The 2020–21 San Jose Sharks season was the 30th season for the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

franchise that was established on May 9, 1990. On December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the ongoing closure of the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

. As a result of this realignment, the Sharks will play this season in the West Division and will play games against only the other teams in their new division during the regular season and potentially the first two rounds of the playoffs. Due to

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...

banning all contact sports in response to a local rise of COVID-19 cases, the Sharks began the season on an extended road trip. Their first two home games on February 1 and 3 against the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

were to have been held at

Gila River Arena Desert Diamond Arena (originally Glendale Arena and formerly Jobing.com Arena and Gila River Arena) is an indoor entertainment arena located in Glendale, Arizona, which anchors the 223-acre, $1 billion Westgate Entertainment District. Located ...

, the home of division rival

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

, but ended up being postponed due to a COVID outbreak among the Golden Knights. On January 25, Santa Clara County health officials announced that they were lifting the ban, and the Sharks returned to

SAP Center SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena has earned ...

on February 13. On May 3, the Sharks were eliminated from playoff contention after a 5–4 overtime loss to the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...

Draft picks

Below are the San Jose Sharks' selections at the 2020 NHL entry draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26 and 27, 2020, at the Bell Center in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, to October 6 and 7, 2020. It was instead held virtually via

video conference call Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...

from the NHL Network studio in

Secaucus, New Jersey Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...

. Notes: # The

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

traded their 38th and 100th selection in this years' draft for the 34th pick from the Sharks. # The Sharks traded their 100th and 126th selection in this years' draft for the 76th pick to the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Standings

Divisional standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

The schedule was announced on December 23, 2020.

Player statistics

Skaters

Goaltenders

^†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Sharks. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.
^‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Sharks only.

Transactions

The Sharks have been involved in the following transactions during the 2020–21 season.

Trades

Free agents

Waivers

Signings

Contract terminations

Awards

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2020-21 San Jose Sharks season San Jose Sharks seasons

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. The Sharks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Con ...

2020s in San Jose, California