The 2000–01 San Jose Sharks season was the team's tenth season of operation in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). The campaign saw the Sharks win 40 games for the first time in franchise history. In so doing, the team set a new franchise record for points (95) and clinched a playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season. During the off-season, general manager

Dean Lombardi Dean Lombardi (born March 5, 1958) is an American ice hockey executive with the Philadelphia Flyers. He most recently served as the president, general manager and alternate governor of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He ...

sought to add depth to the Sharks' offense. In addition to retaining nearly all of the prior season's players, Lombardi traded for forward Niklas Sundstrom and signed gritty right winger Scott Thornton. These moves paid dividends immediately, as the Sharks' offense continued to function well despite injuries to key forwards Owen Nolan and

Vincent Damphousse Vincent François Damphousse (born December 17, 1967) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for eighteen seasons. He played centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Cana ...

. The Sharks also benefited from the strong play of

Patrick Marleau Patrick Denis Marleau (born September 15, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. With 1,779 NHL games played, he is the all-time leader in games played in league history. He passed the record previously held by Gordie Howe ...

, who set career highs in goals (25), assists (27), and points (52) in his fourth season with the team. The Sharks' defense also improved behind the quality play of

Gary Suter Gary Lee Suter (born June 24, 1964) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played over 1,000 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1985 and 2002. He was a ninth round selection of the Calgary Flames, 180th overa ...

Brad Stuart Bradley Stuart (born November 6, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in over 1,000 career games in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, Det ...

and

Scott Hannan Kenneth Scott Hannan (born January 23, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Hannan was born in Richmond, British Columbia, but grew up in Surrey, British Columbia. Playing career As a youth, Hannan played in the 1992 Quebec ...

. The 2000–01 regular season is also remembered for the emergence of second-year goaltender

Evgeni Nabokov Yevgeni Viktorovich Nabokov (russian: Евге́ний Ви́кторович Набо́ков; born July 25, 1975) is a Kazakhstani-Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the San Jose Sharks, New York Islanders, and Ta ...

. While Nabokov had been impressive in limited action one season earlier, he remained the backup to starter Steve Shields. However, an early-season ankle injury to Shields forced Nabokov into a starting role. With Nabokov as their starter, the Sharks raced out to a 9–2–2 start. By the time Shields returned from his injury, Nabokov was fully entrenched as starting goaltender. Nabokov was awarded the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

at the end of the season for his play. Late in the 2000–01 season, the team traded Shields and struggling star

Jeff Friesen Jeffrey Daryl Friesen (born August 5, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played over 800 games in the National Hockey League, spending roughly half his career with the San Jose Sharks, who drafted him in the 1994 NHL Ent ...

to Anaheim for superstar forward Teemu Selanne. In making the trade, the Sharks sought to establish themselves as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders for the first time in franchise history. While Selanne played well in limited action, the Sharks' aspirations proved premature. In the first round of the

2001 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL), began on April 11, 2001, and ended on June 9, 2001, when the Western Conference champion Colorado Avalanche defeated the Eastern Conference champion New ...

, the team was defeated by the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

in six games.

Off-season

Regular season

Final standings

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Western Conference Quarterfinals: vs. (2)
St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

St. Louis Blues wins series 4–2

Player statistics

Awards and records

Transactions

Draft picks

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 San Jose Sharks season San San San Jose Sharks seasons

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...