness will be provided by the Russian Nightmare, Andrei Nazarov. Of course, that's assuming that the Sharks can get Nazarov signed to a new contract. At the moment, the two sides are miles apart.

With the new role players on board, the Sharks now have to try and find some goal-scoring. The Sharks were dead last in the NHL last season with just 211 goals. In the early stages of training camp, Jeff Friesen was centering a line with Owen Nolan and Craven. Nolan and Friesen were the club's top two goal-scorers a year ago, connecting for 31 and 28, respectively. Nolan could be a 50-goal scorer in this league if he could show up with the same intensity every night and play with a center that can give him the puck. Known more for his speed than anything else, Friesen is going to have to prove that he can be a premier setup man in the NHL. If these two could gel, they could give the Fish an explosive scoring duo.

The second line at camp has featured Broadway Bernie Nicholls between Tony Granato and Viktor Kozlov. Nicholls played only 65 games last season, missing time with a kidney problem that could have been more serious than first thought. Luckily, Bernie came through okay and will be good to go this season. For the Sharks to be competitive, Nicholls is going to have to get between 70 and 80 points. Granato became an immediate fan favorite last year after recovering from brain surgery to score 25 goals and 40 points in his first season as a Shark. Now that he has a full season back under his belt, his production could rise a little bit. Kozlov, the final member of the line, has the talent to be a dominating superstar. The 22-year-old Russian stands 6'5" and weighs 225 pounds, yet has all the skills of a small man. Because of his immense stature and marvelous stickhandling ability, Kozlov used to get compared to Mario Lemieux. But eventually he's going to have to deliver on that potential with numbers. He had just 16 goals and 41 points in 78 games last season. However, this will be his third full season in the NHL and that's when a lot of young players make their moves. Kozlov could have a big year.

Center Patrick Marleau, the club's most recent number one pick, has been mighty impressive at camp and could make the team. He's a gifted scorer that could bring some added excitement to the festivities.

DEFENSE: Hey, It's Not That Bad...

The San Jose defense may get ridiculed a lot, but it's actually not that bad. Injuries to Marty McSorley and Al Iafrate pretty much crippled the squad last season. McSorley's presence on the blue line just makes everyone on the team tougher. And Iafrate, well, he's just nuts. You never know what that guy's gonna do. He may be wacky, but Iafrate still has the big slap shot and when he plays the Sharks are competitive. The club was 17-17-4 last season with Iafrate in the lineup. When he was out with a busted toe and a bad back, the club went 10-30-4. Tough to argue his importance to the team in light of those numbers. Iafrate's back has been on the mend all summer. While he is a little behind schedule in his rehabilitation, he hasn't had any major setbacks. If he isn't healthy in time for the season opener, he should be good to go not long after. As boring as the NHL's been recently, the league needs Iafrate around to keep things interesting.

If Iafrate and McSorley can stay healthy, they'll join veterans Doug Bodger, Todd Gill, and Bill Houlder along the blue line. Houlder was signed as a free agent from Tampa Bay and has become quite the dependable defender the past few years in Tampa. After finishing at a -18 with Anaheim in 1993-94, Houlder vowed to improve his defensive game, deciding to just start making the safe, simple play in his own zone. The result has been a dramatic turnaround in his plus-minus totals. Last season Houlder led the Lightning Bolts with a +16, well ahead of his next closest teammate who checked in at a +6 (Cory Cross). Houlder should bring a calming influence to the back line.

The club also has some youth with Marcus Ragnarsson and Mike Rathje. Ragnarsson appeared to be on his way to stardom after an impressive rookie season in 1995-96. But he had a typical sophomore slump last season, watching his scoring total drop by 22 points. A return to form would help the Sharks dramatically.

GOALTENDING: Conn Smythe in Town

The Detroit Red Wings rewarded Mike Vernon for ending their 42- year Stanley Cup drought by trading him to San Jose. Gee, thanks. Vernon will bring his Conn Smythe Trophy and two Cup rings to the San Jose goal crease, giving the Sharks a reliable last line of defense. The only catch is that Vernon is 34 years of age and hasn't played more than 32 games in any of the past three seasons. So there might be some question of his ability to go the distance as the number one guy.

Providing relief for Vernon will be another aging netminder, Kelly Hrudey. The 36-year-old is still quick on his feet and eager to flop around like a chimp. If these two guys can stay off Medicare long enough to last the full season, goaltending shouldn't be a problem.

GEE, THAT'S SWELL

* Sutter should get the most out of his troops and correct any attitude problems.

* Nolan is a bad man up front.

* Experienced veterans make the club extremely solid on defense and in net.

TROUBLE

* Scoring could still be hard to find.

* The state of the defense hinges on the health of Iafrate and McSorley.

* Team has a lot of work to do to shed losing image.

1997-98 OUTLOOK: The Sharks are an interesting team. If all the veterans stay healthy and play up to their potential, and Kozlov breaks through, this team could be a force. Of course, this borderline over-the-hill gang could also suffer through an injury-plagued season. One thing is for sure, Sutter will have them ready to play. That alone will make this club competitive.

PREDICTION: Fourth place in the Pacific and maybe, just maybe, a return to the playoffs.

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