We Thought They’d Be Heroes…But These 20 Teams Turned Out To Be Zeros

18. 2009 San Jose Sharks

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The Sharks have quietly ascended the ranks of the most cursed franchises in professional sports. Since joining the league in 1991, the Sharks have been a fairly good regular season team (20 playoff appearances, six division titles), but have been abysmal in the postseason (18-20 in playoff series).

2009 was primed to be the Sharks’ year. San Jose led the NHL in points (117), and boasted one of the league’s best defenses (204 goals allowed). They pulled a favorable matchup in the first round against the in-state Anaheim Ducks, limiting travel between games. San Jose’s ‘home cooking’ turned out to be a farce, as the Ducks swept the first two games in the Bay Area before ending the series in six games.