San Jose Sharks will raise banner for longtime GM next season
The San Jose Sharks will hold a ceremony to honor Doug Wilson — their longtime general manager, first-ever team captain and a Hockey Hall of Famer — in the second home game of the 2022-23 season.
The team will raise a banner to the SAP Center rafters to honor Wilson’s “significant contributions to the team” prior to the Oct. 15 game against the Chicago Blackhawks, the team he played the majority of his career for, the Sharks announced Friday.
Wilson served as the Sharks’ general manager from 2003-04 to 2021-22, with his last season cut short by an extended medical leave he took beginning on Nov. 26, 2021. He stepped down from the general manager role on April 7, citing the desire to “focus on my health and full recovery.” He did state, however, that he was looking forward to continuing his career.
The Sharks had originally planned to honor Wilson in a ceremony before the April 23, 2022 game against the Blackhawks during the end of last season, but decided not to do so.
“Doug Wilson’s imprint on this franchise is unmistakable – on and off the ice,” Sharks President Jonathan Becher said in a statement. “As the new expansion team’s first captain in 1991, he set a standard and helped build a foundation that would allow the team to quickly morph into one of the League’s most inspiring and successful teams. As general manager, he crafted and fostered the most successful era of Sharks hockey the franchise has seen, drafting a blueprint which allowed the Sharks to be in the upper echelon of NHL teams for victories and appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“Doug’s legacy in San Jose is forever solidified and this recognition will ensure that future generations of Sharks fans will learn about his contributions to Sharks hockey.”
Wilson played 16 seasons in the NHL, the first 14 of them in Chicago before he was traded to the Sharks ahead of the franchise’s inaugural season in 1991-92. Wilson was immediately named the captain and made the All-Star team in his first season in San Jose, and while he only played in 86 total games with the Sharks, he crossed the 1,000 games played mark in teal.
Wilson then served for 19 seasons as general manager, helping lead the Sharks to their only Stanley Cup Final appearance and reaching the Western Conference finals five times. In total, the Sharks made the playoffs 14 times under Wilson, and only the Pittsburgh Penguins (31) won more playoffs series than the Sharks (30) during those 19 years.
Wilson’s shrewd deal-making helped keep San Jose stocked with star players, most notably trading for Joe Thornton in 2005, Dan Boyle in 2008, Brent Burns in 2011 and Erik Karlsson in 2018.
The Oct. 15 ceremony will be the first of two banner-raising ceremonies in the 2022-23 season for the Sharks. Patrick Marleau will also have his No. 12 jersey retired on Feb. 25, 2023 before that night’s game against the Blackhawks.