1991 NHL Dispersal and Expansion Drafts - Background

Background

Though the San Jose Sharks were technically founded in 1991, their lineage goes back further. In the 1970s, the Gund brothers, George and Gordon Gund, held minority ownership of the California Golden Seals, the NHL team representing the San Francisco Bay Area. The Seals had long-standing attendance problems, and the Gunds were instrumental in a move to Cleveland in 1976, where the team became the Barons. The move did not cure the franchise's financial struggles, and in 1978 the Gunds acquired the Minnesota North Stars, another failing team and were permitted to merge the two teams, which would continue under the "Minnesota North Stars" banner.

In 1990, as a result of slipping attendance, the Gunds petitioned the NHL for permission to relocate the North Stars to the Bay Area. The NHL, however, wishing to maintain a presence in Minnesota, denied their request. As a compromise, the league agreed to award the Gund brothers a new NHL expansion franchise to be located in the Bay Area, which would become the San Jose Sharks. The Gunds would sell the North Stars to an NHL-approved purchaser. One of the conditions of sale and expansion deal was that the Sharks would have the right to draft players from the North Stars organization. After that draft, the North Stars' roster would be replenished by the expansion draft as well. This effectively undid the 1978 merger between the North Stars and the Cleveland Barons, previously the California Golden Seals, the Bay Area NHL team.

The Gunds paid $50 million for the Sharks franchise. They sold the North Stars to a consortium consisting of Howard Baldwin, Morris Belzberg and Norman Green for $31.5 million. A series of disputes led to the team being completely controlled by Green, who would eventually move the team to Dallas after the 1992–93 season.