Sharks Raise Wrong Banner, Claim 2016 Presidents’ Trophy They Absolutely Didn’t Win

The San Jose Sharks got caught with their pants down — or, more accurately, a banner with a massive error up in the rafters — this week, and it didn't take long at all for hockey fans to notice.

It didn't take long for them to catch some grief for it, either.

Now, while the Sharks have never won a Stanley Cup and only won a Western Conference title once, they did have a really strong run during the Marleau/Thornton era in which they were routinely playoff contenders. They've also won six Pacific Division titles, including four straight from 2008 to 2011.

According to Curtis Pashelka, at some point recently, the team consolidated its division title banners at SAP Center into one banner that lists all of them.

However, there was something in Pashelka's photo that got a lot of attention, and that was the club's 2015-16 Presidents' Trophy banner, which is awarded to the team that racks up the most points during the NHL regular season.

Why did that raise eyebrows? Because the Washington Capitals won the Presidents' Trophy that year.

How… how does that happen?

The Sharks did make it to the Cup Final in the 2015-16 season, but they weren't even close to the Presidents' Trophy. The Sharks ended up with 98 points while the Caps earned a staggering 120. In fact, the Sharks finished third in the Pacific Division that year.

According to ESPN's Greg Wyshinski, team president Jonathan Becher said this was the result of a printing error. It has since been speculated that the error came from the fact that the Sharks did win a Presidents' Trophy in 2008-09, and there was no banner for that accomplishment hanging in the rafters.

It sounds like an honest mistake and not some goofy excuse to raise a banner like when the Nashville Predators gave themselves a "Regular Season Western Conference Champions" banner in 2018.

That, of course, is not a thing.

While it's been a minute since the Sharks have even sniffed a new addition to their banner collection, they are an exciting young team with the likes of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and now Michael Misa in the fold.

Does that mean they're ready for the playoffs?

Hell no. But GM Mike Grier has them headed in the right direction.