History of the Sharks Roster

by mymclife on Jul 25, 2011 3:00 AM PDT in Special Features

Last year, I debuted the concept of a visual roster history - an ancestry chart of all the roster moves that the Sharks have made that directly affected the current roster. It's easy enough to find information about player trades or signings, but draft pick trades? Or a series of trades? Pretty much impossible. Oh, the information is out there - otherwise I wouldn't be writing this article - but it's not in one brightly-colored family tree-esque graphic on your favorite Sharks blog (especially if your favorite Sharks blog is not this one).

And without further ado, here is the Roster Tree. Click on it for the full-size image (which is insanely big, so ye be warned, smart phone users and those with slow internet connections).

This chart only deals with the players that are listed on the Sharks' roster on the official site as of July 26, 2011. I did no speculation as to which players may or may not make the team (even if it's painfully obvious that they will not - hence why Thomas Greiss remains there). There are 25 players currently listed on the roster; 15 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 3 goalies.

In order to make the current team, the Sharks used 41 of their original draft picks - that is, the ones that are alloted to them by the NHL, not the ones they necessarily drafted players with. 2003 and 2005 are the most successful in this regard, each contributing 4 draft picks to the effort. 2000, 2001, and 2002 saw the Sharks strike out, with no draft picks that have helped the current team.

2000 and 2001 also haven't contributed in the trade aspect. Of the 54 trades that have happened to compose this roster, those years saw a big goose egg in long-term productive trades. The far and away winner in the trade front was 2003, with 11 trades that have affected this year's roster. Tied for second are 1995, 1997, and 1998 with 5 each.

Of the trades that are on the Tree, the Sharks have traded with the Panthers and Flyers the most with five trades each. Second-most are the Lightning and Red Wings with four trades each. The Sharks have not traded with seven current teams - the Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers, Washington Capitals, and Winnipeg Jets 2.0. However, the Sharks have traded with the Stars, Coyotes, Hurricanes, and Jets 2.0 when they were the North Stars, Jets 1.0, Whalers, and Thrashers respectively. Thus, the only teams that have not contributed to the current roster are the Kings, Oilers, and Capitals.

The earliest Sharks player to influence the roster is the Sharks's first ever draft pick, Pat Falloon (although an argument could be made for Bob McGill, who was chosen from Chicago in the expansion draft). Interestingly, Pat Falloon contributed to the acquisition of blog favorite Jamie McGinn. The most recent player to contribute to the roster is Zack Phillips, the 2011 1st rounder who was traded to the Minnesota Wild as part of the Brent Burns trade.

The Sharks are rather fond of trading draft picks - while 13 players on the roster were drafted by the Sharks, only two were drafted by picks that originally belonged to the Sharks: Patrick Marleau with the second overall pick in 1997, and Tommy Wingels with the 177th overall pick in 2008. The other 11 players were drafted with picks the Sharks traded for, usually as a trade up or part of some larger deal.

Historically, the Sharks have been known to be a team that doesn't tend to attract unrestricted free agents. While the current team does have 8 players signed from unrestricted free agency, there are only 13 total UFAs out of the 134 players that affect the current roster, supporting that assertion.

Each current roster player averaged 6.88 players in their lineage, and 2.88 trades per player. Among non-direct picks, Brent Burns had the highest percentage of original Sharks draft picks in his lineage, coming in at 62.5%. Among non-UFAs, Torrey Mitchell had the highest percentage of UFAs in his lineage, with 16.7%

Hot Potato of 1998

In 1998, the Sharks, Panthers, Lightning, and Predators decided that none of them wanted the first overall pick, and had a flurry of trades leading up to the 1998 entry draft in which the top two picks were both traded twice and the Sharks owned each of the top three picks at some point during that season. The Sharks ended up drafted Brad Stuart third overall, who was eventually traded for Joe Thornton.

Could-Have-Beens (Notable players drafted with picks the Sharks owned)

Lars Eller, David Legwand, Chris Pronger, Vincent Lecavalier, Jaroslav Spacek, Danny Briere, Jason Strudwick, Brad Richardson, Mathieu Carle, Marc Staal, and David Krejci.

Interesting Branches

Joe Thornton

The Sharks captain, fittingly, hast the longest and most complicated branch, one that is also littered with current and future Hall of Famers. 35 players comprise his branch, with 17 trades. However only 4 Sharks original draft picks were need to acquire him; the picks that later became Jason Strudwick, Joey Tetarenko, Rick Berry, and Chris Pronger. Chris Pronger is the only player that I'd might want to have over Joe Thornton, but of course, the branch that Chris Pronger leads into also spawns Martin Havlat and Dan Boyle.

Also, you can trace his line back to Igor Larionov. That's pretty awesome.

Logan Couture

Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell contributed a majority of the assets to acquire the pick the Sharks eventually chose Logan Couture with. Enough said.

Brent Burns

Last year, I posed the question of whether or not the Sharks would be better off with Devin Setoguchi or Marc Staal, as the pick that later became Marc Staal was traded for Setoguchi's pick. This year, now I must wonder: Brent Burns, or Marc Staal and Charlie Coyle?

As was evidenced last season, the Sharks needed defense and offense from their defense, which is what necessitated the Burns trade. And Brent Burns is an elite defenseman, a legitimate number one defenseman whose main issue with the Wild was trying to do too much. But Marc Staal is a great young shut-down defenseman; the thought of him paired with Marc-Edouard Vlasic in a young shut-down pairing gives me a warm feeling. And Charlie Coyle was one of the Sharks' few blue chip prospects (and an American, to boot).

So the question is whether the Sharks would rather have an amazing and cheap offensive defenseman right now, or a cheap defensive defenseman now and a good two-way second/first liner in the future.

Jamie McGinn

Researching Jamie McGinn's roster heritage and finding out that the great Pat Falloon contributed to McGinn's acquisition is like finding out the class clown is a direct descendant of John Adams.

Joe Pavelski

Originally, I believed that the seventh rounder used to pick Pavelski was the Sharks' own - instead, the Sharks traded their 6th in 2004 in order to select Pavelski. It's one of those small, almost unnoticeable moves that ended up paying off in a big way.

Final Notes:

That the early Sharks contribute so much to the current roster says much about how the organization doesn't like assets to go to waste, and would rather make trades than lose players for nothing. Also, out of all the players that the Sharks could have had, there are a few that would be nice to have on the roster, but there haven't been any Milbury-like moments where there's a huge regret for a trade (except for perhaps the Chris Pronger one - darn you Chris Pronger!).

Special thanks to Pro Sports Transactions and the San Jose Sharks Official Site for the information used in this article.

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Comments

This is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while.

Thank you.

Before pressing Caps Lock, you have to ask yourself: "Are you ready to unleash the fury?"

Patrick Marleau on previous fighting experience: "I've got an older brother, too... so..."

by SharkMonster on Jul 25, 2011 3:07 AM PDT reply actions

My eyes are bleeding...

But that’s awesome.

Drew: 'Oh no.. That is certainly the meaty part alright, but it's not the thigh..."
Randy: "No... that bone is NOT connected to the thigh bone..."

www.fearthefin.com - Where masochism is defined.

I rushed the Furd's farm in 2009

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by SeanCrosby87 on Jul 25, 2011 3:12 AM PDT reply actions

NICE!!!

Almost looks like the wiring diagram for the 912 Im restoring. LOL! Great work mymclife, cheers!

by sharkblood99 on Jul 25, 2011 3:41 AM PDT reply actions

Um.

My mind just exploded. So many lines, so many pretty colors, so much information. I applaud you for gathering all of this information and forming it into a finely crafted diagram of awesome!

Hockey is like a box of choclates. But not really, hockey is way better.
"Who throws an umbrella!?" - Randy Hahn.

by Pavsisaninja on Jul 25, 2011 4:00 AM PDT reply actions

I applaud the effort to gather that info. The Krecji for Griess trade seems cringe worthy in retrospect. How long did that take to put together? I’d like to give it a try for another team?

by Jpynn on Jul 25, 2011 5:55 AM PDT reply actions

The first time it took around two weeks, but that was going off of Wikipedia and Google. This one took a full day to make, although that’s with last year’s being available to me as a resource/photoshop file.

Proud member of the Do Not Under Any Circumstances Trade American Hero Joe Pavelski Or Else I Will Be Crushed Club
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES

by mymclife on Jul 25, 2011 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions

Lol. I l'd like to see one for New York Islanders...

Drew: 'Oh no.. That is certainly the meaty part alright, but it's not the thigh..."
Randy: "No... that bone is NOT connected to the thigh bone..."

www.fearthefin.com - Where masochism is defined.

I rushed the Furd's farm in 2009

www.californiagoldenblogs.com - Where Cal grads prove they learned something.

by SeanCrosby87 on Jul 25, 2011 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions

I love this thing...

if only for how small the UFA box is.

Fear the Fin: "I've always said that if you don't have the motivation within you... It's not Doug Wilson's job to motivate me. I've got motivation within myself, especially going through some of the experiences that I had last year." - Nick Petrecki

by Matthew_Taylor on Jul 25, 2011 6:47 AM PDT reply actions

Twice as many UFAs this year as last year, though. Improvement!

Proud member of the Do Not Under Any Circumstances Trade American Hero Joe Pavelski Or Else I Will Be Crushed Club
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES

by mymclife on Jul 25, 2011 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions

I'm gonna laugh

when Wilson makes another trade and you’re going to have to update the whole thing again.

"Douglas Murray is a humongous human being." – Drew Remenda
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by Evilducks on Jul 25, 2011 7:31 AM PDT reply actions

Probably at like 2pm today.

Believing in the Sharks, one photoshop at a time. GO SHARKS!

by Auth0r on Jul 25, 2011 9:16 AM PDT up reply actions

And it’ll probably involve draft picks that haven’t affected the roster yet, and will probably trace back to the late 90s.

Proud member of the Do Not Under Any Circumstances Trade American Hero Joe Pavelski Or Else I Will Be Crushed Club
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES

by mymclife on Jul 25, 2011 10:04 AM PDT up reply actions

It's 2:11pm today...

Nothin.

Drew: 'Oh no.. That is certainly the meaty part alright, but it's not the thigh..."
Randy: "No... that bone is NOT connected to the thigh bone..."

www.fearthefin.com - Where masochism is defined.

I rushed the Furd's farm in 2009

www.californiagoldenblogs.com - Where Cal grads prove they learned something.

by SeanCrosby87 on Jul 25, 2011 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions

2pm Hawaii time, obviously.

Believing in the Sharks, one photoshop at a time. GO SHARKS!

by Auth0r on Jul 25, 2011 2:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Yet, of course.

Brian Wilson on what kind of interesting clothing he'll wear to the White House: "...or what I DON'T wear."

by SharkMonster on Jul 25, 2011 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Great stuff as always Ann. Love this!

"Now get on board going down the river float, we gonna raise a ruckus tonight" - OCMS
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by Mr. Plank on Jul 25, 2011 9:27 AM PDT reply actions

This.Is.Awesome.

UP THE PUCKS!
"This is a good time to come together and raise our middle finger in the air." - Dan Boyle

by TheSoundOfHockey on Jul 25, 2011 9:50 AM PDT reply actions

Good stuff!

Just be grateful you’re dealing with a franchise 20 years old! Who wants to do one for the Red Wings? Who am I kidding, I wouldn’t even look at it.

by Dermal Denticles on Jul 25, 2011 10:02 AM PDT reply actions

Shit traced back to the 1920's? lulz.

Drew: 'Oh no.. That is certainly the meaty part alright, but it's not the thigh..."
Randy: "No... that bone is NOT connected to the thigh bone..."

www.fearthefin.com - Where masochism is defined.

I rushed the Furd's farm in 2009

www.californiagoldenblogs.com - Where Cal grads prove they learned something.

by SeanCrosby87 on Jul 25, 2011 2:12 PM PDT up reply actions

That the early Sharks contribute so much to the current roster says much about how the organization doesn’t like assets to go to waste, and would rather make trades than lose players for nothing.

I think it also speaks very highly about the consistent management and ownership situation. Dean Lombardi did build a heckuva team, and Doug Wilson continued to improve it.

For those of us who remember that awful 5th anniversary team, that something could be salvaged out of that remains a testament to the franchise’s resiliency.

GO SHARKS!

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

Changing signatures is for suckers.

What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.

by ElvisVF101 on Jul 25, 2011 10:05 AM PDT reply actions

This is my absolute favorite post!

I love seeing this stuff. By far one of the coolest puzzle pieces of the Sharks History. THANK YOU for taking the time to put this together….

by SD_Sharks_Fan on Jul 25, 2011 10:23 AM PDT reply actions

Took you about a half hour to put together?

This article is fantastic. At least a dozen facts that you may never really hear about unless one of Randy and Drew’s stat people dug deep.

Ancestry.com, Sharks version. :) Great job!

derp.

by theneverman on Jul 25, 2011 10:26 AM PDT reply actions

OT about Mashinter

Just read an article on NHL.com about weird stats and Mashinter’s name came up under “Firing Blanks” (scoreless streak)

Among players active in 2010-11, San Jose’s Brandon Mashinter has the most career games without a point — 13.

Daniel Erlich for President
\/\/\/\/\/
/\/\/\/\/\
GO SHARKS!!!

by SharksFanTillDeath on Jul 25, 2011 10:53 AM PDT reply actions

Firing blanks

After my visit to the Urologist a few years back, I’m firing blanks too!

by douchebags on Jul 25, 2011 12:33 PM PDT up reply actions

Thanks for sharing!

by Briceratops on Jul 25, 2011 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions

TMI

by Khaaz on Jul 25, 2011 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Rob Davison! Jeff Jillson! Make the nightmares stop!

Enjoying the Shady Acres of hockey blogging retirement. No, that's not the Florida Panthers.

by Mike Chen on Jul 25, 2011 12:43 PM PDT reply actions

Congrats mymclife

You got linked on Puck Daddy

(off-topic, but where the hell did the bold markup for usernames go? Is it the same reason the sidebar is rendering below the reply box?)

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by Nael M. on Jul 25, 2011 1:42 PM PDT reply actions

There is all manner of weirdness going on right now

GO SHARKS!

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

Changing signatures is for suckers.

What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.

by ElvisVF101 on Jul 25, 2011 1:43 PM PDT up reply actions

I think the rendering has to do with the size of the picture of the chart.
Will have to look at the page source to see why the names aren’t bold.
Could also be due to SBNation’s ridiculously excessive use of scripts (I count 27 scripts), which also contributes to page function problems and slowdowns.

If you mention ending your life, or show signs of self-harm, I will take you seriously!
"Take a deep breath sometimes, a break, and play some hockey. Hockey is a great way to take a pause from day-to-day hard work." -- Lt Gen. D.H. Huntoon Jr. (paraphrased)
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by Soloact on Jul 25, 2011 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Cut the Red Wire!!!!

@Logan Couture: Heard Charlie Sheen had an interview I missed tonight, damn! He might be the only person in the world thats #winning more than us right now.

by Brittjames11 on Jul 25, 2011 1:51 PM PDT reply actions

Now that my brain has stopped melting, this chart is freakin awesome. It’s amazing how assets dating back to the early 90s eventually contributed to the great players we have now.

I imagine that the roster tree for the last 20 years wouldn’t be quite as interesting for most other teams as it is for us; though i think that UFA box would be just a LITTTTTLE bigger lol.

by Khaaz on Jul 25, 2011 6:02 PM PDT reply actions

Clarification needed.

Jeff Norton —> (NHL Compensation) —> Ryane Clowe

Lolwut?

by Nick! on Jul 25, 2011 6:28 PM PDT reply actions

I wonder about this too!! Compensation for what?

Awesome chart!! Thanks.

And what’s the advice (Murray’s grandfather, Lars [Lasse] Bjorn) gives him?

"Hit more people."

GO SHARKS.

by MiniMiteMom on Jul 25, 2011 9:36 PM PDT up reply actions

My guess would be that it has something to do with either a Restricted Free Agent signing or a trade involving the dreaded “future considerations.”

Believing in the Sharks, one photoshop at a time. GO SHARKS!

by Auth0r on Jul 25, 2011 10:08 PM PDT up reply actions

Speculation...

Without doing any research it might have something to do with the expansion draft that happened with Columbus and Minnesota coming into the league at that time and selecting from existing rosters.

Top o' 209

by rowdy_rabbi on Jul 26, 2011 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions

MY EYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well done.

Randy Hahn - "The Man With The Big Butt - Patrick Marleau - we like him and we cannot lie..."
-- I am Ryane Clowe (tee hee)

by sharkzfan on Jul 25, 2011 6:38 PM PDT reply actions

✈Holy Cow✈

I think Jamie McGinn has more Jefferson in him than Adams.

"Skillet, we just spent $64,000 in that bar. So we're gonna have to get jobs to cover up the fact that we rob banks" -Mouse Fitzgerald

by joe579 on Jul 25, 2011 7:52 PM PDT reply actions

I was going to say Washington, but Washington had no children, so that wouldn’t make any sense. And Adams was the second president, so there you go.

Proud member of the Do Not Under Any Circumstances Trade American Hero Joe Pavelski Or Else I Will Be Crushed Club
Fear the Fin - NEEDS MORE DOVES

by mymclife on Jul 25, 2011 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Honestly

I’m too stupid to understand this chart. But it looks amazing!

Daniel Erlich for President
\/\/\/\/\/
/\/\/\/\/\
GO SHARKS!!!

by SharksFanTillDeath on Jul 25, 2011 8:18 PM PDT reply actions

Wow. Impressive!

by shark94112 on Jul 25, 2011 11:40 PM PDT reply actions

Joe Thornton- #9 ranking center?

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Looking-ahead-to-2011-12-Ranking-the-NHL-8217-;ylt=AkU70FzgewmQNqz9P8YFEJ7vLYF?urn=nhl-wp9636

Are Staal, Getzlaf, Stamkos, Toews better than Joe Thornton? Would have thought he would at least be in the top 5.

Waiting for the Cup to come to SJ since 1991...

GO SHARKS!

Find me on Twitter @njahoda

by winthecupsj on Jul 26, 2011 8:32 AM PDT reply actions

I think the fact that Tavares is 25th over guys like Spezza, Pavs, and Stastny basically because “we’re excited about this kid!” says everything about their selection process.

I also like that they call Datsyuk the best all around player in the league but still put him behind Crosby. Because Crosby is obviously our boyishly good looking lord and master.

Believing in the Sharks, one photoshop at a time. GO SHARKS!

by Auth0r on Jul 26, 2011 9:42 AM PDT up reply actions

I thought the same thing. You put the “best all around player” behind “The Chosen One” Crosby? eye roll

Waiting for the Cup to come to SJ since 1991...

GO SHARKS!

Find me on Twitter @njahoda

by winthecupsj on Jul 26, 2011 10:16 AM PDT up reply actions

I think, even when healthy

There’s an argument to be made that Datsyuk is a better player because he is even MORE complete than Crosby, who is a fine two way player in his own right.

GO SHARKS!

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

Changing signatures is for suckers.

What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.

by ElvisVF101 on Jul 26, 2011 10:20 AM PDT up reply actions

Much as I love Joe

Getzlaf and Toews are probably better. Stamkos has the potential to be better and is probably a season or two away from achieving that potential. Staal is a different type of player than Joe, so it becomes an argument if that sort of player is better than the type of player Joe is.

Also to be factored in, Getzlaf, Toews and Staal have their name on the Cup.

GO SHARKS!

They're not getting this kind of coverage at "Hockey Night In Canada" folks! - Randy Hahn

Changing signatures is for suckers.

What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.

by ElvisVF101 on Jul 26, 2011 10:18 AM PDT up reply actions

Ugh...

Yeah, I would have put Thornton 3rd, personally. And I would have put Datsyuk first, but no one in the media would ever dethrone the Chosen One.

"If you can accept losing, you can't win." ~Vince Lombardi
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by ZeroIndulgence on Jul 26, 2011 1:13 PM PDT up reply actions

tbh i was surprised by malkin

or the only fact that the article said that the rankings were based on last years performance. i would NOT have malkin at 3. maybe 8.

BLEED TEAL

by FinAdic on Jul 26, 2011 11:30 PM PDT up reply actions

too stoned to comprehend

i have no idea what all these colors are saying

by choderboat on Jul 26, 2011 11:03 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs

stereotype: enforced

by Montyburnz!...1 on Jul 26, 2011 12:58 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

They are saying, ‘Buy some Skittles’

by sharkblood99 on Jul 26, 2011 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions

What are Skittles made of?

by Briceratops on Jul 26, 2011 7:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Sugar coated frog hearts and unicorn magic

by sharkblood99 on Jul 27, 2011 8:55 AM PDT up reply actions

Wow.

I definitely just spent waaay too much time going over that chart. Incredible.

by BConns on Jul 26, 2011 6:39 PM PDT reply actions

Holy Crap!

And I though the Yu-Gi-Oh! thread on the off topic post was nerdy!

Well done!

"It was tough to get back at him (Colton Orr) even later because he never played another shift," said Murray, who stands six-foot-three and weighs 240 pounds

by Chiclets on Jul 26, 2011 9:43 PM PDT reply actions

HEYYYY

guess who is going to rock this come November 10
/dwtroll
This is probably what every GM’s imagination looks like. Crafting a conference topping team is not straightforward. It’s alchemy.