<P> On May 28, 2015, the team named Peter DeBoer as their new head coach . During the off - season, the Sharks let John Scott and Scott Hannan leave as free agents . They traded goalie Antti Niemi to the Dallas Stars for a seventh - round draft pick in the 2015 Draft . Then, they acquired forward Joel Ward, goaltender Martin Jones, and defenseman Paul Martin . They also named forward Joe Pavelski the team's captain . </P> <P> Nearly one year after Peter DeBoer's arrival and a shaky start, the Sharks surged in the second half of the season to return to the playoffs, finishing with 98 points and third in the Pacific Division . They defeated the Los Angeles Kings in five games, the Nashville Predators in seven games and the St. Louis Blues in six games to win the Western Conference championship . This marked the first time in franchise history that the Sharks advanced to play in the Stanley Cup Final . The Sharks ultimately lost the Stanley Cup Finals in the best - of - seven series against the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games . </P> <P> In the following season, the Sharks finished in third place in the Pacific Division but were defeated by the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the first round of the 2017 playoffs . Following the season, long - time stalwart Patrick Marleau left the team to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending his 20 - year tenure with the team . He left holding almost every offensive record in team history . </P> <P> The Sharks' best - known tradition is their pre-game entrance scene . At the beginning of each Sharks home game, the lights go down and a 17 - foot open shark mouth is lowered from the rafters . As the mouth is lowered the eyes flash red and fog pours out . Then, a live view of the locker room tunnel with Sharks players is shown on the scoreboard and the goalie leads the team out of the locker room, through the mouth, and onto the ice . The Sharks currently use "Seek & Destroy" by Metallica as their entrance song . Previous entrance songs include Metallica's version of "Breadfan" and "Get Ready for This" by 2 Unlimited . The latter song has been used as the team's goal song since 2016 . </P>

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