Report: Sharks expect to host outdoor game next season

There have been rumors dating back to last September that the San Jose Sharks were being considered by the NHL to host an outdoor game. A report today from Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area all but confirms it. According to Kurz the Sharks expect to host a game during the 2014-15 season at either AT&T Park in San Francisco, home of the Giants, or the newly-built Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, where the 49ers will begin playing this fall.

Not a whole lot else about the game is known yet so here are five unsolicited suggestions for the Sharks and the NHL.

1) Play the game at AT&T Park

This one should be obvious. While Levi's Stadium is closer to the Shark Tank, it's tough to beat the gorgeous sightlines a hockey game played on the precipice of the San Francisco Bay would produce. It's also an easier stadium to fill, it would possibly help grow the game outside the immediate San Jose area and it would just be an incredibly fun experience at one of the best sporting venues in the country.

2) Host the Los Angeles Kings

The Kings are on their way to winning their second Stanley Cup in three seasons *vomits in mouth* and have probably established themselves as the league's most marketable franchise west of Chicago. They also hosted a tremendously successful outdoor game at Dodger Stadium earlier this year so it's easy to imagine the NHL wanting them involved again next time around. After back-to-back postseason meetings, including a historic and heartbreaking collapse this spring, the Sharks likely don't have a bigger current rival than the Kings which would add some bite and significant Pacific Division standings implications to what's probably going to be a late-January regular season game.

3) Wear original teal throwback jerseys

The only Stadium Series jerseys from this season's games that wouldn't have been better suited as hamster cage lining were the Devils' and Blackhawks' duds, both of which were essentially identical to sweaters previously worn by the team. San Jose's original teal jerseys were what made legions of kids who had hardly even heard of hockey fall in love with the team in its early days. The Sharks haven't worn them since 1998, not even for a promotional throwback night. This game is a perfect opportunity to dust those off.

4) Don't involve KISS in any way

A picture is worth a thousand words here, I think. Seriously though, Metallica, Neil Young, Green Day and a number of other mainstream artists have ties to the Bay Area in varying degrees and would all be less embarrassing than fucking KISS.

5) Don't involve Jeremy Roenick in any way

Again, this one's pretty self-explanatory.