San Jose Sharks

[IceCap]

The San Jose Sharks are, in my opinion, a bit of a historical oddity. The NHL officially recognizes them as a 1991 expansion team, but they were a bit more then that. Gordon Gund and his brother George Gund III became minority owners of the NHL's least successful "First Six" expansion team, the Oakland/California (Golden) Seals. Being from Cleveland, they were able to orchestrate the team's relocation to that city, and the Seals became the Cleveland Barons for two seasons. The team, however, was no longer financially salvageable on its own following the 1977-78 season, and the Gunds were able to negotiate a merger with the Minnesota North Stars. The Gunds would then turn around and buy the newly merged North Stars team.

The NHL, however, was interested in returning to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1990s, and the Gunds had even considered moving the North Stars to the area at one point. So a deal was struck with the NHL that effectively undid the 1978 North Stars-Seals/Barons merger. George Gund III sold his shares in the North Stars to Howard Baldwin, and in turn the league would grant him a franchise in the Bay Area, and he'd be allowed to take a certain number of North Stars players with him.

It's because of how this went down that I've always viewed the Sharks as a continuation of the Seals/Barons. They weren't so much an expansion team as much as the Seals opting out of the merger with the North Stars and adopting a new name.

Which brings me to the concept. The Seals' last Bay Area uniform set has always stuck with me as something that I would like to see tried again. The uniforms worn from 1974-76 utilized over the shoulder UCLA/LSU/Colts style striping, something rarely seen on hockey sweaters. It's a simple enough design that it works as a classic look, yet it's most definitely unique. So I figured I would try it out on the continuation of the team that introduced it.

I opted to go with the current primary. For all of its flaws, I feel it's just to much of an improvement over the original. That being said, I did go with the original 1991-1998 colour scheme of a lighter teal, black, and grey. The current Sharks colour scheme just never appealed to me. The teal's way to dark, and the bright orange always seemed off putting. The Bay Area isn't the sunny self-styled paradise of Los Angeles/Southern California. It can get pretty chilly. Also, sharks in the depths of the ocean hardly conjure up images of bright, sunny days. So I lightened the teal to the original shade and replaced orange with the original look's grey.

For the alternate mark I used the original shark fin, recoloured to better match the current primary. I don't know why, I just find it superior to the updated diamond fin logo. Maybe the original just feels more self-contained.

Anyway that's the concept. I wanted to tie the Sharks back in with their early history as the Seals somehow, and I thought the unorthodox striping last used by the Seals in California were the perfect means to do so.

C&C, as always, is welcome.

[Claystation360]

Interesting. I like the look suprised didn't attempt a seals fluxback,

But overall looks pretty good never been fond of the orange.

[wildwing64]

I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work in the NHL today. Paying homage to the Seals with striping like that would be a great, unique look for the Sharks. Not much I can really add to that, except I would love to see them wear this someday.

Also, kudos for going with their original, better colour scheme.

[The_Admiral]

Looks great! I feel the same way about that Seals template; I've always wanted the Sharks to wear it as a throwback or Sharkify it for a Lake Tahoe Winter Classic.

Only problem is the primary. You can use my silvery, flat-triangle-topped Sharks logo if you'd like.

[GFB]

I get what you were going for, but on this template, the stripes wouldn't be inserts over the shoulder like the Seals in application, but rather on the sleeve above the bicep. With a player wearing it, it wouldn't have that nice vertical look that inserts should have. /pet peeve.

Also, the sleeve feels a little empty. I might suggest bringing the sleeve cuff to near the elbow to eliminate some of that negative space.

[ColeJ]

i like the idea behind it, but i feel like the logo sticks out like a sore thumb. if it were more straight-edged and less anime-slanty, i think it would look better.

as far as the should stripes, i tried my best to pull them off with a sabres alternate concept i did a while back. you might try something closer to that style, since the way you have them, as said above, wouldn't really be on the shoulders, but rather just on the upper arm where numbers usually go.

[Morgan33]

Another solid concept. I like that you went with modern logo while bringing back that great shoulder patch from the 90's (why they got rid of it I'll never know). The striping is restrained & classy and the old school wordmark is a nice touch. My only real issue is the shade of teal but that's just my personal preference. Deep Pacific Teal all the way

[Bayne]

I've seen better Sharks' concepts but this one isn't terrible. I personally would drop the orange from the logo while you're at itl. May as well. The striping is not strong enough and it doesn't stand out to me. I love the grey black and teal, but it can be used to look more powerful and less bland, for lack of a better word. The road is a bit better but it falls into the same problems for me.

Buffalo I like a lot. Would be interested to see how the swords look on the sleeves from a different angle though - not sold on them just looking at this, though it's a novel use of them.

[IceCap]

I've seen better Sharks' concepts but this one isn't terrible. I personally would drop the orange from the logo while you're at itl. May as well. The striping is not strong enough and it doesn't stand out to me. I love the grey black and teal, but it can be used to look more powerful and less bland, for lack of a better word. The road is a bit better but it falls into the same problems for me.

Well you can't please everyone I guess

As for keeping the stick orange, I decided to do that because the stick on the original was orange. All in all I don't mind it. You'll sometimes have colours that only appear in logos. Look at Chicago, for example.

Only problem is the primary. You can use my silvery, flat-triangle-topped Sharks logo if you'd like.

Awesome! Could you send it me? I'm going to give this one another shot using the striping placement ColeJ and GFB suggested.

[illwauk]

I'd really like to see this with "Sharks" in a font similar to "Seals" on the original.

[Orgo]

The front crest's a little small, but it's solid work nonetheless. I could get over the Sharks losing their orange.

[Dbroalexander]

I feel like there needs to be orange as a trim. I know I'm probably in the minority there, but I don't see the love for the Sharks scheme without orange. It seems so dull. The orange POPS and adds some character

[DaRadniz29]

I feel like there needs to be orange as a trim. I know I'm probably in the minority there, but I don't see the love for the Sharks scheme without orange. It seems so dull. The orange POPS and adds some character

I think part of the problem with orange is that it was an unnecessary add to the a lot of fans. in 2007-08 We all knew we were getting a new logo and updated colors, but the Teal, Black and shimmering gray was so vastly popular that when they eliminated the gray and replaced it with orange it was like someone taking away your $80K car and replacing it with a clunker. At least for me. The sharks previous color scheme was not broken.

I also read that the graphic artist said he was the one to add orange for more pizzazz/pop and that the Sharks management was unsure. It just felt like they were at the time, trying to emulate the Miami Dolphins instead of trying to stay somewhat unique. In addition I think part of the reason it looks so dull is the saturation of the old color scheme. That to me is an easy fix - see next paragraph.

It's all perspective, and opinion, but if I became owner tomorrow, I'd would definitely consider something like the above concept, maybe with a bit brighter teal and more shimmering gray/metallic silver. I mean there's got to be a reason the Sharks players don't wear their home teal during playoff time.

Did you know the Sharks official colors are Deep Pacific Teal, Burnt Orange, White and Black in that order? Well, at least according to the media guide. Also now part of the issue is the Sharks are one of the last professional sports teams to use teal as a primary color. The Marlins all but eliminated it. With the Pelicans now replacing the New Orleans Hornets that teal is gone. While the Charlotte Hornets will be resurrected, there is no guarantee their Teal and Purple will return in North Carolina.

Anyway the concept is awesome. I think the old teal is a tad better than the current deep teal, but that's my personal preference. I may see if I can find my concept that had a bit of brighter teal and post it, or if I don't find just create a new concept.

[Justin23]

This looks fantastic. If the Sharks do something along the lines of this, I'll be really happy. I'd moves the stripes down a bit, just to see what that looks like, and keep the diagonal patch, but those are my prefrences. Keep up the good work, as I got something in the works myself.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I like it. I think the teal would work better as the thicker stripe on the white uni than silver. Try black on the outside, silver and then teal. The home is damn near perfect.

Also, just curious as to what happened with that franchise? I realize Gund bought it and moved it to Cleveland, but there must have been a reason to justify the relocation. Fan support? Arena issues?

Before my time, so if any one could shed some light... thanks!

[Bayne]

The striping doesn't really match up well with the logo. I've seen better concepts to be honest. I do concur with the removal of orange as a trim though.

[IceCap]

The striping doesn't really match up well with the logo. I've seen better concepts to be honest. I do concur with the removal of orange as a trim though.

Ok.....?

Anyway thanks for bumping this. I've been meaning to update it.

[Midway]

I beg to differ. The striping has lots of potential if you go the route that ColeJ posted.