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Sharks vs. Stars - The Biggest Western Conference Rivalry: Series Preview

On Friday night in San Jose, the Sharks will face their biggest rivals when they take the ice against the Dallas Stars in the Shark Tank. There is no bigger rivalry in the Western Conference, and that fact is not in dispute. Anyone that does try to refute this claim, needs a little lesson in hockey history. Lets start from the beginning, shall we?

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Before the Dallas Stars or the San Jose Sharks even existed, the two franchises were forever linked in history. In 1976, after nearly a decade of poor attendance, and even poorer financial returns, the California Golden Seals (aka the San Francisco Seals, aka the Oakland Seals) led by their owners Mel Swig, George Gund, and Gordon Gund, left the Bay Area for Cleveland where they were renamed the Barons. The move did not turn out as they had planned, and after two more failing seasons the Cleveland Barons merged with the struggling Minnesota North Stars.

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For more than a decade, the Minnesota North Stars remained in the Twin Cities, but in 1990, the Gund’s sold their share of the North Stars in return for the rights to an expansion franchise in the Bay Area. As a result of this deal, the North Stars were essentially split in two, with half the team staying in Minnesota, and the other half moving to San Jose. Both teams would then be allowed to restock their stable of talent through an expansion draft.

Even today, many in Minnesota feel like they were robbed. I mean, how would you feel if a couple of the Sharks owners sold their stake in the team, took half the players, and moved to Chattanooga? Now I cant really point out Chattanooga on a map, but when it came to San Jose neither could Minnesotans. The animosity between Minnesota fans and the Sharks franchise runs deep, and you can bet many in Minnesota were looking ahead to a possible second round match-up with the Sharks before losing to Colorado. What bothers them most is the vast majority of fans in San Jose, and the Bay Area, have no idea how terribly they have wronged Minnesotans by taking a chunk of their team to sunny California.

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The Sharks, began play in 1992 and set a NHL record with 71 losses. A couple years later this seemingly insignificant west coast hockey team put San Jose on the map when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings in game seven in the first round of the NHL playoffs, but thats a story for another time. (or perhaps next round!) What remained of the North Stars would stay in Minnesota until 1993 when they moved to Big D, and were renamed the Dallas Stars. I wont even get into how the people of Minnesota feel about Dallas, but trust me, its a bitter relationship.

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Since that time, the Stars and Sharks have met innumerable times on the ice, and have built a West Coast rivalry larger than any other. However, even with this great rivalry and close proximity in the Western Conference, these two teams have only met twice in the playoffs and the Stars won both times. In 1998 the Sharks lost to the Stars in six games with two games decided in overtime, including the series clincher for Dallas. In 2000, San Jose lost a second round match-up in five games to the then Stanley Cup Champion Stars. The Sharks played without the services of their captain, Owen Nolan, for two of those games, and in both series, Dallas had home ice advantage.

Image details: San Jose Sharks v Dallas Stars served by picapp.com

From 2001 to the present, The Dallas Stars and the San Jose Sharks have alternated Pacific Division Titles, interrupted only once by Anaheim in 2007. Needless to say, this is a playoff series long overdue, and one that will go a long way towards bragging rights for the future.

Image details: Dallas Stars v San Jose Sharks served by picapp.com

So there you have it Sharks fans!! A rivalry born before these two franchises even existed in their current forms, and a rivalry that has only gotten stronger, and more heated since that time. As a result of their common histories, these two franchises are essentially hated stepbrothers that love to beat each other up! I am ready, are you? Check back tomorrow for the Game 1 preview, and prepare yourself for some great hockey between two great rivals.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 7:51 pm and is filed under 2008, Playoffs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.